We have a lot of people that follow our travels on Facebook. They always think that we do a lot of traveling because of what they see on my profile. In reality, though, we do not travel as much as people think and we certainly do not post all our travel pictures at the same time. We do our best to clear this information up to people when they mention it to us. We try to maintain an open, honest, and transparent relationship with our followers.
The reality of our travel situation is that I plan our day trips for months. I do an extensive amount of research in the area of our destination, plan our best route for added sightseeing, and leave the schedule open for flexibility. We do not just hop in the car and go every week. When we do “go,” we make sure to see and do everything we can along the route and especially in our destination area. We never waste our trips, whether it is to a doctor’s appointment (several of our trips are due to out-of-area appointments) or visiting a destination. And then when we get home, we are completely exhausted and worn out because we have done so much. I will take my time posting pictures of it on social media; only posting one sight at a time so my followers do not feel spammed by too many posts at once or too many pictures to go through at one time.
So, how do we have these awesome adventures that I post on my profile?
Planning A Day Trip –
- Determine your ultimate destination. Knowing where you to go and what you want to do there will determine the outcome of your trip. It will help you plan better and accomplish your goals for the trip. Looking at all routes to/from the destination will also help you to know the sights along the way if you want to experience more on the trip.
- Determine your trip goals. Knowing why you are taking the trip is essential. Are you going just to visit that one place? To experience the area? Just to get out of the house? The narrower your reason for the trip is, the less you will see and do. Your experience will only be that one thing. If you have a broader reason, you will have a great overall experience, lots of knowledge, and tons of photos to post on social media and make all your friends jealous. Our trip goal of being flexible and wanting to do everything in the area is how we find unique places that we are always really glad we found and visited.
- Take the time to plan your trip. This is absolutely essential for accomplishing trip goals. It does not matter if you are taking a spontaneous trip or one you have been planning for years. Every trip needs some sort of planning. Make sure there are gas stations and eateries when and where you need them. Do you have everything packed for the trip – the right clothes, a change of clothes in some situations, snack bag, camera, entertainment for the kids, dog essentials, full tank of gas, multiple forms of payment, etc. Have everything at home settled and taken care of before you head out on the road (and figure in being home later than planned).
- Do research – a lot of research! Research is exactly how we are able to see and do so much. It is also how we can do so much sightseeing along the way to our destination. I spend a lot of time on the internet and going through our brochures to plan our best route for optimal experiences and destinations. I also spend time researching the best places to get gas so I can save as much as I can on a trip.
- Utilize brochures. If you have been collecting free literature and brochures from other trips and vacations, now is the time to pull them out and plan trips around the destinations in your brochure basket. They are also helpful in knowing what else is in the area of the ultimate destination.
- Plan for flexibility. It never fails that the day or trip does not go exactly as planned. It is important to have a plan, but there must be room for adjustments and flexibility. Sometimes, road construction puts us way behind on a trip and shortens our sightseeing or changes our route (which is why it is important to have trip goals). Occasionally, unposted facility construction is underway and we cannot do what we had initially liked to do. One time we found ourselves in a large area with an extreme lack of eateries. A lot of “life” happens on the road and we have to make adjustments to our schedule and be flexible with our destinations. The biggest flexibility to have, though, is probably time. If you have animals at home, always allow for being home later than what is planned for the trip. You never know what will happen, if you end up staying a long time at one place, decide to go on to another nearby location, or take a different route to/from the destination than planned.
While On A Day Trip –
- Collect literature. Most destinations provide literature for free. Browsing the brochures and resources available will educate you on the destination and other area attractions. I also collect a lot of these things for scrapbooking purposes, but they mainly help me curate informative posts on my profile and blog. Providing solid information in your posts (besides just a picture with a “look where we are” caption) with the pictures will bring a lot of attention and help you look like an actual traveler. And, by the way, it is completely okay to want others to think of you as a traveler or experienced. Is that not why people post their travel/vacation pictures so much?
- Carry cash. Okay, so I should stress to carry multiple forms of payment. Small places typically do not take out of area checks or cards, so it is smart to carry cash. Because technology is 100% unreliable, large places may not be able to take cards. If self-checkout is the option, cash might not be accepted. So, make sure you carry cash, card, and check because you never know when you are going to need money and what form(s) of payment are accepted.
- Take pictures. I feel like this is what everyone always does anyway. But if you are like me and you scrapbook or post the adventure on social media, take pictures of the plaques and things that contain information on the destination. You will need these as reference for information when posting pictures and telling others about the trip. Instead of telling people you have been there, prove it by telling them about the destination.
- Be there for the experience. When we are visiting a place, I like to experience it first and then go back to take pictures. It is extremely important to be there in the moment to experience the destination. Stop taking selfies, put the camera down, and experience it. You will probably only be there once, so commit the place to memory. Create memories with the people you are there with and learn something new about the destination. Memories are more important than pictures.
- Have fun. Sometimes, a destination just does not live up to your expectations. And that is okay. Just remember to have fun and enjoy the time with your friends, family, or by yourself. If you end up at one of these places, move on to another location in the area. Do not waste the trip or day; make the most of it by building more experiences and memories.
At Home –
- Keep a snack bag packed (and dog bag). Since we have been road tripping and taking day trips, we went through our house for something to put our snacks in. We now have a destinated snack bag, which we keep our best road snacks in all the time. Of course, we eat out of it at the house, but it is always handy to just grab it and go when we hit the road. Since we take my dog with us, I also have a bag just for her with treats, her water bottle, doggie poop bags, our extra drinks, and safe keeping of whatever literature/brochures we pick up on the trip.
- Keep a drink cooler handy. We got to the point we were bringing multiple drinks on our trip, that we started praying about finding an inexpensive drink cooler that was not broken. We were extremely fortunate to find the exact one we wanted at the right price at a yard sale we randomly found. So, it is now a handy place to grab and fill with drinks. We also keep plenty of ice bags and have access to ice cubes that are in a grab-and-go place in our freezer.
- Store brochures. If you pick up the ones of interest, do not throw them away at home. Get a little basket or box and store them in at home. When you get ready for a quick trip or want to get out of the house and do not know where to go, grab that brochure basket! Organize them how you want, but definitely visit all those places that are in the same area.
- Buy snacks and drinks for the road. The cheapest way to snack, eat, and drink on a trip is to bring it from home. When we are in our day trip season, we always prepare by looking for coupons and sales on our go-to snacks and drinks. Buying them in the store is much more cost effective (especially when on sale) and allows you to be prepared for a trip. Making multiple stops on a trip to get something to eat or drink will financially add up. We buy specific things just for road tripping and it saves us a ton of money! If we plan accordingly and do not stop to eat at a restaurant, we spend $0 on our trips! The only money we do spend is gas and food when we need it on our long, all-day trips.
While we continue to learn each time we take a trip, we have learned to have a grab-and-go plan to help us in the planning and packing the car stages. Often, we are just too tired at night to lay everything out or pack the car with everything. Morning comes and no one wants to do these extra chores. So, formulating a grab-and-go plan has made our lives so much easier! Research and planning take time, but it is so rewarding in the end.
What advice do you have for fellow day trippers?