Bridges Through Life

5 ways to Keep a Routine while Camping or Traveling

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When traveling or camping for months, you may miss home. Everyday may be different in where you go and what you see. Throughout these past 2 months traveling, I have noticed a few things that help me to make me feel more at home.

5 ways to keep routine camping traveling

  1. Making breakfast in the morning

Usually right when I get up (except in Melbourne when I went to 7am workout classes), I make breakfast. I love the morning and I love breakfast first thing. If you don’t like breakfast first thing, maybe you just make a cup of coffee. As nice as it is to eat breakfast out, I prefer to make my own at “home,” whether it is easy oatmeal, a bowl of cereal or protein pancakes. Even when I do have plans to eat out, I grab a snack before. 

protein pancakes camping

  1. Cleaning up dishes

I know a lot of people don’t like cleaning up after a meal. However, I like everything to be ready for the next meal and prepared for morning. Lately Brian has been cooking the meat for lunch and dinner and I make the salads. Then after we eat, I wash all the dishes and put things away. Maybe I like it because it is in my control, but I also like a neat and tidy kitchen (or campervan kitchen area) to cook in. This is a task that is done at home and on the road and so the task is familiar and makes me feel like I am helping.

  1. Staying Active

I know vacation is the time that you may put workouts on hold, but when traveling for months or camping for a while, it is nice to stay active in some way. Now you don’t necessarily need to do the same workouts as home. Maybe you are camping and going hiking. Maybe your workout is just walking 30,000 steps through a new city to explore. Since I am very active at the gym at home, I have loved finding different yoga studios and pools to get a workout at. I love meeting other yoga teachers and locals in the classes and getting ideas for my own teaching. For the pool, I love swimming and swimming laps is a great way to work my whole body. My workouts may not be as consistent as home, but I do what I can on the road. Brian has also told me my mood is better when I get my workout in.

swimming-sydney

  1. Journaling

When traveling, I always find my way back to journaling more consistently. I started journaling a lot while we were camping in New Zealand, partially as a way to keep track of where we went each day so I would know where my photos were taken. As I started to write down our daily travel activities though, I realized it was a perfect way to wind down the evening before bed and reflect on the day. I am more of an evening journal person, but you may prefer to start your day with morning reflection. I always notice that when I journal and get my thoughts out, it is easier for me to fall asleep at night. Also journaling by hand means my writing is improving again. It is nice to get away from technology every now and then.

  1. Rest time

A vacation may be your relaxing time, but sometimes you plan so much, you realize you forgot to rest. While I love the go go go lifestyle, I also know that I need some down time. I usually factor in a day each week at home and while on the road, finding the time for down time can be harder, but we have found it necessary to have an afternoon, an evening or a day to just relax. Plus you need to do laundry sometime when on the road for a while.

What are some of the things you do to keep a routine while traveling?

Confessions of a Traveler #1 TOL#65

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I’m calling myself a “traveler” after 5 weeks of traveling, I hope that counts. Anyway I had a few random thoughts.

south island new zealand blue pools

  1. Confession, I don’t have much of a yoga routine. OK I didn’t at home either but I was teaching the last year and that kept me more on my toes. When in the campervan, we were in a different place everyday, didn’t even know how long we would be driving as we planned it as we went. Then it was a bit chilly and rainy every other day so the ground was wet or it was gravel, which is really uncomfortable to practice on by the way. I have felt the difference and know I need to get back to doing a bit of yoga here and there so trying to do what I can.
  2. I probably could have packed half the amount of underwear I brought, though the longest we went without doing laundry was 10 days and it was handy to have many pairs.
  3. After washing my hair with only conditioner for almost a week, my hair was less frizzy, more curly and a bit more oily feeling. I was happy when I finally got to use shampoo at our Airbnb place Saturday.
  4. To add on to the last point, it’s not like shampoo has been totally unavailable. We have been to stores, I just don’t feel like spending the money and conditioner is more important to me because my hair tangles…
  5. Not having a routine is hard, but I keep up with my routine to make breakfast in the morning right away and then washing the dishes and cooking dinner.
  6. When I had fast internet when we first stopped in Christchurch 2 weeks ago, I started the show One Day at a Time on Netflix and love it. I was able to watch 4 more episodes yesterday and enjoyed some down time/internet time.
  7. I got a new camera for my trip and it is fun to have something to learn since I am not working at the moment, so I am learning about the manual settings on the camera and having fun playing with the settings and taking the same photos multiple times.
  8. I’m currently sitting in the airport as I write this, on my way to Melbourne. I am thinking I should do some stretching or yoga before our flight since I have a nice surface (see #1). (edited to add: time flew by and I still didn’t stretch…oops)

agrodome farm rotorua new zealand

Thank Amanda for the link up.

I might continue this as a series throughout the remainder of my trip so I called it #1. Hope you enjoyed the random thoughts. Check out my travel guides of New Zealand from earlier this week as well.

If not now, when? Thinking Out Loud #63

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If not now, when?

“Got a secret

Can you keep it?

Swear this one you’ll save

Better lock it in your pocket

Taking this one to the grave” – The Pierces “Secret”

got-a-secret

OK enough singing, Pretty Little Liars anyone?

I have a little secret you guys. For the last few months I have been planning to leave my job. I have slowly been sorting through my boxes that have barely been opened in the last 2 years when I moved from Chicago. I have been selling, giving away and throwing away items that I no longer need. I used to be very attached to my items whether it be clothes or toys. However after having stuff in boxes in a closet for 2 years and not needing most of it, it became a lot easier to part with. Of course this is a process and little by little I am reducing my amount of things. Another thing is I am not buying unless I really need it. This is why I have mentioned less meal planning and being more creative with pantry and freezer items.

I say all this as I am about to go on one of the most epic trips of my life. In the plan (by “plan” I currently mean in my head as I have yet to officially book anything, I better get on that), is travel around Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, maybe some other parts of Asia and then make our way to Germany, France and London.

I have to say I haven’t set too many expectations for the trip. I simply want to live in the present moment, enjoy the culture, learn and explore this beautiful world we live on. I have been working on being grateful for the little things in life and it truly has changed my perspective.

I can’t think of a better time for this journey. Did you know you can only get an Australian work/holiday visa while you are under 30? Yep now is the time, before settling down and while we are young. This is also why wedding plans have been on hold. We decided we will wait until 2018 as we expect we will need to save up money for a wedding after traveling. At least I do have some price ideas and decoration ideas in my head though, as before I really had no idea.

In case you didn’t know, 5 years ago I studied abroad in Australia. I miss Australia so much! Last time I had no idea of the costs to get around nor did I have the time with studying math there. I can’t wait to see old friends and explore new places and then hop over to New Zealand which I also missed out on last time due to funds and such.

I want to go to Thailand and volunteer at an elephant sanctuary. I know there are plenty to choose from. I would love to experience an overnight stay or a week if I can (though those fill up fast).

I am not expecting this journey to be easy, but it will be worth it. I can’t wait to share my journey with all of you and have stories for my future children.

I grew up pretty sheltered and shy. It wasn’t until college when I finally made that leap to live away from home and then took a trip to Costa Rica to volunteer and then studied abroad in Australia. Those trips showed me I need to get out more and learn and explore nature that surrounds me. I got the travel bug and haven’t stopped. With trips to the Bahamas and Bermuda in the last few years and just plain old road trips through New York state (New York is so much more than just NYC), there is so much to see and I hope as I work hard I can take the time to see more and more.

I know once I settle down somewhere and have kids, travel will be more difficult so I am taking the time now and so happy to have Brian in for the journey too. We are both excited. The “plan” is to be away for 5-6 months unless we find some work that may last longer in Australia and help to fund our way more. Heck our trip may even be shorter of we cant find temp jobs but at least I can say we tried.

My plan for the blog is to share my experiences along the way.

If you have been to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand or Asia, I would love to hear about places to see and remember I am backpacking and on a budget so any tips would be appreciated for that as well. Cant wait to share more!

secrets-out

So secret’s out!! Thanks Amanda for the link up and I hope you guys will join me on my next adventure in life.

 

Warm Weather, Snapchat and more: Thinking Out Loud #61

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Hey there, how are you? I am happy that it is Thursday as that means one more day until the weekend. My week has been long and I am ready to sleep an extra hour (thanks daylight savings) and spend some time with Brian this weekend. 

Joining up with Amanda for some thinking out loud today. 

Thinking-Out-Loud

  1. Tuesday I worked 13 straight hours! Like worked while eating and everything, basically no breaks except for when I was waiting for my report and did a 10 min core workout (perks of working from home).

2. After I finally finished the report, I had dinner and took 2.5 laps around my apartment complex to add 6,000 steps to my sad 1,500 step day. I felt much better after walking and it was surprisingly warm.

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3. I then taught yoga which was much needed to wind down and really dig into our hips to release. I am glad I can leave my day behind me and just focus on the present in yoga. My goal is to give my students what they need.

4. I was glad I worked from home Tuesday since the Septa strike started and apparently it took people 2+ hours to get home. This was my line last night. My line wrapped all the way around to the entrance hall I walk into. Luckily the line moved and I got on the 4:50 train but all the trains home are local now. I was only a little bit later than my usual time getting home though, which was good. Let’s hope it’s not too bad while the strike continues. 

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5. In other news, have you updated your snapchat? Thanks to Katie, I updated my snapchat and can now be Hello Kitty!!

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6. So I am not really a sports fan but being from the Chicago area, I am definitely caught up in the excitement over the Cubs. As I write this, it is before game 7 starts (I plan to be in bed) but wishing them luck. {edited to add: I flipped between watching the cubs and the CMAs last night but was so tired and headed to bed when the cubs were at 5-3. I was excited to wake up and find out that we had WON! Very exciting day for Chicago! I also believe 108 is a lucky number considering its importance in yoga}

 

7. I just realized I haven’t taken a rest day since last Sunday and that Sunday and weekend included a lot of walking with my parents through Philadelphia. Tomorrow I am declaring a full rest day. I want to sleep in (until 6am, better than 4 or 5am) and Brian and I have a couples massage scheduled for after work so I cant wait!

8. That’s all for me today, but if you are into yoga, be sure to come back tomorrow for Yoga Workshop Fridays where I go over one pose each week leading up to a peak pose at the end of the month. You can check out my hashtags #bridgesthroughlife and #yogaworkshopfridays on instagram @Bridgesthroughlife.

 

 

 

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