Top 5/Bottom 5: Travelling

It's no secret our family LOVES to travel. A few nights ago, we left on our summer vacation so I wanted to write a "top 5/bottom 5" about travel, particularly when flying. I've seen this done on a few other blogs and it's always interesting to me to see what people like, and don't like. I will admit, some of my items are particularly random, and some, I think, are fairly unique to Dave and me!

The Top 5 Things I Love About Travelling!

5) The planning

If it weren't for the fact that other people were depending on me not to screw up, I would probably love being a travel agent. I absolutely love figuring out all the details for our vacations. I love finding fun things to do and I love looking forward to the exciting things we have planned. I'm never not up for planning a trip!

4) Being at the airport at the start of a trip

 I really love that moment when you get to the airport, you've dropped off your bags (when checking luggage), you're through security, you've found your gate, and now the anticipation is building! This is the most fun moment! We often plan to eat a meal at the airport as the kick off to a trip and it's just so celebratory!!!

3) The last shower at home before we leave on a trip

I don't know why I love this so much! While I normally hate showering, the last shower before a trip is a part of getting ready for me. I think about how next time I shower it will be in a new place and it's just exciting. (I know, I know, this is a weird thing to get excited about travelling. What can I say? I'm unique!)

2) Packing

Packing really doesn't stress me out. Again, it's the anticipation of "When will I wear this next?" or planning out fun outfits for a specific event. I just really love packing :)

1) The time with people I love, exploring new places

I mean, isn't this what travelling is all about? Getting out of our comfort zones, seeing somewhere new, learning something interesting, and being together. There is not much I love more. Travelling really is one of my happy places.

 

left: Carcross Desert, Yukon Territory, Canada, July 2019; right: Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, July 2022

Bottom 5 Things I Dislike About Travelling

5) Unpacking at home

I hate unpacking. It's sad. It means the trip is over. There's nothing fun about it.

4) Figuring out all the details in a new place

I don't like transitions. I don't like not knowing where I'm sleeping, how I'm getting there, where I'm getting my morning coffee-hot chocolate -- all the transitions are just a lot of work to figure out, and it's not fun.

3) The day we have to pack to go home

This is always one of the things on trips that Dave and I argue about the most. I want to wait until the very last minute to pack to go home and Dave just wants to get it over and done with. He's stressed it won't all get done in time and I'm sad that the trip is ending. It's never a good scene! Hahaha! 

Packing at the end of a cruise, or when we leave my parents' house, is always the worst :( 

2) The last hour before leaving our house

This is also a time when Dave and I are disagreeing with each other a lot. The kids are more helpful now, but leaving our house usually involves a lot of yelling, irritation, and inward thoughts of "WHY ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN?!?!?!?!" We have to get all the dishes done, we have to make sure lights are shut off, we have to make sure we've packed all the last minute items -- it's just chaotic and stressful.

Leaving our house in a limo to go on a cruise with my parents, January 2020 

1) Delayed/cancelled flights

This is without a doubt the worse part about flying. I don't mind a delay of less than an hour but delays of three to four hours, or worse, flight cancellations are so frustrating. I realize travelling is a privilege and I should be grateful we get to do so much of it but cancelled flights move me to tears.

Do you have anything to add to my list? Is there anything which surprised you? 

I'm going to be taking a blogging break until we get back. I'm "tashajk72" on Instagram, if you want to follow our adventures there. Otherwise, I'm sure I will have a ton of stories and photos for you when we return. See you then :)