Travel Should Not Exhaust You

Travel starts to feel better when we stop treating it like a performance and start building it around ease, comfort, and actual enjoyment. I break down the small choices that keep a trip from draining you, from packing and airports to hotels, safety, and rest. 
• shifting the goal from doing the most to feeling good 
• packing outfits instead of random pieces 
• using the Sudoku packing method for smarter planning 
• cutting “just in case” items to one backup outfit 
• choosing comfort first shoes every time 
• adding cushion time so the airport does not wreck your mood 
• looking into lounge access or finding a quiet spot to reset 
• bringing snacks and an empty water bottle to avoid hanger 
• making a carry-on a safety net with meds and chargers 
• keeping bags simple and skipping a separate purse 
• unpacking a little and using packing cubes in hotels 
• setting a drop zone so mornings stay calm 
• downloading apps for hotels airlines and rental cars 
• packing slippers and adjusting the room for comfort 
• trusting your gut and leaving politeness out of safety decisions 
• leaving space in the schedule and treating rest as part of the plan 
• letting a travel partner explore solo without resentment when you need downtime 
Make sure you follow, share it with a friend, and come back next week because we’ve got a lot more life to live, and we’re going to do it our way.

Transcript

Chicago Check In And Life Updates

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hello and welcome to Aging A for Sissies. My name is Marcy Backis, and I am your host. Hello, everyone. We had a beautiful day here in Chicago. It was nice and warm. I don't know how what to tell you, but it feels it hits different when it's right off of a cold day. Between wearing earmuffs, a scarf, and I'm in home the house, but I have shorts on. It's been a week, a week and a half. It looks like we might get a little rain right now, but wow, spring is here. The tulips in the city are getting ready to bloom. We have over 100,000 bulbs planted here every year. And you know how I feel about Chicago if you've never been here. It's one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Welcome. Come. It's kind of nice though. Tourists are leaving. Spring breaks are over. Yesterday I had a really fun day. My pastor's youngest son. Um, he's about seven. I took him to the Harry Potter store for his first time. Told him all about Harry Potter. It was amazing. It was fun. Then I said, Oh, why don't we over? We have a store right. The Harry Potter store is right on the corner of where I live. And then a half a block up is It's Sugar. So we went to It's Sugar and I got myself, what are these? My favorite thing in the world. These are called um sizzling cinnamon jawbreakers. Hot cinnamon jawbreakers. Love them. Took it out so that I could talk to you on this podcast. What else is going on? Life is just normal. Leaving in a few weeks to go to for a weekend to see my great nephew Chris and my son Alec. And looking forward to that. Hopefully, we'll see Alec's girlfriend Sharon while we're there and his dog Mango. But uh yeah, life is kind of normal. It's really kind of enjoyable. Uh, what else is going on? Not much, not much. Just regular life, which you know sometimes is just enough. It's just enough. Somebody was asking me what my next trips are and uh going to Alex. Then in July, we always go to California, and then August, I always go to Arizona, and then we'll take September off, and October we will go to France. So those are the things that are coming up, and it got me thinking about travel and how travel should not exhaust you. So today's episode is going to be travel should not exhaust you. You know, that's how I come up with my fabulous ideas for these podcasts. It's things that go through my own head and definitely have a lot of things coming up. Um tomorrow, Craig and I are going to the theater, um, the um Lyric Opera House. We're gonna see Mary Poppins on the screen and they're gonna play the music and talk about it, and that should be fun. The next day, Craig and I are going with my friend Joan, and we're going to see Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Goodman Theater, and then out to dinner. And then what else? The following week, we have a gala on Friday and a concert on the following Saturday. So if you wonder why I love my life here in Chicago, those are some of the many reasons why I love my life here. It's active and busy and exciting and all kinds of things. But those vacations should not exhaust you. If you come home from a trip needing a vacation from your vacation, you did it wrong. And I say that with love. Now, I have done many vacations right, and I've done them wrong. But I thought it would be fun to share really how to do a good vacation. Now we were taught pack everything, do everything, see everything, and don't miss anything. And now we're tired. At this stage of life, travel should be different. You it should start to be different. And if it's not, and if you can do it all great, and you don't come home exhausted, good for you. I can't. Now, Craig can. So when we get into this, I'll explain to you how we do that. So at this stage of life, travel should feel like ease, comfort, enjoyment, not survival. So everything we're talking about today is making travel feel good. So the first thing, and we did it, I did a podcast on this. The first thing is packing hacks. I'm gonna give you a few. Because packing is where it all begins. So the first rule is you don't need as much as you think you do. I know, I know, but what if I need it? You won't. And if you do, you'll buy it. You'll be fine. Now, the first hack I want to give you is I can't, because I can't do visuals. I'm gonna tell you to go online on Instagram or what's the one, Pinterest, and put in Sudoku packing method. I'm gonna try this method, my personal self for my next trip. So check it out. But let's talk about it. Pack outfits, not options. Stop packing random pieces, plan actual outfits and three tops, two random pants. Just nothing that matches. You don't want to do that because that's how you end up if you're you're doing it random. But plan an outfit. And and that's what that Sudoku packing method is. It's it's a really great idea. Really look it up. I think you'll be pleased. I I'll put a link on my pot on my um website, marcybackusmedia.com. I'll put a link to the Sudoku packing method there. Stop bringing that just in case. Instead of packing your whole life just in case, just bring one extra outfit. So if you're packing in outfits and you need a just in case, make that an outfit. Okay, one backup option. That's it. That's it. We're not packing for every possible scenario. And I want you to think about all your traveling. How many times did you come home and have only worn half of what was in there? Think about it. We are not preparing for every fashion emergency. And the number one thing, shoes will betray you. Do not bring shoes you haven't worn before. This is how vacations get ruined. Comfort, cute every time. Comfort, cute every time. I'm telling you. Okay. All right. So that's packing. And if you I have other podcasts inside Marcy's mind and this one where I've talked about packing, go back and find those. Um, airport sanity. This is where people lose it. And losing it before you start a vacation is not okay. So let's talk about airports where patients go to die. I don't care. Build in cushion time. I would rather be at the airport extra early than sitting on my couch at home worrying about getting to the airport. Now, Craig and I have privileges for the lounges. If you don't, look into getting them with your credit cards. Look into having lounge access is key. If you don't, that's fine. Find a quiet place to decompress before you get on the plane. Nothing ruins a trip faster than starting it already annoyed. And if you get, if you've never been in a lounge for American Airlines or Experian or any of them, I'm not gonna lie, they're wonderful. Everything in there is free. You get food, you can grab a few snacks for the plane, you can fill up your water bottle, you can, it's the best. It's the best. You can get your coffee in the morning before you get it, you don't have to sit in the line at Starbucks. If you travel a lot, it's worth it. Find out which credit cards give you that access and use those credit cards. All right. Snacks solve everything. I don't care what anyone says, bring snacks. I always have snacks. They don't have to be big stinky snacks, little snacks, snack bags, a little snack of MMs, something, some cheese. It's not gonna go bad in your backpack while you're flying. Some almond, something. Have it. This is not optional. Delays happen, food options can be questionable. And hanger, being hangry is real. So we're talking about how to have good trips. Make sure you have snacks. Bring your own empty water bottle, fill it on the other side. Don't pay for the because nothing makes you madder than paying$10 for a bottle of water. Okay, make your carry-on work for you, not against you. Your carry-on should feel like a little safety net, not your main packing. You should have your medications in there or at least a few days' worth. If you're going on a long trip, if you don't want it all, make sure you have your charger. You have something comfortable you can change into in case something happens. And the main thing is you need to use it. I finally have broken down and bought myself an iPad because of traveling, because I'm sick of watching movies on my phone. I want to watch them. I got an 11 by 11-inch iPad, very happy with it. It's super light, and it's mainly for traveling, so I can watch things on it. Make sure you have your headphones, make sure everything's charged before you leave the house. And again, your carry-on should be light. And that's your ex like your backpack carry-on, not your suitcase. I don't travel with anything bigger than a carry-on. If I travel alone, it gets checked because I can't lift it over my head. If I'm traveling with Craig, it goes on the plane. And then my little backpack goes under the seat in front of me. Bing, bang, boom. Do not carry a purse. Whatever I'm going to use as a purse goes into that backpack under the seat in front of me. I have two items that I have to keep track of. That's it. My purse is usually a lightweight crossbody, and that fits right into my backpack while I'm getting on the plane. You can only have two items. Make it easy, people. If you're already making it difficult with the packing and what you're bringing on, you're going to be miserable. All right. Okay. So let me, we're, we're going to we're going to take a quick break and I'm going to talk about what I'm not doing anymore. All right. It's time for our segment. I'm not doing this anymore. And this week, I am not making traveling harder than it needs to be. I am not number one, overpacking. I am not number two over planning. And I'm number three, I am not trying to do everything. I'm not turning a trip into a checklist. I'm not coming home exhausted, like I just completed a project. Nope. I am traveling to enjoy my life. And if something doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. Because peace of mind is officially part of the itinerary. So that's it for this week. And I'm going to continue telling you how I'm going to do that. All right. We've talked about packing, we've talked about airports, we've talked about all that. Hotel tricks that change everything. Hotels can either make or break your trip. Okay? And we pick hotels for many different reasons. Unpack a little. If you're going to be there a couple days, unpack a little. I cannot unpack a lot just because that's how I travel. I travel with packing cubes. I prefer to keep my things in my packing cubes. Craig hangs up everything. Whatever works for you, do it. You're not living out of a suitcase like a fugitive. And so I don't live out of my suitcase. I pop my packing cubes in the dresser. Okay? Simple. If it's one night, do not do that. I do not do that. But for any two nights or more, I do. Another great thing about a hotel is create a drop zone. Pick one spot in the room for keys, glasses, phone, purse. Usually it's the little table. Because otherwise you're tearing the room up every morning, every freaking morning. If you have the option to get the hotel key on your phone, on the app, do it. Make sure, this is another hack. Make sure you download an app for every hotel that you're going to be in, for every airline you're going to be on, for your rental car. You should have the app for everything because the app always makes things better. I have been trying to get this through Craig's head. I have all the apps. I'm the one that does everything. I wish he would too. You can put the key to your room on the app. Click, you push a button, it unlocks your door. You don't even have to have those dang keys. Okay, so remember create that drop zone. Make things comfortable. Pack your slippers. For God's sakes, pack your slippers or a light robe. I like to have slippers in my hotel with me. I don't like to walk on their floors and stuff. Sometimes I do because I forget these things, but slippers, slippers, slippers. Adjust the lighting, adjust the temperature, adjust the pillows. Little things make a big difference. This is your space for a few days. Make it feel like it. Honestly, do your best. Do your best. Like figure out what in that room is going to make it comfortable for you and do it. I the one thing I hate, I hate how tight they make the bed. Lynn will tell you, I go around and I rip those sheets out from that tight tuck-in. Just because they tucked it in doesn't mean you have to sleep like that, people. Like you're pinned down. If you don't undo those sheets, what's wrong with you? How could you sleep? You can't point your toes up. How do you do that? So make the room comfortable. If it means bringing a pillowcase from home and putting that over the pillow, do that. A pillowcase does not take up much room. You don't have to give up a whole outfit for a pillowcase, people. Anyways, make things comfortable. All right, here's another quick pause because I want to make sure you know where else you can find me. If you're loving this conversation, I've got two other podcasts you need to check out. Inside Marcy's Mind, where we talk about life hacks, real life situations, and all things that I'm thinking about that week. We're all trying to figure out, but nobody else is saying out loud. One of this week on Inside Marcy's Mind, I am doing a quick tutorial on the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Totally in a fun way, not a classroom way. Please listen. Do you know the difference between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence? Do you remember what you learned in school? I'm going to make it fun. We're going to talk about it. And then there's unbottled, which is all about sobriety, real talk, and what it actually looks like to change your life. If you're sober, listen. If you're not sober, listen. And if you think you need to be sober, listen. It's a great podcast. I'm really proud of it. And of course, everything lives over on my website. So you can keep up with all of it in one place. And that's Marcybacchusmedia.com. Marcybacchusmedia.com. And also email me at Marcybackusmedia at gmail.com. All right, that's it. My commercial's over. Let's move on. To making traveling enjoyable. The number one thing you need to think about is safety and comfort. Trust your gut. If something feels off, it probably is. You don't need to be polite at the expense of your own safety. If you get on an elevator and it feels uncomfortable, get off. If you're walking down the street and it feels uncomfortable, turn around and walk right into it and walk past it. Move, duck into a store. I now have one of those personal alarms that clips onto my um crossbody. I'm not afraid to use it. Are you afraid you're gonna hurt somebody's feelings? Who cares? You don't know them. I have always been a proponent. Trust your gut. Okay, don't over-schedule. Okay. Don't leave space. Leave space in your schedule because there's gonna be that random cafe, that unexpected walk, the conversation you have with someone. You miss those when you book every minute of the day. Okay. Rest is a real part of the trip. Now, Craig does not believe that. So we have, after years, Craig and I travel really well together. Craig has no problem going to a museum alone, walking a city alone, going out and and doing things. It's come in handy because honestly, on the last two trips, I've gotten sick. I got sick on a river cruise. When we landed in Amsterdam, I needed to spend time in bed, and Craig went out and did things, and I have no problem with that. I got up and did things when I could, and when I couldn't, I went back to the room and he continued doing things. He's great at that. Um, and in Ireland, I left here sick with a cold. And when we got there after days of traveling, I needed to lay down and rest and recoup and get my act together. And he went out and did his own thing. So make sure you leave time. Rest is important. Build in rest. And if your um traveling partner doesn't want to rest, by all means, let them go out and do their thing. You can't have a grudge, though, I'll tell you that much. And I never do. When Craig goes out and does his thing, I am grateful because I know I don't have the same stamina. Travel should no longer be about doing the most, proving something, checking boxes. It should be strictly about enjoying yourself, being comfortable, actually experiencing where you are. It's about enjoying yourself, being comfortable, actually experiencing where you are. And honestly, it makes it so much better. Okay, I have had three phone calls during this podcast. I am doing my best to cut it together well. I hope it has worked out. If I've repeated something, I'm sorry, but I'm doing my best here. There's people that I need to talk to. Anyways, in closing, I just want to say so if travel has started to feel harder than it should, maybe it's not traveling. Maybe it's how we've been doing it. Simplify it, lighten it, and enjoy it because around here we're not aging quietly, we're aging intentionally. I want to thank you as always for spending this time with me. If this episode made you laugh, rethink how you travel or finally decide to stop overpacking, which I I'm working on you guys. Make sure you follow, share it with a friend, and come back next week because we've got a lot more life to live, and we're not going to do it. And I can't even get this right. And we're going to do it our way. I'll see you next time. Have a great week. Be positive. Go out and enjoy the world.