Travel Tuesday? Except it's Friday. YOLO.

In this (hopefully) weekly post I will share my travel tips, stories, photos, hopes, and dreams with you. :) IDEALLY I will post these on Tuesdays - but really if I don't start blogging right this second I doubt that I ever will....seriously.

As you may or may not have seen on ze internet, my husband, two dogs and myself just completed a cross country journey to our new home in Portland, Oregon. We were lucky enough to be able to use up a ton of vacation time during this transitional period so we decided to take the scenic route to Oregon! ;] Now that we are all settled in, I am here this week to share with you some lessons from the road!

*HAVE GOOD SNACKS & LOTS OF THEM

 - Hey, Kaitii, isn't gas the most important thing you should consider? NO. No, it's not. You have to be in the car for a LONG TIME & sometimes you won't see a place to eat for MILES (and, if you're a vegetarian with a food allergy like me, your options are pretty limited...). My favorites are Larabars, Goldfish, and WATER.


*GAS. FILL UP EARLY & FILL UP OFTEN.

 - It doesn't matter that your car's range says that you have 200 miles to go, sometimes you'll run into situations like traffic, wind, high altitudes, winding mountain roads and, the worst, long distances between gas stations. You will already use gas more quickly because of the weight of the items in your car, so when you're at half a tank and see a gas station, fill 'er up! (Or, if you're in Oregon like us where you cannot LEGALLY pump your own gas, have the attendant do the same.)


*BE FLEXIBLE.

- I think that this is really important-- almost more important than gas or snacks. Sometimes you, maybe ignorantly, leave for your road trip a day before 4th of July weekend with no plans or reservations at campsites and everything is full and you have to stay in a pet-friendly La Quinta (more about that awesomeness later!!) and that's okay. Everything isn't always going to go your way -- embrace it.


*TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU NEED WITH YOU.

- You will be in a car with the things that you bring the entire time. Remember that when you're deciding whether or not you want to bring that third pair of shoes.


*HAVE AN UPDATED ROAD MAP & TAKE SCREENSHOTS OF YOUR DIRECTIONS ON GOOGLE MAPS.

- As awesome as your cell carrier claims to be, at 7,000 feet in a national forest deep in the Rockies, sorry, cell carrier, not gonna have service.


*GET A GOOD CAR CHARGER..

- Not a crappy $1/$5 pharmacy one. Get the kind that your cell carrier is trying to sell you when you upgrade. The kind with a warranty. The kind that was made FOR your phone. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. Most campsites we are camping at have no electric (intentionally, for us) and you will need your phone to find snacks, gas, & more campsites & not to be on fire from an awful, off-brand car charger.


*TRIP ADVISOR/GOOGLE MAPS = BFF.

- Basically, a typical day for us consisted of planning our route and looking at towns along the way on Trip Advisor for good lunch spots. We also have our dogs along with us, so BringFido.com has been a great resource. Plus, if you're in a pinch and need a hotel for you and your doggy buddies, La Quinta Inns across the United States are PET FRIENDLY WITH NO PET FEE. Same with any Ace Hotels across the country, but they have a small pet fee. (Neither hotels are paying me to say this..promise.) <3


*MAKE SURE YOU ARE WITH SOMEONE THAT YOU LIKE. LOVE, EVEN.

- AND UNDERSTAND THAT HANGRY HAPPENS. CAPS LOCK.


 *STOP & TAKE A SECOND TO ENJOY WHERE YOU ARE

- Pull off at scenic overlooks, put your feet in a creek running down the side of a mountain, take a picture with that weird dinosaur statue, run around in the forest, SMILE! =)

REMEMBER, it really is about the J O U R N E Y.

Do you have any road trip advice? I would love to hear from you! 

Hugs!
- Kaitii

Hello! : ) My name is Kaitii & I love adventures! Stop back soon to join me. There will be lots of exploring, DIY, baking, hugs, and smiles. : )