What to Do While You’re Waiting to Travel

Posted on 31. Aug, 2010 by in Advice, Trip Planning

When I originally conceived the idea of this Round-the-World trip, the plan was to leave in December 2009. By the time that August had rolled around, I realized I wasn’t going to have anywhere close to the money I’d need to get things rolling, and I made the decision to postpone until September 2010. It sure wasn’t an easy on. In fact, the news that I would need to keep up this daily grind for another year was a really painful pill to swallow.

But I survived, somehow, with my dreams and plans intact and actually a hell of a lot stronger for the wait.

Here’s just a sampling of the ways I made time fly over the past year:

  • Explored my hometown – I live in a pretty awesome city and I don’t take anywhere near enough advantage of it. This year I was able to spend a lot of time downtown, appreciating Washington DC.
  • Took Day Trips- Thanks to lots of visits from friends I also had an excuse to see the sites outside of the city (not that you need an excuse to do this).
  • Explored New Cities- When time and budget allowed I made the splurge to visit friends in places like San Francisco (which I developed a bit of a crush on).

  • Met New Friends- Thanks to this blog I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many people who also have a passion for travel. Some of these people I suspect will be in my life for a long time.
  • Visited with Old Friends – All of this time at home was a blessing in that I had the chance to spend a lot more time with the family and friends I already love dearly.
  • Planned a LOT- Oh boy, I have read a LOT for this trip. I have made lists and plans and thrown them out the window and started again. At this point I’m about as ready as can be.
  • Threw Myself into Work- Most important of all was throwing myself into this blog, a new kind of adventure which has already taken my places I didn’t think possible. Thanks to the things I’ve learned and the people I’ve met, my trip is really going to be enriched by my work here.

For a year primarily spent waiting around, I’ve actually been pretty busy. I’ve traveled- to London, Florida, California and New York. I’ve met lots of new and significant people, and spent quality time with the ones I already knew. I’ve worked and saved, planned and plotted.

In that sense it’s been quite fortunate- I’ve been able to do a lot of things to prepare myself mentally, emotionally and financially for this trip that I wouldn’t have had time to do otherwise. Now that it’s time to go I feel way past ready to get this show on the road.

Postponing my trip was NOT easy, but it was the right decision for me. Now the stars are aligning in a way that I can truly feel good about this trip and the prospects it brings.

26 Responses to “What to Do While You’re Waiting to Travel”

  1. Claire

    31. Aug, 2010

    I like this post! It’s good that you were able to turn your lemons into lemonade ;) and I didn’t realize you lived in DC (for some odd reason). I used to live on Capitol Hill, on good ole’ 2nd and F!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      31. Aug, 2010

      Yup, I’m a native Washingtonian! I used to work on Capitol Hill and it’s one of my fave neighborhoods in town.

      Reply to this comment

  2. Michael

    31. Aug, 2010

    Oh, I see. Just leave out New Jersey. I think you hurt the states feelings.

    Reply to this comment

  3. Jaime

    31. Aug, 2010

    Wow you did alot in the year before take off. I have 11 months before I leave hopefully I can try to do as much!!! I will most def start to explore my city more. I also want to start taking pictures with my camera and walk around as if I was a backpacker. Is it strange to want to practice to be a backpacker? I have never backpacked…lol hopefully I am cut out for it cus um I’m planning a year or more RTW trip!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      01. Sep, 2010

      Makes sense to me. I think it’s smart to practice going places alone. Your photography skills will definitely benefit the more you practice as well.

      Reply to this comment

  4. Eric

    01. Sep, 2010

    Some good advice, especially about your own hometown. I have moved on from places that I look back on now and think why didn’t I go see this or that.

    Reply to this comment

    • Vi

      01. Sep, 2010

      Yep, so many people traveling around the World without knowing how much interesting things are around the place they live.

      Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      01. Sep, 2010

      For some reason it’s really hard to take advantage of where you live. Laziness creeps in i think.

      Reply to this comment

  5. Tanya

    01. Sep, 2010

    I’m fortunate enough to be from a great city (Montreal) so I love to discover new restaurant’s, shows or events going on in the city. Thankfully, it’s a multi ethnic city and my friends are open minded so everything works out just fine. But I agree with everything on your list!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      01. Sep, 2010

      I was supposed to visit Montreal this year but it never quite worked out. Someday!

      Reply to this comment

  6. islandmomma

    01. Sep, 2010

    I think I must have found your blog through a RT, but I just wanted to say how wise you are! I found myself ready to travel at the beginning of last year, and won’t bore you with the details of why, but I knew I couldn’t take flight until sometime this year. I spent a fair few months mooching around and feeling sorry for myself I must admit, and then I realized the possibilities I had right around me. Why not treat this place as if it was somewhere I am passing through? (In fact I am, it’s just that I’ve stayed an awful long time here!) Life’s the journey, not the destination, right? I have an awful lot of years on you, so I think it’s just great that you learned all of this so young. My explorations were further aided by the fact I was made redundant at the begining of this year……it says something about me that the first thing I did was make sure the cheque for my severence pay would clear and went out and bought a Canon EOS500D the same day :=) Then did a happy dance because I would have more time to “travel” my island. OK the redundancy has set back my plans a bit further, now it will be next year, but I’ve been having such a great time I don’t mind nearly as much as you would think!

    I visited DC for the first time last year, and fell in love, so you’re in a great place to practice! Hoping you have a wonderful time once you get underway!!!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      02. Sep, 2010

      Thank you very much- that means a lot! I definitely think it’s important to make the most of the time you have wherever you are!

      Reply to this comment

  7. Candice

    02. Sep, 2010

    AAAAND the time has arrived!! Yessss! Get going!

    Reply to this comment

  8. Cornelius Aesop

    02. Sep, 2010

    I’m sort of in the same boat and my site helps keep me sane. I’m sure by the time I hit my initial 2012 goal I won’t have the money needed, but hopefully the added Masters in Teacher Ed will help me land a job so I can continue to survive. But until then I think I’m inline with many of the same things. I hope to, like you, have my blog fully up to where I want it to be so that while I travel I won’t be stuck learning how do to things as I go on the net, because I’ll be too busy learning as I go with life.

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      02. Sep, 2010

      Starting this blog long before my travels was definitely the best decision I could have made. Kept me sane and focused, and now I’m in a better place as i set off.

      Reply to this comment

  9. Gloria

    02. Sep, 2010

    You website has been helping me stay sane, Steph! haha.

    I’ll be starting my own RTW soon and heading for New Zealand in mid-November, with a couple weeks stopover in Samoa and Tonga! I just bought my ticket last week…now need to get an exit flight towards Indonesia before entering NZ. Do you know where you are headed after New Zealand? Maybe if we’re lucky our paths will cross in NZ. I’ll probably be there through the new year.

    Adding you to my blogroll!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      02. Sep, 2010

      So glad I could help :)

      I actually ended up cutting New Zealand from my itinerary- for the time being at least. Headed to China after Japan, and then will be in Australia for Nov/Dec before heading up to SE Asia. It’s funny how fast things change!

      Reply to this comment

  10. Michael Tyson

    03. Sep, 2010

    If we had’ve had the time and money we would have started traveling years ago. Of course we didn’t and we stuck at our day jobs for a few extra years. As you say, we were also more prepared because of it. Once you’re on the road, it’s also very satisfying to know that you worked hard to do what you’re doing!

    Reply to this comment

  11. تعلم البوكر

    06. Sep, 2010

    I LOVE THIS BLOG!!!

    Reply to this comment

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Travel Preparations and A Little Sense of Loss | ZooAdventurer - September 5, 2010

    [...] no, please, I know you probably mean well, but solutions to the waiting game as stated in What to Do While You’re Waiting to Travel will never do the trick. The moody guy in me will never allow that. I will never succumb, nope. [...]

  2. Playing Tourist at Home: A Local Does DC - December 4, 2010

    [...] other week when I was suggesting things to do while waiting to travel, exploring your hometown was a big suggestion. [...]

  3. Oh, hey. « Play Tourist. Listen Local. - November 26, 2011

    [...] in effort to relieve this travel bug I have that has yet to be cured (a great idea that I got from twenty-somethingtravel.com). So in addition to telling some of my tourist adventure stories/ideas, I’ll also be sharing [...]

Leave a Reply