Resources for working & traveling on an extended roadtrip

As I am getting ready to embark on an “extended roadtrip” of sorts, one of the biggest components of making it all happen is research.

Jon and I have been spending countless hours of the internet compiling information we might need on the open road.

In my experience, traveling usually requires two things above anything else: an open mind and resourcefulness.

If you are resourceful, chances are you are able to find solutions to almost any imminent problem using the tools you have at hand. If you are lost, you look around and collect clues to help you be found. You are a likely survivor. Also, an open mind is probably the best thing you can have while traveling.

While reading John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley In Search of America, who coincidentally travels America in a 3/4 ton truck and camper trailer, makes a powerful statement that rings true for all adventurers:

“A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip, a trip takes us. Tour masters, schedules, reservations, brass-bound and inevitable, dash themselves to wreckage on the personality of the trip. Only when this is recognized can the blown-in-the-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”

This journey definitely has a personality all its own: I’ve never traveled with a boyfriend before. I usually do all my traveling solo. This poses unique challenges and opportunities such as, “Where do WE want to go?” and “Do you they offer employee housing for the BOTH of us?” But biggest of all, “How are WE going to make money?”

In any case, we’ve been hitting different resources to prepare ourselves for what’s out there, even though both of us are completely willing to live at the edge of our seat and go with the flow.

Here are a few resources we’ve been using that we hope will come in handy. The rest will be up to the trip to decide.

1. A good old-fashioned atlas

2. Roadtrippers.com

This app allows you, through Google Maps, to explore different breweries, campsites, kitschy All-America spots and more through a series of filters. It’s very comprehensive and we will definitely be using it!

3.  Harvest Hosts

This is similar to HelpX or Workaway, but is great for RVers. You have to join for a small fee ($40 for 12 months), but once you do, you can access a list of prospective “Hosts” like winemakers, farmers, museums and other attractions that allow you to stay on their property for 24 hours for no cost. The “catch” is hardly one at all: You get to learn all about the property owner’s business by taking a tour or enjoying a nice meal with them. It sounds like a great way to meet people on the road and crash out somewhere other than a Wal-Mart parking lot for free!

4. CoolWorks.com

Their motto is “jobs in great places,” and it’s very true. You can browse this FREE resource for jobs by state, season or national park. They have a Help Wanted Now tab in case you’re hard up for cash and on the road at that very moment. You can work at Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon or a series of amazing fisheries, wildlife sanctuaries, white water rafting places or resorts for a season.

5. Backdoorjobs.com

Perfect for the traveler with a short attention span like myself, this is a website similar to Coolworks in that you can access a list of short-term adventure jobs. There are plenty of environmental sustainability projects to choose from, campgrounds you can counsel at and an array of volunteer and paid positions to peruse.

 

Now you can’t say that your dream job isn’t out there waiting for you!

In any case, I’m sure there will be more resources out there waiting for us as the time for our trip is upon us. I just have to keep an open mind and hopefully the resources will keep flooding in.

Photo of the day: Sunset, Rooftop of my apartment, Chicago

From the roof, looking west

Finding the perfect vessel

It’s official: I have itchy feet.

The only thing that makes my feet even itchier is being in a relationship with a guy who loves to travel too. At the drop of a hat, we can see ourselves anywhere at anytime. We both are aware of our freedom and the excitement associated with the open road.

Jon and I are both living in Chicago in our studio apartment. It’s a nice neighborhood and we both have good jobs. We go out to eat, get dressed up and relax just like any other normal people do.

But after a few months of hibernation after Hawaii, we both put on a few extra pounds and missed our Vitamin D. I have become increasingly burned out with work, as well as him. There’s nothing quite as exhausting as working as a server in the restaurant industry 5-6 days a week, 8 hours a day. Dealing with people in general is exhausting. Most days, we like to come home from work and just zone out.

I know this is not my personality. I typically enjoy talking to and meeting new people. But when people start talking AT you, it becomes tiring, mentally and physically.

In any case, Jon thought of an idea which I think is a good one and we’re going to try it out together. The traveling couple.

Since both of us work jobs in the hospitality industry, our schedules are pretty flexible. The industry is almost always looking for help considering the transient nature of the business. Both Jon and I have wandering attention spans and get burned out quickly. Plus, we very much enjoy leisure time.

Since our time together, we average about 3 months of work and 1 month off. This gives us enough time to save money for our next “jaunt.” I enjoy the change of scenery, and most of all, I enjoy that sweet month off.

We decided that instead of getting ourselves into a lease, furnishing a place and making a life every where we land, to instead be turtles and live with our house on our back.

For that reason, we spent weeks searching for the perfect vessel.

The romantic idea in which we put into fruition is that we would like to travel and be free agents. We want to be able to go wherever, whenever, within reason.

Both of us have never seen many parts of the United States, Canada or Mexico. So we decided on an extended road trip. This trip will be comprised of work and play. It’s going to start off with camping around various places in the United States for a few weeks, possibly a month. We are going to blow off some steam, camp, fish, hike, and reconnect.

From there, with the help of websites like www.CoolWorks.com and www.WorkingCouples.com, we plan to find seasonal work, preferably jobs that offer employee housing (many of them do), as our perfect vessel can be lived in, but is a bit tight for full-time usage. If we had to, we could, as it’s fully functional.

About our setup

The per-requisites for our vessel became clearer as our dream unfolded. This was our wishlist:

Something small

Has to be relatively stealthy (We want to off road and “boondock” meaning going off the grid for a week at a time)

Good on gas mileage (HUGE!)

Must be attached to or BE and everyday vehicle (We were looking for a Vanagon, but those are very hard to find in the Midwest!)

Affordable (Under 10K)

Relatively new with good resale value

Must have cooking space, shower and toilet,self-sustainable

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As we looked, we discovered the RV world. We looked at and test drove Class A, Class B and Class C motor homes. We popped our heads in pop-ups and considered just roughing it in the back of a van with camping gear. Until we found what we were looking for.

We stopped by the Airstream dealer one afternoon on a whim, as a previous lead that day didn’t pan out. Then we saw it:

Our 2006 Northstar 850 SC Truck Camper!

This camper is perfect for many reasons. It was within budget, a relatively decent year (2006), had one previous owner who took immaculate care of it and had every basic amenity we needed. PLUS, it looks stealthy enough on the back of a truck, is completely self-sustaining and would allow us to live in it for weeks, maybe even months at a time. Not only that, but if we ever wanted to, we can leave the camper behind and take our “every day” vehicle, the truck, out for a spin when need be.

Here is an overall view of the layout:

Kitchen, toilet/shower combo, dining area, bed. What else do you need?

The inside of spacious enough. When it’s traveling, you fold it down, but when it’s time to get in and live a little, you crank up the ceiling, or pop it up, for extra head space. The unit also has an outdoor awning so we could set up a barbeque and some chairs for a nice evening under the stars.

I tried to capture a few photos, not all of them great. I’ll be updating more with time, but here are some preliminary ones:

From the outside looking in. Notice the awesome USA stickers. I want to fill that thing OUT!

Jon checking out the storage under the bed

The toilet/shower combo.

Hello, new lifestyle

In any case, there are many new things to learn with this new lifestyle. Jon and I are studying up about waste removal, water tank capacity, electricity and power. It’s definitely going to be a learning curve, but a very fun one, I think!

We purchased a Ford F250 3/4 ton truck with 4 wheel drive and an off road package. The vehicle is used, a 2004, with about 150,000 miles on it. It has a 6.5 foot bed and extended cab for extra storage space (hello charcoal grill!) Pictures of that and the complete, put together vehicle soon to come.

I am excited for this journey on the open road. The only plan now is to head west. We both love the idea of a week or two of remote camping and hiking in Colorado (and places along the way) before trying to find some work. Oh yeah, and hot springs. We both want to find some hot springs. Shouldn’t be too bad, right?

Good times ahead, me thinks

Notes on nostalgia and loss

I am in a radically different place than I was a year ago.

A year ago I was living in a tent in the rainforest under an avocado tree in Hawaii. I was hitch hiking barefoot with strangers. I was having the time of my life.

My heart BURNS with nostalgia for those times. That crazy jungle. Those crazy fools I shared my experiences with. As I sit here and blog from my studio in Chicago, I am fiery with red, hot desire.

I want nothing more to be sitting with my crazy friends, drinking wine, or maybe a kava smoothie, passing the herb and listening to Beats Antique. Someone is probably cooking an amazing curry and conversations about traveling the world abound. Wild pigs scurry about in the night, cats lurk, and night blooming Jasmine floats in the air.

Hawaii, the amazing place where cats eat coconuts

I’m intoxicated with memories of this place. It cripples me sometimes how much I want to relive these moments, some of my very truest glory days. One day I’m harvesting a sacred root plant, the next day I’m swimming in a natural hot pond, and that night I’m dancing under the stars and moon at a Full Moon Party. I could die and go to Heaven, and all the people I met on the road would be there in one room.

We would laugh about the time I posed nude for my artist friend, or lament simultaneously about our collective mosquito bites. We’d sing that one verse of that one song we loved so much. We’d imitate each other, tell each other secrets, speak in foreign tongues. We would share recipes, read aloud, perform, write poetry, bathe in the mud. Whatever it is we decide to do, it will be fun and soul-enriching.

We would forage for wild orchids in the rainbow eucalyptus forest

How do I let these memories “go”? Does anyone else suffer from missing the road and the crazy shenanigans as much as I do?

I try to connect with my friends on Facebook but it’s not the same. I can’t give my friend Adrianna a haircut with kids scissors on the beach via the internet. Something’s lost there. Everything’s lost there.

In my dreams I am in the waves again. I’m having those endless conversations with my travel soul mates about the infinite future. The sky is the limit. We swim with dolphins and return to shore.

I wake up in my studio in Chicago. Sometimes it’s painful to relive even your fondest memories.

How do I cope with saying goodbye? How do I put these memories that somehow still feel very alive into a sealed box and shove it to the back of my mind? I want to taste that curry. I want to hoola-hoop. I want to swing in the hammock while people shuck coconuts, smoke weed and laugh maniacally at nothing.

Dancers in the night

I miss these things. I tend to over romanticize moments of my life, usually when it comes to relationships. Travel memories are forever burned into my brain in a different way though.

I know there were difficult times in the jungle. There were scary nights when I felt so alone, so isolated, afraid. I was left to lie there and overcome my fears of being somewhere so far away, completely by myself (albeit amongst friends), strange sounds in the night, volcanic energy haunting my dreams. There were sick days, days of jungle fever, drama, confusion, fighting. But somehow all of this is lost when I reminisce.

I can only recall soul music and Sunday brunches under the papaya trees. Lazy morning, yoga stretches, endless dance parties and great beer. I think about the jokes, how hard I truly laughed, the kind souls I met every day.

I realize how painful it is to sometimes recount good memories. I do this when I suffer through a breakup. It’s like mental torture.

Though, I must say I have learned to incorporate my past experiences into the present so they don’t feel so far away.

I cook those recipes. I dance to the music. I practice my yoga. I talk about Hawaii fondly, but some days I feel like Rose in Titanic. My heart’s a deep ocean of secrets. Many of my best experiences cannot even be recounted in words. They are too precious, too private and too uniquely “mine.”

To say that I’m suffering through loss is wrong. What I’m really doing is suffering through gain. I am growing from one place to the other, and sometimes that is painful.

If I learned anything from living in a hostel with my friends constantly coming and going, it was learning the practice of loving non-attachment. I am confident that I can love those moments for what they were, look back on the fondly, and release them. I know I will catch up to them again if I need a friendly place to return to, maybe a warm bowl of curry and an hours-long conversation over a bottle of wine. That place was and still is. That is my comfort.

I am still here

Life as a journey

Sometimes I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that not everything can be figured out in one day.

I “suffer” from wanderlust, the insatiable craving for new experiences, places and people. I relish in the unfamiliar, the awkward, unknown, the ugly. I yearn for experiences that scare me so I can prove that I can overcome one of life’s most debilitating emotions: fear. My heart is open, my mind is open, and I’m ready.

I sometimes ignore my travel blog because I don’t know what to say. My “About Me” section changes every few months because at the bat of an eyelash, I’ve found home somewhere new and exotic. A few months, or even weeks later, it changes.

How can I explain myself? Where is home? What does home mean?

What home looked like two months ago in Maui, Hawaii

Home is inside my heart. I’ve realized that no matter where I go and where I end up, that my life is my home. My journey is my destination. How could I be afraid to write about that? It’s the most honest and real thing, the most driving and ever-present force in my life.

It’s tough to explain the ethereal experiences you have while traveling. I think similar experiences can be achieved through doing similar activities that you love, like cooking, writing a book, opening a small business or following your dreams in any sense. Suddenly life opens doors to you that before never existed. You see and witness the beauty of following your heart’s path. These experiences are beautiful, but often overwhelming and tough: they challenge you to question everything you’ve ever been raised to think or do.

View of home now…Chicago

I grew up going on family vacations but was never told or raised to live a life on the road, doing the strange and wonderful things I’ve done. In jumping into the abyss, my eyes bugged out of my head in disbelief at the beauty of the unknown. The first time I feasted my eyes on the rainforest in Hawaii, it was if I died and went to Heaven. I floated around for months on a cloud of happiness and uncertainty.

How could this place be real? I wondered. All I ever knew was the cold, Midwestern winter. Suddenly I’m picking fruit barefoot and surfing in March.

Travel makes you question everything.

It made me prioritize my life. That sounds simple and like a “duh” moment, but it’s surprising how many people don’t really live their own lives, but rather, one prescribed to them. I discovered what’s most important to me: It’s being true to my tastes. I enjoy good food, good drink and travel. These are my life’s expenses and the things that bring me the most joy overall. Even though travel sometimes puts me in difficult situations, the difficulty never outweighs the fact that travel helps me to discover things that I like. Moreover, difficult experiences are often the truest test of your vulnerability and your strength and give you a firm sense of what you do NOT like and won’t put up with.

Not all days are Mai Tais and rainbows

Part of opening your heart and exploring the world, discovering new ways of life is accepting and finding comfort in the unknown. By far, the unknown is the root of anxiety and fear.

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

This quote from Lao Tzu has never rang truer. In trying to “figure out my life,” I’ve noticed a more hands-off approach is best. Things tend to play out as they do anyway. Life’s journey continues forward whether I worry about it or not.

It’s time to stop being my own worst enemy, do myself a favor and enjoy the peace of the present. It hasn’t let me down in the past and I’m confident it won’t in the future.

Guest Post: DIY Mai Tais

You’d be hard pressed to find a more soothing and delicious way to wind down on island time than enjoying a Mai Tai. Tahitian for good, a “Maita’i” will help your fantasies of paradise come true.

Fellow travel enthusiast and Chicago native Kendra Thornton is a guest blogger today offering an easy-to-replicate Mai Tai recipe from her stay in Hawaii. Enjoy!

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During these winter months in Chicago, it is hard to not time of a time when I was relaxing on a beach and soaking up the sun in the warm weather with my husband. Waikiki turned out to be one of my favorite places to travel on my hefty list, and getting the opportunity to stay in a gorgeous luxury hotel in Honolulu was one of the high points of my existence.

I can’t help but reminisce about Hawaii and the beautiful setting there was in Waikiki, aside from the picturesque scenery the people were so pleasant and friendly. Whenever I’m feeling nostalgic for my favorite place, I whip up this tropical beverage to help me recall some of the flavors of paradise.

During my stay, I learned how to make a specialty Halekulani Mai Tai – a twist on the classic cocktail. I still make these for my friends during our tropical themed get-togethers, or simply when I’m in the mood for a weekend tropical treat. Here’s what you need to know to make your own Halekulani cocktail.

Isn’t she a beaut?

Ingredients:

- 1/3 – Ounce Orgeat Syrup
- 1/3 Ounce Orange Curaçao
- 1/3-Ounce Rock Candy Syrup
- 3/4-Ounce Bacardi Gold Rum
- 1/2-Ounce Bacardi 151 Rum
- 1 1/4 Ounce Fresh Lime Juice
- 3/4 Ounce Bacardi Select (float)

Pour the ingredients over the crushed ice and float with ¾ ounce of Bacardi Select Rum. For an extra tropical twist, garnish each glass with a lime wheel, sugar cane stick, mint sprig and Vanda orchid.

Whenever I serve these at my DIY cocktail parties, guests swoon – even those who don’t normally enjoy the subtleties of rum. This is a cocktail for everyone can enjoy because they are a tropical treat from the Islands. I hope you enjoy this just as much as my husband and I do!

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About the author: Former Orbitz Director of Communications and proud mama of 3, Kendra Thornton has visited 28 countries and is a featured expert in family, luxury and adventure travel for FOX News, ABC, CBS, NBC, and CW networks. You can follow her on twitter @KendraThornton.

A view from heaven at Haleakala

I’m on another spontaneous road trip, the only kind worth having by the way, with my sister Bree visiting from Chicago and my boyfriend Jon. He’s a good travel partner because we go wherever the wind blows us. This time we’re heading all the way up to the 10,023 foot volcano summit of Haleakala on Maui.

We’re toward upcountry Maui from the center of town. We’ve already visited a bird sanctuary that was less than spectacular and a huge African tortoise named Freddie at the Maui humane society. Our original plan was to head toward Paia, but one wrong turn starts us on an incredible adventure.

Bree and I sit like dogs, our heads hanging out the window, smelling the woodsy air as the climate cools and outside is so reminiscent of fall, it’s hard to believe an hour ago we were sweating at the beach. I think the most surprising thing about Maui and the Hawaiian islands in general is the diversity of landscapes. You can from sea level to 10,000 odd feet in an hour. People who scuba dive aren’t allowed to do in the same day. You’re head might explore, or something.

Our minds are being blown as Jon drives up the mountain, twisting and turning, going up and up. The drive becomes nerve wracking and surreal:  I can’t believe we’re driving this close to the edge of a mountain with no barriers or guard rails. Another thing to love about Hawaii is that you can do just about anything at your own risk. Want to hike to the lava flow in the middle of the night on Big Island? Go for it. There’s no gates holding you back. Want to scale a cliff? It’s all you. Climb a triple-tiered slippery-as-hell waterfall? If you can hack it, why not?

Going up!

This time Hawaii beckons us up toward Haleakala’s summit, part of a national park. Just when I think we can’t possibly go any further up, since, jeez, we’re already in the clouds, we pull up to the booth to pay the ranger our $10 admission fee.

“Welcome folks. The visitor center is just ahead and it’s about another 40 minutes to the summit up the mountain,” the ranger says nonchalantly.

I’m usually not a nervous traveler. I’ve gone ’round the world solo, but somehow driving on the edge of the world, and on the edge of reason, along this 2 way road full of dangerous, sometimes blind switchbacks, above the clouds is enough to make me sit on my hands and sweat.

What is this place?

Jon takes the opportunity to pretend at each curve that he’s going to go straight off the mountain. I’d hit him except I’m afraid one false move will send us plummeting off the cliff to our imminent deaths.

I envy the cars coming down. No one looks as scared or nervous as I feel. I calm down remembering that the views will be worth it. We see some hiking trails and a few nene (Hawaiian goose) crossing the road.

Soon we are truly above the clouds. We’ve traveled 1/3 of a commercial airline’s cruising altitude…by car. A little short of breath and freezing (since impromptu road trips to different climates rarely means being prepared with hoodies or fleeces), we get out of the car and observe Mars.

The crater

Haleakala hasn’t erupted since 1790 and technically lies dormant. The mountain itself comprises 75 percent of Maui’s total landmass. The past few years there have been earthquakes and there’s rumors that the sleeping “House of the Sun” (Halekala’s translation) may rouse and flow once more.

We traveled there around sunset which was a fantastic view, the clouds painted the beautiful colors of twilight. Sunrise is a very popular time, and some heighten watching the sun rise from behind the clouds to a religious experience.

The descent

Either way, sunrise, sunset, to see some nene, roaming cows, feasting your eyes on a veritable alien landscape, or just to say you survived the drive, Haleakala is one of the must-dos on Maui.