There and Back Again... plus Tips for Road Trips!

We've landed! And by "landed" I mean we drove out from Oregon to California for 12 hours, stayed at my mom's house and watched my baby sister GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL, and then got back in the car and drove another 10 hours to get home. And now here we are, slowly trying to piece back together our normal, everyday lives... I have been a bit more mindful during this trip, and I've been trying to be more intentional in enjoying these whirlwind jaunts up and down the I-5 corridor. Here are some tips for getting the most *joy* out of sitting in a car for hours.

Here's us, just as we're hitting the road. I don't know why I make that face, but get used to it, because it's basically my preferred way to take selfies. We were only one hour behind on when we had planned to leave and for us, that's great! Which brings us to...

Pro Road Trip Tip #1: Don't stress out about schedules

In the last post, I mentioned that I'm a big planner. I LOVE to plan. I don't know what it is, but I'm also one of those people who likes to make lists and organize all my apps and emails into folders. I just like organization. Some people call this a "type A" personality. Others think it's obsessive. For me, planning out a vacation or event to the smallest details is a way to get hyped for the whole thing and enjoy it fully. But, that's where it stops. I don't over-plan to control, and sometimes (actually almost always) things don't really go to plan. That can be super stressful. And it freaks me out when I feel like there's no plan. These days, though, I'm working on being cool about it. It's really not that big of a deal when all the tiny details I've mapped out in my head don't come together. What's most important is enjoying the thing and having a good time. I try to not let being a little late for things like road trips bother me. 

*Fun Fact: the word "plan" or variations on it are in the last paragraph 6 times and in this whole post 9 times.

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Pro Road Trip Tip #2: Be comfortable

Wear comfortable clothes! For pretty much all kinds of travel, I always end up wearing my workout clothes: sports bra, tank tops, yoga pants, pullovers. It's way more comfortable to sit in one place for hours if you don't feel like your jeans waist band is cutting into you, or if your clothes are absorbing all your sweat from being in a hot car all day. And, especially is you're a person with boobs and who has to wear bras, wear a comfy sports bra, your ribs will thank you. Also, the elastic bands on joggers or yoga pants will help out a lot if you're like me and always ending up needing to pee every hour or so. More on that later (I bet you can't wait!).

Being comfortable is really important, especially when sitting in the car with someone else all day. For me personally, I know that if my body is uncomfortable for very long, I can get really cranky with a capital B.

Here I am, doing my Wonder Woman, and feeling super chill in my stretchy pants!

Also, if you wear make up, consider skipping a full face on road trip. I find that my makeup always runs and smears and I end up breaking out. Plus, it's easier to crash hard when you don't have to take off a bunch of make up. I stick with a moisturizer with sunscreen, and maybe some eyeliner.

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Pro Road Trip Tip #3: Hydrate! 

Yes, if you drink a lot of water, you'll end up needing to pee more and make more frequent stops. That's the downside, but it's not really so bad when you think about the headaches, the nausea, the stiffness and dry skin from sitting in an air conditioned or heated car for literal hours. Who doesn't carry a water bottle around anymore, right, so this is totally obvious. The important thing is to drink water not vitamin water, or water mixed with sugar or sugar substitutes or any kind of dye or carbonation. Just drink water. Basically none of those gross things I listed above will be all that much better if you hydrate with sugar and salts and preservatives. 

Also, go to the bathroom as often as you need to. It's annoying, but it's less painful than a bladder infection or something worse.

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Pro Road Trip Tip #4: Eat yummy food and enjoy it

My native Oregonian companion and I have made it a tradition that we go to In-N-Out Burger at least once during every trip to California. I love it. I live for it. I often dream about grilled cheeses and animal fries from In-N-Out as California trips get nearer. This time down was no exception. It's kind of fun to have a treat along the way on the long drive. It makes it a little more expectant and exciting than just a boring drive. 

Also, try to be mindful of what you eat. For some reason, on the road, I have a totally different diet than I do at home. At home I'm all protein shakes and kale omelettes. On the road, I grab the saltiest, sweetest, most calorically dense food I can get a hold of. It's tough to refuse the crunchy goodness of junk food, but it's torture on my body that has to sit with that in my stomach for hours in a car. So I made myself a deal this time around; I would allow one real indulgence, and I would have to mindfully enjoy during the drive. On the way back up, I got one Rockstar, which again, I never drink except when I'm on a road trip, and I savored it. I didn't guzzle it, I just drank it like a drink, and it lasted longer and held off my cravings for more sweet things.

Another tip to prevent over-eating junk food, grab a pack of gum. I think I, and a lot of other people, eat out of boredom, especially when there's not a lot to look at or to be doing other than the road and driving. I think we snack because it keeps us busy. Well, to keep me busy, I chew on gum and try to make huge bubbles.

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Pro Road Trip Tip #5: Go where the fun is

If you're not on a strict schedule for getting to where you're going, then I highly suggest finding something to detour for at least once. Because, seriously, if you're not looking for adventure on a road trip, then it's just commuting. And that sucks.

You don't have to do some Harold and Kumar craziness or anything, but look for different ways to explore at least one of the places you pass through. You could try to find the most delicious gelato in a town when you stop for gas, or find a specific book in the library of at least three different cities and leave notes in them. Or, and this is my favorite possibility, you can seek out the major tourist attraction and go to there. Obviously, that's not always something you can do. I understand that I f you're passing through Aniheim, it's not always practical to hop into Disneyland for an hour (although I don't really understand, who WOULDN'T want to go to Disneyland?). Look for the more local-based attractions: museums, parks, arcades, and roadside attractions!

P2 and I took a little detour into the House of Mystery at the Oregon Vortex and it was awesome! See, my guy and I are big into Gravity Falls. We even dressed up at Dipper and Mabel Pines for Rose City Comic Con a couple of years back (yes, feeling a little weird that Dipper and Mabel are brother and sister...). So as we rounded the twisty turns through the old mining woods, we blasted that sweet sweet anthem to animated brilliance:

I love this stuff. I know the skeptic things people say about tourist attractions like the Mystery House. But I don't really care. I like to live in a world of wonder, and be reminded that no one really knows anything anyway.

I have to admit, though, I did see some confusing things in the mystery house... ~(O.o)~ 

I also got a cool squished penny!

Check out the Oregon Vortex and the House of Mystery here.

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Pro Road Trip Tip #6: Take pictures of things that matter

This is a tough one for me, because I'm not the kind of person who's big into social media. I don't share a whole lot of my personal life out in the world, I tend to be a private person. And that equals to I don't take very many pictures in general. Because in this day and age, who even takes pictures for anything other than posting to social media? Or that's what I think. I need to take more pictures, and not to necessarily share with other people, but so I can have them to remember these trips, the time with my family. I'm definitely part of the crowd that thinks constant selfie-taking is obnoxious. But I also need to remember that there are the kinds of selfies that help save a memory, the one with my mom and my sister, while we're all getting ready for my sister's graduation:

And of my siblings and me at that graduation; my brother and I are just beaming with pride for our little baby sissy/pug dog/ternimite...now grown-up high school graduate! *sniff*

I don't really take pictures of food or weird things on the sidewalk (although an insta account like that would get all my likes!). I take pictures of things I want to remember. I try to use that pervasive, often obnoxious, admittedly useful monster... Social Media...for it's greatest potential good: to preserve my memories and share my life with friends and family.

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It's been a really great trip! My favorite part -- far beyond the junk food and sweat pants all day and houses that defy the laws of physics -- was getting to see my sister graduate. We live so far apart, it's tough to stay in touch, and it's really rough to feel like I'm missing out on being part of her life during these major transitions. I even recently had an anxiety dream where I missed her graduation, and it really wrecked my mood for a bit. I'm so glad I was there to be part of her big day. The coolest thing I've seen so far has been the life of this young woman. I held her as a tiny baby, when she was fresh and new, and then she grew up and now she's a whole person who can do anything as long as she has the will and dedication. I can't wait to see what she accomplishes in the next phase of her life!

I'm also super excited to see her again in about one week! Yes, that's right, the Cornicorns are going back to California after just one week! Why you ask? Well, simply because I do really like to plan things, but that doesn't mean I'm very good at it. I foolishly planned our family trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for next week... :3 It's going to be a total blast, and I'm super duper pumped for some Wizarding magic! So stay tuned for the next series of travel posts coming at you from Hogwarts!