Seeing all the monuments and the museums were AMAZING! If you are an American
(or not), and are as patriotic as I am, I GREATLY reccommend go seeing the Capitol. So much rich history.
But now to the important stuff... what I've learned about travel:
1. Check the weather before you leave.
Okay, so I didn't do this. But I wish I had. Being born and raised in Alabama, (Roll Tide!) I always believed anything above the lower half of Tennessee was "northern" and therefore, never above 85 degrees, tops. I WAS WRONG. I had brought a rain coat, but rarely wore it except in the hotel where it was freezing. Outside was not exactly freezing. Prepare for the weather. PackPoint is a great app that checks the weather and gives you a customized packing list for your destination.
2. 2-3 shirts per pair of pants.
This is a good tip. You can usually reuse a pair of pants for at least two days. I only brought two pairs of black shorts and a pair of black dress pants for meetings. It usually depends on what you're gonna do. I had meetings and competition for which I couldn't wear shorts. I used the shorts for touring or eating out, and reused the dress pants for the few meetings I had.
3. Bring reusable shopping bags.
If you plan to buy groceries, bring reusable shopping bags. Expecially if you don't have a car. You don't to be walking down the streets with those plastic bags and have them break a mile from the hotel. No thank you. Plus, some big cities charge for plastic bags. Well, D.C. did. Also, the environment will be happier. :)
4. Bring some form of entertainment.
Some nights we were just sitting around the hotel with nothing to do. I had brought cards, so some nights we played Uno. It was so much fun and if you're traveling with family, its a great bonding activity. Bring a set of cards or something small that doesn't take up a lot of room.
5. Don't bring ten things of shampoo.
I made this mistake. You see, I hoard travel size stuff. I have no idea why. I guess its a "just in case" type of thing. However, you probably only need two sets, max. Hotels usually put some in your room free of charge and you can always request more from housekeeping. I brought about six sets of shampoo and conditioner, and I didn't even completely use one. And I still took the stuff from the hotel. Thankfully, I still had room in my suitcase for it.
6. Stalk your hotel website.
Seriously? Seriously. Scour all the hotels where you plan to visit. Do not pick a hotel just because its the biggest or its two blocks down from a Taco Bell. Read customer and critic reviews. Look at sites like Trivago or Expedia. Check all of them out. Look at each hotel website and see what they do and don't offer. I promise you. When we arrived at our hotel in DC, they had given all our rooms away and some people had to sleep in the floor. Check out any hotel thoroughly!!
7. Limit yourself.
Wether its two scarves, two purses, or three pairs of shoes, limit yourself. Lay out everything you think you may need, then put 1/3 of it back. Mine was shoes! I love shoes! But there's not enough room in one suitcase for all my shoes! A rule that I go by is to only bring maximum three pairs of shoes that go with everything. I brought three pairs of shoes and ended up only using two! If you're going to be walking, bring a comfortable pair of shoes and just use those. I recommend a pair of Tevas! They're considerably cheap and they wear really well! If you're going for buisness, try to bring a pair of dress shoes that will go with all your clothes.
8. If you don't use it, leave it.
If you don't usually use it at home, don't bring it to the hotel. I almost never use my straightener, so I almost left it at home until a friend called and said she couldn't bring hers and if I would bring mine. If you don't usually curl your hair, you could do without it for a week. Hotels usually provide a hair dryer, so you could leave that as well. See tip #6. If you don't usually use your morracan hair refining oil, don't bring it!
9. Don't be a tourist.
Please, leave your fanny packs and selfie sticks at home. No one wants to be knocked unconscious by a hovering iPhone.
10. Don't worry, be happy!
If you're on vacation, enjoy your vacation! If you're not on vacation, pretend you are and enjoy your trip! If you're like me, it's not everyday you get to go to the big city and see all the amazing buildings and museums. Try not to stress too badly and enjoy yourself!
Hope ya'll enjoy this post! Leave a comment or a suggestion or anything! I'm trying to post more but I've been pretty busy these past few weeks!! Anywho, catch ya later!
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