Well, I did it!
After 8 days, 4 airplanes, 3 countries, four mini-roadtrips and two timezones – all with a TODDLER – Luna Azul and I have almost reached our final destination for the next few months. The trip through Northern Baja and Southern California was amazing and really surprisingly easy.
We didn’t get sick, we didn’t have any meltdowns (either one of us, haha), and I felt stress-free the entire journey. No small feat given there were mornings I was up at 5am to finish my work before Luna woke up as naps were happening at weird times sometimes and I couldn’t count on them for work time, and I even attended an elite mastermind in LA (more on that soon).
So what helped make this trip flow? What allowed me to not only survive, but thrive, without a single “I need a drink” moment?
Here are some tips that can be applied to any vacation or trip, whether traveling with a child or not.
1) Set your intentions! If you know anything about me, you know I’m all about intentions. Well, I set the intention that this voyage was going to be SMOOTH and STRESS-FREE. And it was. Even through a day spent in the airport-limbo land due to delayed flights, even during an overland border crossing between Mexico and the USA, it flowed. Mindset is a powerful thing. If I had spent the weeks leading up to this trip thinking about how stressful it was going to be, you can bet it probably would have turned out stressful!
2) I brought my toolkit. Sleepy time teas, detox teas, green powders for smoothies, essential oils for grounding, sleeping and relaxation… I was prepared. Being able to do at least a portion of my morning and evening rituals helped keep me grounded AND feeling healthy while eating on the road. Also, having my teas and oils to help me unwind at the end of the day made me way less likely to crave a glass of wind to unwind.
3) Sleep! I tend to get quite overstimulated, especially when I’m traveling. I was visiting many friends along the way and part of me longed to stay up late chatting into the wee hours of the morning. Yes I knew that everything would feel a lot harder and be less enjoyable during the day time if I was under-slept. The oils and teas were particularly helpful in this department as well.
4) Embrace flexibility / pace yourself! I was able to “go with the flow” more easily using a flexible approach rather than a rigid one. I also resisted the urge to try to do too many things, as as such, was able to fully be present and enjoy each moment.
5) Be open to receive! Whether it was asking a stranger in the airport to help putting the stroller through the x-ray or a backpack in the overhead bin, or asking friends for childcare support so that I could get my hair done or do a client call – I opened myself to receiving support. And it came in more ways that I could have ever imagined! Free upgrades, fees waved, people going the extra mile (quite literally driving out of their way) etc. (ps, let me know if you’d like to hear more about the expansion work I’ve been doing to expand my capacity to receive).
6) Be honest. This is a bit easier for me given my blog, book and focus of my work ie all public declarations of my intentions and “Drink Less Be More” lifestyle. But I was talking about this with a client today and she mentioned how on her recent vacation, she decided to be honest about her intentions to cut back on alcohol. The people in her life were supportive of her desire and she found it so much easier to stick to her intentions after becoming more open. I had friends stock their fridges with kombucha, double check where I wanted to eat/drink to make sure it felt comfortable for me, and have plenty of healthy alternatives on hand.
7) Indulge with intention. I ate some delicious treats, drink chocolate and rose infused coffee, ate a homemade banana split, and sampled a glass of local wine one afternoon while in Baja, and two glasses of California sparkling wine during a special dinner out… and it felt good and the perfect amount. Everything was a treat, all was celebratory, and nothing was driven by stress or wanting to stuff or numb out. And of course, feeling good about my choices led to peace of mind, made it easier to sleep at ease, had me waking up feeling refreshed and energized, and ready for a new day (or city, state or country as was the case on this trip!)
What are your favourite tips for traveling? Do you set intentions before you leave? I’ve been working with quite a few on my clients on special agreements and intention-setting for vacations.. Let me know if you have any questions about this or any other the tips I’ve addressed above!
Now that I’ve arrived to Canada, I’m so excited to get back into a routine. If you’ve emailed me this past week and I haven’t responded, fear not! My inbox situation will be addressed asap.
I am also so excited to get soak in all of the amazing beauty and fill up on delicious, homegrown food.
I had a few people email and mention that the pricing was unclear in my last email about the retreats. The price you see is the TOTAL price, INCLUDING accommodation and everything listed. The only thing not included is transportation to Powell River, BC. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to email!
Cheers to the weekend, vacations and solid intentions 🙂
xoxo
I’ve included a poem that my mom sent me. May it be inspiration to you – even if only to get out of town for the weekend, or plan a retreat on Savary Island this September 😉
For the Traveler
Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.
New strangers on other paths await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.
When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Your more subtle eye watching
You abroad; and how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home:
How you unexpectedly attune
To the timbre in some voice,
Opening in conversation
You want to take in
To where your longing
Has pressed hard enough
Inward, on some unsaid dark,
To create a crystal of insight
You could not have known
You needed
To illuminate
Your way.
When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.
A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.
May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.
~ John O’Donohue ~