I’m what you’d call “super claustrophobic”, and as a result I really don’t enjoy flying. I love to BE at new locations but I don’t love the process of GETTING there by plane. But in order to enjoy the fun thing, I have to endure the anxiety-producing thing 🤷🏼♀️ I’ve read 1,000 articles on how turbulence is no big deal, and I’m still like “lolol but this is a death tube”.
Basically I just do things scared all the time. There’s your life hack. I’m your life coach now.
Over time I’ve found the things that help trick my brain into thinking I have control over the situation. I wear loose, comfortable clothes. I always get a bottle of water after I get through security to have during take off. I use Stress Away oil which, let’s be honest, I don’t believe in on any other day but on a flight day I’m all “GIVE ME THE OIL”.
I also asked my doctor to prescribe a Valium pill to have on hand in case my nerves get the best of me. I don’t take it typically but it’s there and my brain is like “sweet, you have a backup plan for when I betray you”.
Once in the air, I try not to overthink it. This is not the time to marvel at the fact you and 200 strangers are flying above the clouds in a metal tube. That’s a sure first step to “going full fetal position” for the anxious minded of us.
I’ve never really thought much about visiting Hawaii before- probably because it’s one of those places that seems unattainable from the time you’re a kid. But, my good friend moved there almost a year ago so it obviously got added to my list.
As soon as I realized Hawaii was in the plan, I started looking at my airline point situation and realized I had enough to fly there on American. I also realized I had enough to fly First Class one way. I went back and forth because if I didn’t go First Class, I could save those points for a whole other flight, but curiosity got the best of me. So I booked my tickets there First Class and my flights back in coach.
It was a lovely experience- there was space, free drinks, warm meals, cookies and hot fudge sundaes. But honestly, I walked away thinking “why can’t we all just get that treatment on flights”. Money and status are dumb- that’s why. But, I enjoyed my moment up there, and ate and drank all the free things. This also saved me from spending money eating in the airport for lunch or dinner since I flew over those meals.
With the free flights and the free lodging I was left to just paying for food and activities. We ate our breakfasts at the house, and packed our lunch most days, grilled out some nights and went out other nights. Hawaii is expensive, and these things are what made it attainable and allowed me not to feel guilty. I’m so glad I got to go see where my friends live now, and I hope to go back next year.
Here are some of my favorite things we did:
Hanauma Bay Snorkeling here was really great for someone like me who isn’t a great swimmer. The water was shallow enough and calm enough that I felt comfortable, and the fish were easy to find. We even got to see a Monk Seal that found its way on land to lay in the sun that afternoon. We brought our snorkeling gear with us, but I assume there is some you can rent there!
Dolphin Star Tour This was one of my true favorites. I wish we could have stayed out longer to watch the dolphins jumping and swimming in the most beautiful water I’ve seen. The staff on the boat were really knowledgeable and friendly, and if you don’t happen to see dolphins when you go out, you get to go out another day.
Waimea Falls A lot of things were filmed in this area, but LOST was the only one I remembered because I love me some LOST. This hike was pretty easy, with paved roads and so much beauty along the way. You can pay a little bit to take a tram up as well if you need to! Once you get to the waterfall, there are life vests and a life guard and you can swim in it if you choose to.
KokoHead Trail Ok, putting this on my favorites list feels like a lie, because I think I hated … every second of it except the part where we sat down at the top of the mountain for a few minutes. It was 94 degrees. I was jet-lagged. I haven’t exercised since…I wanna say….2015? I tried to quit multiple times but my friends were like “nope”, but it REALLY was worth it to see the view. However, I never need to do it again, thank you very much.
Hawaii is beautiful in a way that I really can’t convey, but if you get the chance to visit, definitely go. In the past year I’ve seen round trip tickets to Honolulu for as lost as $350, so definitely keep checking Google Flights, and travel sites for cheap tickets.
My friend Elizabeth and I have been saying for years we wanted to take the Coast Starlight train from California up to Portland, and finally decided to make it happen this year over July 4th. We flew to San Francisco and spent a day site seeing there, got on the train that evening, and 17 hours later we were in Portland.
San Francisco When we boarded our 5 hour flight to SF, I knew it would be an interesting one when the stranger that sat down beside me informed me that she is currently “going through the process” of getting over her lifelong fear of flying, and this was going to be the longest flight she’d taken yet. As someone who also hates flying, I felt for her, and I was real glad she did the thing and all was well. The flight attendant gave me some American Airlines wings at the end for being helpful (I wasn’t that helpful) with the panicky passenger, and the wings really just made me giggle.
We had such a short time in SF that we decided to take the hop on hop off bus in order to see a lot of things, without ubering or walking around a lot. This plan worked great, as we also got to see the Golden Gate Bridge and ride over it in the open air bus. Highly recommend! After our site seeing we headed over to Emeryville where our train would pick us up. After a few delays, we boarded the train at about 11:30pm.
The Train I’d done a lot of research on this particular train, but when we got to our room and I saw HOW SMALL it was the claustrophobic in me had a little internal panic. I fought it but DANG those rooms are small. They attendant had already set up our beds for us, and I had the top bunk. I recommend the claustrophobic in your group take the lower bunk. For sure. Even so, the beds were comfortable, and I slept great once I fell asleep (headphones were very helpful in drowning out some of the noise).
The next morning we got up and had a nice breakfast, which was included in the cost. Then we spent a couple of hours in the observation train (so cool) just checking out the scenery until lunch. When we came back from lunch (also included) they had put our beds up, so we could now sit in the seats that are in the roomette. This was a great place to watch the views for the last couple of hours of the trip.
I didn’t check out the showers, so I can’t speak to those, but they do have them! I definitely recommend traveling this way if you get the chance. I would definitely take a sleeper car train again. They do state that they have wifi, but they didn’t.
The nice thing about this particular trip was I was able to use the voucher I’d gotten on a previous trip, making my flight free. I had Capital One rewards that I used to reimburse myself for the cost of the train, Elizabeth and I split the cost of one hotel and she had some points we were able to use on another. This made the trip fairly cheap, especially since the meals on the train are included.
Portland Our AirBnB was cancelled a week before our trip, so we ended up staying at the Portlander Inn since we couldn’t find any other places on our budget on that short of notice. It ended up being great. They held our bags for us while we did site seeing, then the shuttle took us to the airport. They also have free breakfast!
With our one day in the area, we decided to take the Columbia Gorge Express so that we could see Multnomah Falls. I’m so glad we did. Not only was it incredibly beautiful- I could have sat there for hours staring at it. The bus cost $7.50 round trip, which is awesome. There’s a restaurant by the waterfall where I ate the best chicken sandwich, friends, and ranch of my life. I still think about that meal once a day.
I highly recommend the Coast Starlight if you ever get the chance.
One of my favorite cities to visit is New York City. There are always fun things to do, and once you get yourself to the city it’s pretty easy to get around. I spent a couple of days this weekend in New Jersey visiting old friends. We had a great time, and I decided to spend an afternoon/evening in NYC before heading out. I took a $16 train ride from Hamilton to Penn Station, and it was great. The train was clean, and on time and it didn’t get crowded until near the very end of the trip.
Once in the city I could easily walk to my hotel, where I dropped my bags off before heading to see Burn This on Broadway. I used a Groupon to stay at the Row Hotel near Times Square, and had hotel rewards points that I was able to use to cancel out the cost, so the hotel was free. I also had rewards points to cancel out the cost of the ticket to Burn this, which means I only had to pay for food and any transportation once there.
That evening I went to the Assscat 3000 show at Upright Citizens Brigade, which is always enjoyable. I love good improv! The Tony’s were happening the same night, and I started to head toward Radio City Music Hall to stalk famous people, but I’m 100 years old and found myself back at my hotel, in bed, watching the show instead.
The hotel was comfortable, and in a great location. The staff was accommodating, and the room was a decent size for being in the city! It had a bedroom as well as a living room with a pull out sofa.
As for my all time favorite things to do in NYC, I’d say any sort of Broadway play (this year my favorite has been Waitress) or going to Saturday Night Live when it’s on. My friends and I have camped out multiple times for free tickets and found it worth it each time! Plus, when you camp out for tickets, you don’t have to pay for a hotel, so that’s a win in a city like New York.
