TRAVEL TIP 2: TRAVEL OFF SEASON Traveling off season can be an excellent way to save money. And if you're smart about, you won't have to compromise much either. Pros:
Cons:
Advice:
The take away: Travel off season. Bundle up if you need to. Save a lot of money. Have a fabulous vacation.
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Every February, I am reminded how annoyed I am about being born right before Valentines Day. No one really wants to clump their birthday in with another holiday, am I right? (Christmas babies, I feel even worse for you.) But then every year, after my birthday turns out amazing and I am feeling so loved, I decide that it's fine and I don't really care about Valentines anyway. So after Jon got me feeling all love-struck on my birthday, I decided to try and make the day extra special for him, despite the fact that he is not a "holiday person" and doesn't care much for Valentines day. But he does care for whales! So I planned a little whale watching cruise, which I had to wake up at 5:00 for, and if that doesn't prove my love, nothing does. Then we had a nice relaxing holiday which involved an Always Sunny marathon and tacos. I'm pretty sure he was not sad about the whale watching. And below, we have the world's happiest couple. Since I'm allergic to flowers, Jon got me some Valentines succulents. Kid in a candy shop, over here. According to the instructions that came with my plant, the succulent is going to have "babies"! So excited, and so don't know what that even means. And seriously, all photos below were taken with my iphone. After succulent shopping, we went to the arboretum where we saw more lovely things. And there you have it. A beautiful nature-filled weekend. Not even a single food picture. Can you believe it?
Over the weekend, I celebrated my 24th birthday! And oh, did Jon make it such an amazing one! I had figured that he would probably be working on my birthday, so when I asked about his work schedule for the week and if he'd have it off, he replied "Of course. I told the hospital I couldn't work that day. I put it in the contract." So sweet, right? I kind of wait all year for my birthday, and Jon handles the pressure really well. The festivities continued all weekend leading up to my birthday. On saturday, we went bike shopping and enjoyed these beautiful views along the way. There was a particular bike I wanted, but I knew it wasn't in the price range and I couldn't find a used one anywhere in Los Angeles. I told Jon that a cheaper bike would be just great and that I would still love it. But as we went from bike shop to snooty bike shop, I just couldn't find anything that worked. And right as I was about to give up, Jon said, "I'm taking us to one more place ok?" And there in the window I saw this beautiful white Linus bike. Just the one I wanted, though I knew it was brand new and would be full price. Jon insisted that I just test ride it anyway, and the minute I did, I was in love. Well, the stars decided to align for my birthday (because they knew I had had a few rough weeks) and turns out, the bike was on sale! Happy birthday to me! Isn't it pretty? We woke up early Sunday morning to go to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I could not believe how huge it was! My new favorite thing is Italian imported pizza dough, because it is the only kind of glutenous pizza I can eat! Cheers to Italy and their lack of GMOs! Also, look at that calzone! I laughed out loud when the server brought it to our table. The next morning, on my birthday day, we rode our bikes to get coffee, where we played a little game of chess until we realized that neither of us could win and we gave up and called it a tie. Then we met up with a friend and went to the beach! We grabbed some yummy vegan food on the way, and they even gave me a birthday cupcake that was gluten free, vegan, soy-free, and potato-free (whaaaat?!). And here's a little blooper reel, because we truly took that many bad photos. Enjoy. It was a wonderful weekend! See you next year, birthday.
I love to travel. My parents instilled in me a love for exploring the world and learning about new cultures. We went all over the US, and to Kenya, Rowanda, England, and Italy. I kind of got to live the highlife if we're being perfectly honest.
But let's face it, I am not really rollin in the big bucks over here to support my wanderlust. I mean, it could be done on an itty bitty budget if I were to hitchhike and train hop and stay in hostels and dumpster dive and all. And while I am definitely not against any of those things (in fact I'd really like to lower my traveling expectations a bit), I am probably just not ready for them yet. In the meantime, I want to travel, but I don't really want to pay for it. So what I'm trying to say here is that it's the best of both worlds that I want, really. I would like my cake, and I would also very much like it eat it. And I don't think I'm alone in this. Following my recent trip to Europe, I received a lot of questions about how we did. So I've decided to do a little series on travel tips for the fellow travel enthusiast on a budget. TRAVEL TIP 1: DREAM BIG My first tip is to dream big. I know this sounds weird, considering that is seems more economical to dream small. However, I think it is important to explore what it is about travel that you love, and realize that you don't have to compromise your aspirations. What are your dream experiences? What places are on your bucket list? Who would you love to meet, and what would you love to eat? I think that being on a budget can tend to make us cut back so much that we don't really end up getting the full experience that we were looking for in the first place. As my husband often explains, "You usually get what you pay for," and if you're hungry for seafood and you compromise on fish sticks, you're probably not going to feel satisfied or happy. Now, while I don't think he is always right on this matter (I will explain why later), I do think that he has a point. If you want to go to Italy, you want to go to Italy! Don't trick yourself into thinking that you would rather go to little Italy because it's cheaper. You wouldn't rather it, and at the end of your trip you'll probably still want to go to Italy. Now that you're dreaming big, I am here to tell you that it can be done without squelching your entire savings fund. (Unless you also quit your job at the same time and your husband quits his job, and both of you don't work for 3 months, then it might squelch your savings fund.) I'll prove it to you in tip number 2! Oh, where to begin... How about with the fire truck that is currently outside my apartment? I can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure it might have something to do with me setting off the fire alarm (a really great way to earn brownie points with your new roomies on your second day in a place). So, in the meantime, I've decided to take a few deep breaths, upload some photos, and try to relax. Here's what we've been up to for the past week! Please excuse the blurriness; these photos came from my phone. First things first, we drove away from this smog fest. It was bittersweet but the hazy skies made it a tad bit easier to say goodbye. And then we were California-bound! Our trip involved some nice spontaneous break-into-song moments, a little cheesy dancing, and a whoooole lotta silence. Jon and I are weird like that. We could probably drive a whole ten hours without even talking or listening to music and be just dandy. In fact, we definitely have. Anyway, we started out our trip with the heater on (and me in my enormous booties) and ended with the windows down and hoodies off. It was the best. We spent our first week in Silverlake while we were waiting to move into our apartment. We ate out more than I would care to admit. Lots of hits, and also lots of misses. (These were the hits.) We scoped out a few parks, soaked up some sun, and saw a CAYOTE! What??? We went to a farmers market (in the middle of winter! woot woot) and saw the cutest little baby goat.
It's been a little tough adjusting to a new place. Without friends, and without a car, and without Jon, I've been a bit lonely. But also it's been fun, and I feel like I'm learning a lot about myself in the process. More on that later. And on that note, the firetrucks are packing up and so will I. Looks like I'm in the clear. |
ELLEfeminist. linguist. traveller. foodie. crafter. ARCHIVES
January 2018
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All photos are the property of Elizabeth Cheney and may not be used without permission.
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