My Travel Rituals

Hi guys!!! I’m coming at you from the airport on my way to Los Angeles. It’s kind of crazy but I’ll be in LA for 2 weeks. The past few times I’ve been to visit my best friend my trips have felt like a total whirlwind. Since I’m not paying for a hotel I thought might as well stay for 2 weeks since my job is easy to take on the road. I feel like a 25 year old on Spring Break right now hanging out at the airport.

So far my only concrete plan is a trip to Disneyland and I’ve been researching LA fitness studios like crazy. I will of course report back on all the cool classes I check out.

I’ll be posting trip updates on instagram (*note I changed my handle to @kaylakleinman) and snapchat (username kayla_ruth).

This vacation was also planned as my post GMAT celebration. I’m happy to say I’m done with the GMAT, which makes this trip feel like an even bigger sigh of relief. I can seriously relax and enjoy it… not to mention catch up on some much needed sleep.

I know this isn’t the case for many people, but I don’t mind the whole airport and flying experience. I thought it would be fun to share my travel rituals since I tend to follow a routine whenever I arrive at the airport.

Make a morning to-do list. More often than not I’m leaving my apartment at the crack of dawn for a flight, so my brain isn’t properly functioning quite yet. I make a to-do list of all the last minute things I’ll need but can’t pack until the last minute– make-up, medications, tooth brush, those kinds of things that I still need to use in the morning. So much easier than trying to remember everything at 5:00AM.

Figure out the caffeine situation. I have a slight caffeine addiction and get a gross headache if I wait to long to have a little bit of caffeine in my system. I also am a total Starbucks devotee since I love their chai. I’ve learned the hard way that LaGuardia airport does not have a Starbucks, nor anywhere else that sells some sort of caffeinated beverage with a dairy-free option (lactose intolerance means high maintenance in the milk department). I know I have to plan accordingly if I’m going to LaGuardia… but at JFK I can relax and get chai on the other side.

Drink a ton of water before. I drink a ton of water on a daily basis to begin with, but I’m especially aware of my hydration when I travel. I always have a water bottle with me in the taxi, and then its the first thing I purchase after I get through security. Water fountains kind of skeeve me out, but obviously bringing your own refillable water bottle is a great option.

Gather reading material. I tend to read a lot on flights to California. 6+ hours is a long time to amuse myself and I get bored easily watching movies and TV shows. I rarely buy magazines but love getting the latest Cosmo and Self to read on the airplane. I also tend to travel with at least 2 books on my carry on, one fiction, one non-fiction. For this trip since I’ll be gone for 2 weeks I ended up packing 3 books total. What can I say, I love reading.

My mom also cuts out a lot of magazine and newspaper articles for me so I also love bringing them on planes to catch up.

Go to the bathroom 5 times. I hate going to the bathroom on airplanes… but it’s kind of inevitable during a 6+ hour flight. Might as well go to the bathroom right before boarding to avoid the bathroom situation as long as possible.

Grab snacks. Airplane food can be hit miss. I love snacking on nuts but often times can’t eat the meal served. I always make sure to have enough snacks to sustain me just in case I can’t eat anything on the plane.

Alrighty, it’s time to board. See you in Los Angeles 🙂

Question: what are your travel rituals.