Travel Fears
Crescent Cove, Ecola State Park, Oregon
I love to travel and have since I was a child. Geography was fun as was collecting stamps from all over the world. I have been flying on commercial airlines since I was a child, and accept flying as a norm.
Yet, I realized in chatting with many of you that you all haven’t traveled as much as I have. My mother was a travel agent for nearly 30 years, which colored how I saw the world and traveled. Cancer has given me new glasses to see the world and that one involves travel. Teaching workshops for you all in Europe or the US is high on my list. It has been diverted a bit due to the health things that are now cleared up.
You want to go to Europe but you haven’t a clue how to get a passport, how to book the right airline tickets, hotels, etc. Packing, luggage, art supplies, clothing, hotels, currency, power converters, all of that can be overwhelming. Making that first trip happen is huge, it is freeing and life changing. Not to mention fun!
How to get to the point where you make it happen. First decide that you are going to go. Is it solo or with a spouse or friend? Or are you going solo with a guided tour? I know many women who travel without their spouses because the spouse is no longer able to travel easily or doesn’t want to. There are many ways to make this happen. If you are traveling with a friend, I would hammer out all the details of where, who, when and what to see. Share a room or no?
Group travel you can choose to share a room or have your own. I have done both. Really I don’t spend much time in my room so it doesn’t matter much unless I am teaching or leading the trip. Then I want a room to myself.
Here is my health tip: stay in shape if you want to travel. You should be able to easily walk a mile, be it in an airport or train station, up and down steps. Plus, you will need to be able to carry or pull your luggage. Up and down steps. Can you lift your bag into the overhead bin? That bag should weigh no more than 20 pounds. Fully escorted trips will take your bag outside the airport, but between home and your destination you had better be able to move that bag around. Even then, how much stuff do you need for two weeks? Most likely not as much as you think, art supplies included.
A friend of mine hauled a giant suitcase with her on her first European trip, exhausting her as she tried to lug it up the steps at the train station and into her hotel room. She only wore a fraction of the clothes she brought with her. You don’t have to pack an outfit for every situation.
Assuming you are traveling spring through fall, take one or two pairs of light weight pants, no jeans they are heavy and take up lots of room. You want quick dry fabrics. If it’s going to be cold pack a base layer, top and bottom. T-shirts, no more than four, again quick dry. Long sleeve pull over or zip up - I will take one of each spring and fall. Layered together you will be warm. A windbreaker is handy for light rain and windy days. Hat and gloves on the shoulder seasons. Underwear, 3-4 pairs, you will wash stuff every night! Ditto for socks. I tend to wear wool socks which are slower to dry, so will plan ahead on them knowing it may take a day or two for them to dry. Summertime, I most likely would only take one or two pairs of socks as I wear sandals most of the time. Which brings us to shoes: two pairs of very comfortable shoes that you can easily walk five or more miles in daily.
Reach out to me or watch one of the hundreds of YouTube videos that are out there. More travel blog posts are coming! Meanwhile, get your sketchbook out and start practicing so you will be ready when you arrive at your destination. Need more support? Travel with me! Complete this survey, we are getting close to the required number of surveys to book a trip!