Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: This week we're talking about travel strategies, and today's episode
Speaker 1: is about a handful of my favorite little travel tips
Speaker 1: for me. Many of these have been learned the hard way.
Speaker 1: I hope to save you some time and hassle during
Speaker 1: your next trip. First, one of my biggest travel breakthroughs
Speaker 1: was realizing that my brain capacity is limited. This is
Speaker 1: especially true when I'm on the road, so I want
Speaker 1: to get as much out of my brain as I can. Now.
Speaker 1: Whenever I park at the airport, I take a picture
Speaker 1: of my car so I can remember which way it's
Speaker 1: facing and roughly the row. Sometimes the rows are labeled,
Speaker 1: and that's helpful too. I take a picture of the
Speaker 1: floor number as well. It seems silly because I think,
Speaker 1: for sure I'll remember that I'm on the third floor
Speaker 1: in Garage D, but then as soon as I land
Speaker 1: from my return trip, I'm struggling to remember if it
Speaker 1: was that or the fourth floor of Garage A, which
Speaker 1: is where I was the time before. Likewise, I take
Speaker 1: a photo of my hotel room number. Maybe I'm in
Speaker 1: four thirty five, or maybe that was last week. Best
Speaker 1: to have photographic backup. Another lesson learned from hard experience.
Speaker 1: If you live somewhere that snow is a possibility, don't
Speaker 1: park on a garage roof deck. There is nothing like
Speaker 1: shoveling yourself out at one am after a delayed flight
Speaker 1: to leave you cursing the past self that thought this
Speaker 1: was a good idea. If you're a u S listener,
Speaker 1: definitely sign up for t S a pre check, and
Speaker 1: if you travel internationally at all, go for Global Entry.
Speaker 1: You'll save time on every trip to the airport for
Speaker 1: the next five years. I save time by staying actually
Speaker 1: packed for any trips. My carry on duffel bag always
Speaker 1: has one pair of running shoes, a pack of earplugs,
Speaker 1: band aids, and my little travel umbrella in it. That way,
Speaker 1: all I really need to remember is my clothes and
Speaker 1: toilet trees, all in less than three out sizes. Of course,
Speaker 1: my husband does me one better on this. He keeps
Speaker 1: an extra set of toiletries packed so he never has
Speaker 1: to bother packing those for me. Though, makeup is expensive
Speaker 1: enough and stuff like mascara has to be replaced frequently
Speaker 1: enough that I haven't gotten around to doing that, but
Speaker 1: maybe someday I'll take the plunge. As for that carry
Speaker 1: on duffel bag, this is intentional. My duffel bag can
Speaker 1: fit in almost all overhead compartments. Even on very small planes,
Speaker 1: rollerboards often need to be gate checked. I'd prefer not
Speaker 1: to waste time waiting after deplaning for my bag to
Speaker 1: be returned to me. I use my purse as my
Speaker 1: carry on personal item, which means I always buy tote
Speaker 1: shaped purses. I make sure to it one big enough
Speaker 1: to carry my laptop. I love when bags can do
Speaker 1: double duty. I always travel with headphones, air plugs in
Speaker 1: an eyemask. You can never know for sure if your
Speaker 1: fellow passengers on a plane will be quiet, or if
Speaker 1: your hotel room will be quiet or dark enough. I
Speaker 1: also bring a snack because you never know if you'll
Speaker 1: have a long wait or wind up hungry at odd
Speaker 1: hours thanks to a time change. Always check the weather
Speaker 1: in your destination before you go. Just because it's summer
Speaker 1: everywhere doesn't mean it really will be in northern Minnesota
Speaker 1: or even Texas can have a cold snap. I also
Speaker 1: assume that all hotels and conference centers will be massively
Speaker 1: over air conditioned, so I pack a cardigan and a
Speaker 1: pair of wool socks for sleeping. Even in summer, I'll
Speaker 1: wear a light jacket on the plane, so I'm prepared
Speaker 1: for that. Another tip. Hotel gyms can be great, but
Speaker 1: they can also get crowded in the mornings. A lot
Speaker 1: of people go to the fitness center about ten to
Speaker 1: fifteen minutes after they wake up, so you're were likely
Speaker 1: to get your choice of machine if you set your
Speaker 1: alarm for fifteen minutes before the hour rather than on
Speaker 1: the hour as most people do. And of course brings
Speaker 1: something to read. E books are great. If you've forgotten
Speaker 1: to pack a book, you can still buy and download
Speaker 1: one as you're waiting to board a plane. Travel often
Speaker 1: features small pockets of time where it's hard to do
Speaker 1: much else. Books are a more fulfilling way to spend
Speaker 1: this time than searching Twitter. Again, what are your favorite
Speaker 1: little travel hacks? Please let me know at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at before Breakfast odd that's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.