I was recently in Orlando, visiting for work, and after a long travel day I sat back and considered how events of the day had been… terribly unglamorous.

Nothing had gone wrong, nor had any plans fallen through.  But some moments of the day were several clicks away from ideal.

Orlando Bound

For instance, my morning flight departed at 6:00am.  This meant a 3:45am wakeup, and an inefficient TSA line that opened as us early fliers were arriving.  I was only a few minutes from missing my flight.

My connection was tight, made tighter by delayed bag return on the jet bridge and over a mile walk through the Philly airport.  Also minutes from a missed connection there.

Arriving in Orlando, all was well.  The rental car was easy to find, but I did snag the last car in my class.  Apologies, to the next traveler…

I stopped for lunch and to pick up some groceries to stretch my food budget.

Ducking out of the restaurant as dark clouds gathered, it poured rain over me as I dashed back to the car, past the used hypodermic needle in the parking lot, and fumbled around with the unfamiliar remote buttons, delaying my respite from the rain.

After shopping and arriving at the enormous and not well labeled hotel self-parking, thinking I could simply walk over to the convention center for my first conference session.

Twenty-five steamy minutes later I hiked two dozen unmarked stairs into some back door of the hotel, and traversed the massive space to actually find the conference registration spot.  I walked over 4500 steps from the car to the conference session!

Reflecting on disruption

After that, things went smoothly.  I attended the sessions, check-in to my beautiful room, got the resort fee waived since I wasn’t using any services and had a lovely rest of the night.

But, there was little glamour in the journey of the day.

There was exhaustion and weirdness and inconvenience.  There was confusion and uncertainty.

I had to put a lot of effort into the experience of traveling, through no particular fault of anyone or anything (save the needle in the parking lot).

I imagine that when people tell me they aren’t fond of traveling, or would rather stay home, they’re thinking of the inconveniences like I had.

They’re thinking of lumpy pillows, and missing hair creme (which cost me a fortune to replace in the hotel shop).  They’re tired by the idea of long lines, walking aimlessly towards a destination.

They’re wondering whether there is good value in the time, the effort, the money.

And the answer to that central question can never be fully known or answered with finality.  It depends.

Being prepared for the unpreparable

In this post, I write about the unglamorous truths of travel and how we can set ourselves up for success as travelers – both logistically and personally.

How can we strengthen ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally and financially to be able to travel with grace?  With ease?  With comfort?

My work trip to Orlando was a perfect getaway.  I was free to spend time on my own, something I never get to experience, and I connected with colleagues in a new way.

I stayed in a georgous resort, usually out of my price range.  I felt the shocking warmth of the Florida climate on my Ohio-based skin and basked in the intensity and strength of that heat.

I ate great food, took in a show, and became whole again in many ways.

But not all of my time was comfortable, easy, or predictable.  There was no way to really prepare other than to prepare myself to think positively, remain optimistic, and be present in the moment of right now.

Wrapped in the silver lining, you can keep the challenges of travel from diminishing the grand experiment that is leaving your home with a small bag of belongings and learning about a new place on this wonderful planet.

Cheers,

Andrea