WoW 12: The Alps and Schnitzel

Deadlines

We put pressure on ourselves to finish this blog post BEFORE 2023. But as you well now know, that did not happen. The holiday season is a joyful and busy time of year, yet we still pressured our selves, “We need to get this done”. But we kept pushing it off. Why? Not because we are lazy, but because it didn’t NEED to be done. This blog post is meant to document our travels as a family. It is for us to look back on over time and reflect on how grateful we are for our time together and our ability to partake in those journeys. So why pressure ourselves on something that has no time constraints? Parenthood has taught us to manage our priorities and to say no to what isn’t as important, so we can say yes to what is. This blog IS important to us, but its not something that we want to strain ourselves with. Something that we strived for midway through 2022 and decided to take the full plunge headed into 2023 is managing priorities. Focusing on what is most important to us. We hope that this inspires you to do the same!

Now, on to our beautiful trip to Switzerland and München.

The Journey

Our plane ride TO Europe wasn't so bad. We flew in and out of Munich.  Our flight just so happened to be during our baby’'s bedtime and we were able to use an inflatable foot rest from Amazon that we blew up and placed at our tikes feet space so that he could lay down and stretch his legs. We learned from our overnight flight to Italy that the car seat on the plane was not the move because he was very upset he couldn’t lay on his stomach to sleep so we pivoted, and it worked. We also took the blankets provided by Delta, and tacked them behind the head rest, and on the tray table. This created the perfect little dark space with minimal light shining in. This paired with our travel sound machine made for some good sleep. It's a good thing too, because our arrival and road ahead wasn't so smooth. 

After getting our rental car loaded with our luggage we realized that we never grabbed our travel crib *Le Sigh*. We had walked a long way to our car after deplaning. Neither of us had sleep or coffee (our cards were being declined and we couldn’t figure out why). The little guy had already been very patient as we mustered through the airport only to extend this time retracing our steps for another hour, and we still had 5 hours in a car to go to drive to our first stop in Switzerland. After a few pit stops and funny moments using body motions to ask where the bathroom was, we decided to go find a park to let ourselves stretch our legs and burn some energy. It's always remarkable seeing life through a child’s eyes. One of our favorite parts about traveling with Anderson is that it always reminds you that friendship at a young age has no language barrier. They all understand the concepts of fun and play together regardless of the language they speak. Finally, after many winding roads and beautiful mountainous backdrops, we made it to our first destination, Interlaken.

Interlaken

We stayed in a beautifully designed home with a wall of windows to see the beautiful landscapes that Interlaken puts on display. The backyard flowed right in with the Aare River while mountains covered the rest of the sky. It was breathtaking. Even our 1 year old realized the beauty. Each morning, when we opened up the shades he looked out the window in awe. He even looked out the window and said “oh wow” once which melted our hearts. I feel as if we could do a whole write up on our rental and location. The windows, as huge as they were, had automatic 100% blackout blinds on every pane. This made for a smoother transition to the 6 hour time change for our family. You can’t put a price on that. 

Interlaken had lots to offer nearby. We loved the simplest of things like our daily strolls along the river with mountains off in the distance. Not far from where we stayed was a park where you could sit and watch paragliders soar the skies from all different directions and ultimately land 20-40 feet in front of you. They really did come in from all directions which left us wondering, where the heck are they all jumping from? One jumping spot was no doubt from Harder Kulm which we visited twice. Unfortunately,  we didn’t visit it twice for its beauty, although we could have, had it worked out that way. For our first attempt at viewing the city from the top of Harder Kulm we took the train, the Harderbahn to the top. Unfortunately, we only saw clouds. This spot is known for its beautiful views with a restaurant and food kiosk to enjoy along with it. All we enjoyed on our first trip was cold beers and some Swiss meals. You couldn’t see but 2 feet in front of you as we were quite literally, in the clouds. After looking online and seeing the views we should have seen, and talking to some friends we decided to go back up two days later. The outcome couldn’t have been more perfect. It was sunny, in the mid 60s, with minimal clouds in sight. We enjoyed cold beers and Swiss meals, along with epic scenery of the two lakes, Lake Brienz and Lake Thun on either side of Interlaken. 

Our next adventure consisted of 72 waterfalls. The Lauterbrunnen valley walk was in a little town about a 20 minute drive from Interlaken. It was a rainy overcast day, but Tara strapped Anderson to her back and covered him with an umbrella and it turned out to be the perfect adventure regardless. The walk consisted of a long path with little farm buildings along the way with waterfalls filling in the spaces in between. Don’t be alarmed if you hear a bunch of random cracking sounds. For a while we couldn’t figure it out, it was raining, so we thought maybe it was thunder or maybe an animal running its antlers on trees. Then we saw some fire range signs. Guns going off in an alley among mountains make some interesting sounds and echoes. The path is 4 km long, and was not very crowded (could have been the weather). It was also very accessible. The path was entirely paved and did not have a considerable incline or decline.

Bachalpsee was our next adventure and we were not prepared for what we had signed ourselves up for. Bachalpsee is one of those epic nature scenes you dream about. It’s a lake on top of a mountain with an epic view. While we were not prepared for it, we did however get lucky. We didn't arrive at our parking spot to start hiking up to Bachalpsee until late morning. We parked at a city recreational hub. Inside they had maps and people available to help assist you in finding the start of your hike, since there were many. We asked where we could start the Bachalpsee hike and the lady went on to say that there would be no way we could hike it, we were too late. She said to make it to the top and back down before dark, we would have needed to start by at least 6am. We were a bit bummed and confused at first, and we thought our adventure was over. She then said we could take a gondola to get us most of the way up. So we did just that. Little did we know, we still had quite a ways to go. We still hiked for 4 miles from the Gondola out to the lake. If we had hiked that whole way up, we would have literally never made it. Especially with a young child on our backs who was not having the hike one bit. He screamed bloody murder for about 30 minutes straight until falling asleep as we made our way to the epic mountain lake. Our little prince was carried to the top of the mountain. He even slept through the whole time of viewing the mountain lake and the walk back. At least we got our peace and quiet with a beautiful view. It was rather cloudy so it wasn’t the same view you may see in famous pictures, but it was still worth the hike, tired legs, and screams on the way up. 

You can be well assured that if you are consuming dairy products in Switzerland that the cows producing the ingredients are roaming some of the most beautiful lands we have seen. During our time in the mountainous Bernese Oberland region of central Switzerland we witnessed clear water tinted with vibrant greens and blues, mountains higher than the clouds (Quite literally), and adorable cows on every corner. It was a trip that we will never forget.

If you plan to partake in any hikes, we recommend getting the Jungfrau travel pass. This will save you money. We didn’t realize this pass existed until it was too late. Jungfrau Travel pass

Münchén

Munich or München, the city known for its epic Oktoberfest celebrations (which we strategically avoided) can be described in one word, historical. 

Lucky for us we were able to explore it with our friends from Berlin, which made it even more fun. These were the same friends we used to frequently travel to Portland, Oregon to visit, but they have since relocated. It was great to be in Germany with a native speaker. We did not travel to Berlin because of the longer distance between Interlaken and Berlin. 

Anyways, back to Munich. Everything there was traditional, and has been done for 500+ years. Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, and Spaten are all traditional breweries from the Munich area. Fun fact, according to the Munich long brewing tradition since around the 1400s, a beer is only considered a beer if it includes malt, hops, and water. Anything else added or used and it would not be considered a beer. Consistent would be a word I would use. Any restaurant within the city was serving a dunkel, weiB, or lager from one of the 6 original breweries. 

Do not count on good Mexican food in Germany, do not. Our friends who are living there confirmed. Throughout our travels, Mitch had been practicing his German and it had been going fairly well. Once we arrived to Munich after a long drive we noticed a burrito place across the road that had great reviews. We had just done a 5 hour car ride with a toddler from Switzerland with a pitstop in Lichtenstein and didn’t feel like wrangling him to sit still at dinner so it seemed wonderfully convenient. Mitch called to order burritos only to realize he had no idea how to say all of the burrito toppings. He scrambled to pull up Google translate and it ultimately failed. He accidentally ordered 5 burritos, which over the phone sounded like the German word for two which is “zwie”. When he went to pick up the burritos he was able to mention that he was picking up two burritos and it was clear the workers had made five giving very confusing and “uh oh” looks. Anyways, The burritos had no flavor, no meat, and the salsa was about as bland as porridge. We ended up dumping it and hitting the local McDonald’s. We hadn’t had McDonalds in years and Mitch was for a lack of a better word, obsessed. 

What food you should look forward to when traveling to Munich is good pretzels, schnitzel, spätzel and wursts. Our rental spot was just down the road from one of the largest and oldest street markets in the world, Viktualienmarkt. This market has been “in business” since 1807! Talk about tradition. It had many different food options, all 6 brewers with huge beer gardens, cheeses, wines, fresh fruit, souvenirs and more. It was rather remarkable. Thanks to having our favorite Germany staying with us we were spoiled with the traditional culinary tour even when we were at our home base. She stocked us up with a traditional German Breakfast. This consisted of an assortment of fresh baked breads, cheese spreads, cold meats, and a variety of fresh and pickled veggies. It was like charcuterie taken to the next level. While it sounds simple, it makes you think, why don't we have this? This is a tradition that we have brought back to the states, though we typically have it as an option for quick tasty lunches. 

While traveling as a family of 3 has presented new and harder challenges, the memories we have made so far have been absolutely priceless. We had the best time exploring Germany and Switzerland together.

Notables:

Stays: Interlaken AirBnB,Münchén VRBO,​Google Maps List, Starback Approved Travel Items

WoW 10: Baby’s travel debut featuring...Utah!

Before Anderson was ever born, really before he was ever an idea, we were determined to find a way to expand our family while ensuring our passion for travel could stay at the forefront. Sounds like a great idea, right? We were met left and right with so many naysayers telling us that we would change our minds. That once we were in it, we would realize it’s not worth it . Call us stubborn, but that kind of fueled our fire.. We were determined to find a healthy balance where we could be the best parents we could possibly be, while providing Anderson with unique experiences travelings that get us outside of our comfort zone together as a family. Traveling with a baby definitely got mom and dad out of their comfort zone! We feel we have grown so much together through our travels as a couple that it was really important for us to give Anderson that opportunity for growth as well. Enough of all of that - let’s talk about our first trip! What we did, what went well, and opportunities to do better next time.

Hiking in Park City, Utah

We were originally planning to spend our September trip (Anders being just over 3 months old) in England. The world is unpredictable and it threw us a curve-ball. Just like September 2020, England was out the door. Utah had always been top of Mitch’s bucket list so we decided to pursue that as our back up plan. We were excited to mix together exploring some new cities with lots of outdoor time in National Parks. Here’s how our adventure went.

We had a warm up trip to Traverse City with friends in July that helped us craft what our wants and what our needs were when it came to traveling with Anders. If you’re a new parent and are looking to take the plunge to go somewhere further away with your baby, I highly recommend taking a “warm up trip” closer to home to get a feel for things that you need to continue to bring, don’t need, and maybe some lessons learned of things that would have made your life easier. Some products we love? Our Guava Lotus travel crib. It’s a familiar place for Anders as he has napped in it at home many times as well. It’s super light weight and easy to set up - perfect for traveling! Our Ergo Baby Omni 360 was a life saver when we were out and about hiking. Another good thing about it is, Anderson loves it. What’s better than being strapped in close to one of his two favorite people? Last but not least, honestly a must have in my mind if you plan to take more than just a few trips in your baby’s first year, the Doona infant car seat and stroller combo. It made our life 10 times easier as we were on the go. If you aren’t familiar with the Doona it is a two in one system that is a car seat that safely works without a base when you are traveling on the go that then easily expands out into a stroller - all while your baby is still inside so you don’t have to move them out of the car seat to make it adapt to the stroller setting. It is super lightweight and easy to strap into your car. Being two in one makes it so there is one less big piece of equipment you have to lug around when traveling because between mom, dad and baby we had our hands full.

Baby’s first flight featuring his own pair of Delta wings

On to our trip. Our first flight there was scary. Not so much the flight itself, but more so the anticipation of the unknown. 24 hours before our flight we got upgraded to Comfort Plus which should be a good thing, right? Not so much… They split us up and we were both in middle seats in separate rows surrounded by strangers. We had to work to get our seats back together, but once that was all sorted out we were ready to roll. Anderson did so well on his first flights! There were two different legs to Utah. Before we boarded, the gate agent gave Anders his first set of Delta wings. They are absolutely adorable. Something we will hold on to forever. The first 20 or so minutes of our first flight Anders seemed a little uncomfortable and we were second guessing everything wondering what we got ourselves into. Luckily, from then on out, he was a plane pro. He slept really well in flight and loved that he was snuggled up close to mom or dad for one on one play time or naps. The flights ended up going as flawlessly as they could. Tara even found the hidden changing tables in the tiny flight bathrooms and was blessed with the opportunity to change two diapers in air. 

Once we landed we were in Salt Lake City to start. As you know from previous blog posts we are big proponents of using airbnb over hotels. Our allegiance to airbnb has only heightened after traveling with a baby. Having a separate space to hangout in after Anders went to bed, or a kitchen to clean and sanitize pump parts was worth its weight in gold. Not to skip ahead to the ending, but we spent our last night when we looped back to Salt Lake City in a hotel and it left much to be desired. We spent a few days checking out the open air art fair just steps from our airbnb. Going on walks and trying out new coffee shops each morning. We hiked up the Ensign Peak Trail that gave us a view of Salt Lake City from above and we quickly learned babies (or anyone under 21) in breweries are not allowed in Utah. But best of all, we got to spend lots of time just hanging out us 3. 

We packed up from Salt Lake City and made the 4 and a half hour drive to Zion National Park. We quickly learned that road trips with a baby are much more anxiety inducing than plane rides. Saving the dramatics, Anderson hated it. Planes = good, cars = bad. Once we arrived we were all in good spirits again. The airbnb we booked was absolutely incredible. Probably the best one we’ve ever stayed at and we’ve stayed at over 25 airbnb’s to date (Linked Here). It was so bright and airy inside with a wrap around porch with unobstructed views of beautiful red rock mountains inside the park. We had ample space for us to spread out, so much so that we even had an extra bedroom we had no use for. Our airbnb was also a loft above the cutest little coffee shop/cafe so we had quick and easy access to breakfast. We had planned lots of hiking in Zion but the one problem with our master plan? The heat. Each day we were there the high was over 100 degrees. 100 degrees is hard on anyone, 100 degrees with a baby is just not feasible. We woke up before the sun each day and set out to hike for a few hours with the goal to be back inside our airbnb by 10am when the temperatures started to get uncomfortable. This wasn’t ideal, but it worked out great to make the most of our time. Luckily, our airbnb was a treat all by itself. Zion was absolutely incredible, the views were breathtaking - making you feel like time stood still for a moment. 

Our next stop planned after Zion was Arches National Park. However, we learned quickly that you have to be flexible in your plans with a baby. We decided the night beforehand to pull the plug on going to Arches because the temperatures were similar to Zion and would make it so that we couldn’t be outside for most of the day. Also, by heading to Arches then back to Salt Lake added multiple more hours to our total drive time. We decided to shift gears and looked up a last minute stay in Park City, Utah. We hit the jackpot! Park City in the colder months is a big ski resort town. It’s nestled in the mountains with beautiful mountain views and temperatures that averaged 20 degrees cooler than Zion and Arches. Park City is also where the Winter Olympics took place in 2002. Our stay ended up being at a ski in/ski out condo through airbnb (surprise, surprise) that was normally $900+ a night and we got it for $175 a night at the last minute. We will fast forward through the drive because again, learn from our mistakes. Though Park City was a last minute change of plans, it ended up being the perfect ending destination for our trip. We spent time being the only 3 poolside. We visited the Utah Olympic Park and saw the museum as well as some people practicing ski jumping into water. We had no idea how it was done in the summer and it was really cool to watch. We walked around the cute downtown area and had some of the best Thai food we’ve ever had outside of Thailand. We did a nice hike on the Armstrong Trail to Dawn’s Trail Loop which gave us beautiful mountain views in the aspen trees. Anderson loved taking a good fresh air nap in his carrier when we were hiking. 

At the risk of sounding insanely corny, but being completely honest, the best part was getting 8 uninterrupted days together doing the thing we love most with the person we love most in the world. So many adventures to come for the Starback’s. 

So lessons learned or tips for the next person? 

1. Do a warm up test run where you stay away from your house, even if it’s only for a night somewhere else close by.

2. Don’t have more than 2 places to stay when you have a young baby that comes with a lot of equipment to lug around. We had 4 stays in our trip and it felt like a lot of set up and tear down. Try to narrow down your home bases.

3. Limit driving time if you have a baby who doesn’t love the car. Planes allow you to hold, interact and love on your baby. Cars have them strapped in a seat by themselves and if your baby is anything like Anders, they get sick of it pretty quickly. 

4. Be flexible. Don’t be frazzled if you have to change your plans. We were pretty calm about our change of plans but I know it can be a bummer to cross something off your list that you were excited for. We truly think our change in plans worked out better for everyone and resulted in a better trip.

5. Try to plan long car rides around nap times. 

6. If you are flying, nurse or feed your baby at take off and landing if possible to help with discomfort.

7. Try to ensure your baby gets good naps while on the go. A well rested baby is a happy baby! 

8. Try to book a place to stay that has a separate common area for you to spend time in outside of the room baby is sleeping in. Babies typically go to bed pretty early!

9. Target pick up is your friend. We placed an order for diapers/wipes and some other essentials that took up too much real estate in our luggage via Target pickup. It was ready for us when we landed. After a long day of traveling, walking through Target with a baby sounded less than ideal. This worked out really well and saved us time and space.

10. Try to keep baby’s bedtime routine familiar when traveling. We made sure we carved out time each night to do the same routine with Anders that we would have done if we were home. It helps to continue to trigger sleep associations especially when you’re in a different place and time zone. Your nights when traveling may end a little bit earlier but if it makes everyone well rested, it’s worth it!

11. People are 10 times nicer to you when you are traveling with a baby. 

Happy Travels!

The Starback’s

WoW 8: Wrapping up the year with dessert…I mean in the desert.

This year wasn't all that travelers hoped for, yet in some kind of sick and twisted way it was. People got out and explored all of the beautiful terrains and glistening lakes and oceans that mother nature has to offer rather than concrete jungles. Maybe this is the push that brings our world to the tipping point where we ALL decide to SAVE what's left.

What we learned this year was traveling is really important. It's good for the mind, body and soul. We ended up traveling more this year than we thought we would. We took precautions, quarantined before and after, and had a blast. We started our trip to Thailand with the U.S pretending the virus didn't exist, and came back to a destroyed country on multiple accounts. We were able to get out to Oregon to see our family and a surprise visit from a close friend. This not only raised our spirits in these trying times, but it raised theirs and you can't put a price on that. We FINALLY made it to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan which was absolutely gorgeous. Then ended our year in the deserts of Arizona...

We arrived in Arizona at around 10:00PM MST time, 12:00AM our (EST) time. We weren't able to leave the airport until around 11:45PM MTN time, 1:45AM our time due to some issues with car rentals. We finally arrived at our BnB at around 1:45AM MTN time, 3:45AM our time... If you know us…we are not ones to stay up late so this was a big deal. As we drove into what seemed like a black hole for 2 hours to Sedona we had no idea what we were going to wake up to. We could barely tell what our BnB looked like. Little did we know, we had driven into a mini paradise that provided a view from anywhere within the city limits. The BnB, Sunset Chateau, also surprised us with a new freshly served breakfast each morning as well as other great accommodations that we wouldn't have gotten at a traditional hotel or even Airbnb. The decorations made us feel right at desert. We were pumped to have stumbled across it. Oh, and the view of the Sedona red rocks was right outside our window.

A couple of things we didn't know about Sedona, well pretty much everything.

1.You can see the Red Rocks from anywhere in the city

2. They have great coffee

3. They have great food

4. There are dozens of hikes for all levels within a 15 minute drive. 

During this trip we were able to connect with some long lost friends of ours and it couldn't have been better timing. They were our tour guides for the day. We had some fantastic pastries and coffee at the Kickstand Kafe, explored the Devil's Bridge, and had no regrets at the Sedona Beer Co. Although the brewery had one of our favorites displaying in their toilet (pictured below), we still thoroughly enjoyed the food and brews (Well I did, Tara can’t drink). 10 out of 10 would recommend. The Devil's Bridge was pretty spectacular as well. As you wait in the long line to get on the bridge as only a few can be on at a time, you start to get a little nervous looking at the narrow width of the rock with a pretty sizable fall below if you lost your footing. You also have a long opportunity to  look into an endless canyon of trees and a polarizing view of towering red rocks. Once you actually get on the bridge, you realize that it's not as scary as it looks and there's some room for error.

Unfortunately we only had a day and a half to explore Sedona, but on the way out we walked the Fay Canyon trail. This was a nice leisurely stroll with epic views. While it sucked to leave Sedona so abruptley, the drive to our next destination in Flagstaff was unreal. We drove through the red rocks and down winding roads with snow falling overhead making it the picture perfect quest. And yes, it snowed. There was as much snow in Flagstaff as there was back in Michigan. And guess what, it was even colder!

Side note - Many national and state parks prohibit the use of drones… I thought that I could get way cooler pictures and videos this trip with my drone than with our camera… since it was a quick trip, I only brought the drone (Palm to Face). The times I could get my drone out, the wind would just blow it away.

The Grand Canyon was our sole purpose of this trip. For the past year we have been trying to make it out to the Grand Canyon to finalize the wishes of a person dear to our hearts. Our previous attempt was cancelled due to COVID. Our original plan would have been longer, and hit more destinations, but we were happy with the outcome regardless. This lead us to Flagstaff which seemed like a normal town with tons of food and coffee options. Other than the small downtown area we walked around, and coffee shops we consumed caffeine from we didn't see much. 

Flagstaff was really our portal to a quicker drive to the Grand Canyon. Well… it was supposed to be quick. The last 2 miles into the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon took about 3 hours due to icy roads. Apparently, there was a section where cars were sliding backwards. Anyway, when we finally made it to the canyon and to canyon views, we could tell it would be epic, but it was really hard to see anything because of the snowy storm clouds . What we could see had a great contrast of reds and whites that seemed to go on for miles. The longer we were there the more we could see. We decided to walk the icy Rim Trail as it was the safest option considering the slick and ice covered conditions. Near the end of the trail we walked out to the canyon where we decided this would be a spot to remember and took some time just taking in the vast openness. A few short minutes later the clouds started to clear from the canyon, and small glimpses of sun began to peak through the bed of clouds. As we walked back to the main canyon area each viewpoint got more and more clear. We finally were able to see how Grand this Canyon was. Delays, ice, and snow, we wouldn't have done it any different. It was a rare beautiful site that marked the end of our quick desert trip and like dessert, we wanted more. We would eventually like to make our way back and see the northern portion of the canyon maybe without snow and venture further along to Utah.

Lets hope 2021 safely re-opens the world so we can travel abroad again!

WoW 5: Don’t just dream it, Do it!

What better time to take a step back and put some travel goals in play than when you’re trapped in your house for too many days to even count. We have been putting some intentional thought around our next 3 years and what our TRAVEL goals are in that time frame. While winging it can be a great way to go about your next adventure.. When you have a tight budget, limited vacation days, or a bucket list that never ends that you are continually trying to re-prioritize, a plan can really help make your dreams go the furthest within the means you have. So why not take some time in quarantine to set your travel goals and see if you can make some dreams come true?

We wanted to share with all of you some tips and tricks we have found helpful to bring our travel visions to life; making the most of our time and money as it relates to travel - 

1. Make a list and prioritize destinations. Your list and your partners list of dream destinations may not all look one in the same. If you find you have lots of differences, you may have think a little harder about how you will prioritize picking your next destination. See if you can find a few places that overlap and those may be re-prioritized to the top. Or, you can decide if you want to rotate one of your dream destinations with theirs for an every other trip cycle. 

2. If you are planning a trip with a destination already in mind, be flexible on the time frame. If you are working with spring break as your only option for a time frame in which to travel, some destinations are not ideal at that time. You want to do your research to see not only when the weather plays nice, which could mean ensuring for abundant snow your your ski vacation or if you are trying to plan a beach vacation ensuring the variables are right for optimal sunshine - sometimes you have to adjust the time you go to make sure it is in alignment with your goal for that particular destination. Sometimes weather patterns alone aren’t the only variable in planning the time of year to travel to a destination, you may also want to take into account other variables such as tourism highs and lows. If you are trying to go on the off season to save money and hide from crowds, off seasons can look very different depending on the destination. Planning earlier, can usually lend you a better chance to be able to go when it’s ideal for your goals.

3. Don’t be afraid to play with Holidays. We often look at our work holiday calendar and try to back up trips to when we have “freebie” days. When you have a limited number of vacation days, and a long bucket list they don’t always play nice together. By planning trips around some free days, it allows you to better safeguard your vacation days and make them go much further. Do you have a destination that you could do over a long weekend? It’s always a good idea to back it up to something like Memorial Day or Labor Day! 

4. Sometimes it pays to be exclusive. If you travel often, think about what companies are widely available to satisfy your needs. Think of airlines and hotels specifically (if you’re a hotel person). If you can stick to the same airline and continually build up “miles” or “points”, eventually your flights start paying for themselves. With the points we currently have, we are looking at not paying for a single flight in 2021 with 3 destinations in mind. If you are hotel exclusive, you will start to reap the benefits of free nights and it really does add up if you are regularly on the go. 

Just a quick peak at some of our most recent Airbnb stays - Many more came before, and many more yet to come!

5. On the flip side of that, don’t be afraid to explore Airbnb. We are big fan’s of Airbnb and have been using the platform for years. We often hear misunderstandings around the quality and safety of the platform. If you’ve never given it a try, I would urge you to do so. It can truly be a game changer for making your budget go further in a new destination while NOT compromising on quality. You read that right, we have stayed in many Airbnb’s that were nicer than a hotel has ever been. Another way it can help stretch your budget further? They are often equipped with a kitchen. Eating out is fun on vacation and absolutely brings value in understanding a new place through their food. However, if you’re on a longer trip, eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner can become a daunting task. Having a kitchen to prep coffee and a quick breakfast in the morning can not only save you time but also money before you head out for a day of adventures.

6. Get extra travel money for the spending you are already doing. Once you’ve identified your preferred airline… look into getting their credit card. We are not ones to often say open a new credit card, because generally that’s not a good move in our opinion. However, in this instance it has really paid for itself time and time again. For us, we identified Delta as our ideal airline partner. When signing up for their credit card, as with most airlines, you get a pretty large lump sum of “miles” as a sign on bonus. In addition, depending on the level of card you get, you get other travel perks. For us, our card came with a free domestic travel companion ticket every year. That means we can fly anywhere within the US each year and for one of us that flight will be free. Then as we use it on our purchases, we are continuously earning more ‘miles’ for buying things we would be buying anyway. It’s a travel fund we are continually contributing to that takes barely any effort at all! 

7. Lucky number seven coming in with the final tip of the day! If you are able to, set money aside before it ever hits your checking account. Decide on a number you are comfortable with that will go into a separate “travel savings” account. What I mean by that is, when you get paid it would be directly deposited into a separate account that never hits the money you use for day to day bills and activities. Maybe that’s $50 a paycheck, maybe that’s $200. Think about your goals and if you are saving for one domestic trip a year, or traveling to a few new countries. For us, we made an easy transition into travel savings after our wedding. When we were planning our wedding we set aside a sum of money from each of our paychecks that went directly into our “wedding savings” account. Once our wedding was over, we decided to keep this savings going and have it’s purpose be our travel fund. We had already learned to live day to day without it, so we felt it served a greater purpose fueling our travel goals then helping us eat out with friends on the weekend or as money to shop for new clothes. Once you’ve committed those dollars to travel, pretend they aren’t there. Do not touch them, think about them, dip into them when it’s been a bad month. Unless of course you truly have to, don’t think of that account as money you can touch. Having this mentality has continually helped us prioritize travel and have the funds set aside to make our dreams come true!

If you’ve been struggling with visions of grandeur but no plans to execute, think about how maybe just one of these tips may help you get one step closer to your goals. With the world moving a little slower right now, it’s a great time to put some action steps in place to conquer your travel dreams! If you have a tip to share that we didn’t cover that has helped you, leave it in the comments below. As always, we are happy to help in any way we can!

**Our next bucket list destination was Arizona scheduled for the end of May around the Memorial Day Holiday.. at this point that trip is extremely unlikely. Stay tuned for more adventures yet to come!

Happy Travels (someday!),

The Starback’s

WoW 04: Phuket Paradise

Wrapping our heads around the wonder that was southern Thailand, including all the ups and downs that it came with has been quite the process! We wanted to narrate the week and all that the adventures and challenges it entailed but WOW are we thankful for another amazing experience.

We flew on AirAsia from Northern Thailand down to Southern Thailand and landed in Phuket (aka Crocodile Island). The big island base for most exploring of the other islands that line the shores of Thailand. We had to ride an hour to our place near the water of Karon Beach where we were based for the week. We were welcomed to our Airbnb Condo by many stray cats that called the property home and by an infinity pool that surrounded the condo building - heaven, yes please! In terms of Thailand space we were delighted to see that our AirBnb’s space had nearly doubled in size from where we were in Chiang Mai. The best feature? Our kitchen was outside on the terrace… and that actually worked! There was a little balcony that overlooked the pool and had a view of the ocean off in the distance where we could sit in the mornings and brew coffee, read a book, and cook some breakfast. For anyone who thinks Airbnb’s cannot be resort style nice for a fraction of the price, think again!

We started the week off by getting our bearings and exploring the surrounding area. We walked through a shopping street to get to the entrance to the beach each day. By day the street was peppered with multiple smoothie stands to satisfy the taste buds of beach goers who had spent hours on the beach baking in the sun and by night the street was littered with little market stands trying to sell the goods they had made to earn a living. At the start of the week, things were open, and business was a go. Though we kept hearing tourism numbers were dramatically down, we were thrilled to feel like we could breathe as we walked on the beach and were having troubles picturing it any busier than it already was. So in that sense, we were grateful for a little serenity.

We decided it would be a good idea to get a traditional Thai Massage since they were everywhere and the cost was close to nothing. What a scene! As our masseuses “massaged” us with their full bodies; which included elbows digging in with as much pressure as they could muster up or our masseuses holding on to piping on the ceiling to do acrobatic moves with their feet on our backs. We heard grunts of pain from one another as we were lying on tables side by side. As our two women left the room and we sat up and made eye contact with one another, there was a look of complete exhaustion in both of our faces. We agreed that was one of the most intense physical things we had ever participated in, and we were both sore for the next 4 days to follow.

We took a sunrise speedboat island hopping tour that was phenomenal. We were picked up at our Airbnb at the ungodly hour of 4:30am on vacation (which feels immensely different than 4:30am on normal week) with a promise that getting to these idyllic destinations before the crowds would be worth it. That promise did not disappoint. Samba Sea Trips led the way on a small boat delivering us and about 7 other people through crushing waves of the Andaman Sea which woke us up in an instant as we headed to our first island. We pulled up to Bamboo Beach to start our adventure and stepped off the boat into the knee deep water to wade to shore. On the island we took the time to explore our surroundings finding Giant Lizards searching for their breakfast among the tree lines. We then had a traditional Thai breakfast of cold spring rolls and fruit on the beach as we took in the sights around us. 

We then set off for our first snorkeling adventure of the day just off of the Phi Phi islands. We pulled up into an area of reef promised to give us lots of eye candy below and were given fins and equipment to dive into the open water. We both consider ourselves pretty adventurous but there’s something incredible yet terrifying all at once in the act of submerging yourself into that much vast openness of water AND seeing everything that lies beneath you. We spent time looking at all the colors of the creatures that were beneath us and getting stung by not 1, not 2 but many little jellyfish along the way. Apparently they loved to call this reef home. By the time we docked back on the boat we were breathless both from the sights below and from trying to figure out how to breath in a snorkel for the first time.

Then we were off to our second spot to snorkel of the day, Maya Bay. As we arrived in Maya bay and descended into the water for a second time we were taken back by how a slight change in location can bring a whole new marine life below. Tara even got the chance to hold a puffer fish in her hands! 

We then went off to find Pileh Lagoon! This breathtaking lagoon is normally absolutely packed to the brim with boats and people swimming in the perfectly warm turquoise blue waters but lucky for us and our early start time, we were one of the first boats there for the day. We took turns jumping off the front of our boat into the water below and floating and wading around while taking in the picturesque scenery around us. It was one of those moments where we truly had to take a step back and realize we weren’t looking at a picture, we were in a spot that truly looked too beautiful for it to be real. As we left Pileh Lagoon we pulled up along Monkey Beach in search of some mischievous friends, but they were nowhere to be found… apparently they were practicing social distancing. 

We then made our way back towards Phuket stopping at Koh Rang Yai. We were served a traditional Thai meal with our international friends at tables right on the beach overlooking the water. With full hearts and full bellies, we then waded into the waters one last time for the day and hung out with our new friends telling stories from our lives back home and our adventures so far in Asia, exchanging recommendations for one another.

As the week went on, the climate within Phuket continued to shift with the events that were consuming the world. Most of the visitors we were alongside were from Europe and Australia. Early on into our second week in Thailand most European countries were getting ready to close their borders and people on trips in Asia had to make swift changes in their plans to get back home quickly. It was us and Aussie’s left holding down the fort! Tourism in Thailand was already taking a huge hit as the vast majority of their tourists came from China, and they had been on lockdown for some time now. As the tourism numbers continued to dwindle down, things started to close around us. The street we walked through on our way to the beach that had been filled with restaurants, smoothie shops, night stands, and more were slowly started to fill with signs in the windows on hand written pieces of paper that read “closed until further notice”. 

The climate of things in the United States was growing increasingly tense as well. When we left for Thailand, the United States was pretty behind the curve in Coronavirus response and we were operating with business as usual. All the sudden, one night we went to bed in Thailand, and woke up the next morning when it was just mid afternoon back in the United States and it felt like the whole reaction the country was having to the virus changed overnight. Right about then was the time when we started to get panicked messages from people who loved us back home saying we needed to get back before there was a chance we couldn’t at all. Well, easier said than done! With no travel ban internationally to/from the United States nor Thailand, switching flights wasn’t an option for us. We tried to continue on and make the best of our time and not let our anxieties get the best of us.

We spent time exploring Kata beach and walking the shoreline. It was there that we realized stingray’s lay just under the sand on the shallow beach shores and it was there that we realized we were VERY afraid of stingray’s. It took some time to muster up the courage to get back in the water after our first stingray sighting just a couple feet away from us. 

As we laid on the beach one night watching the sun set, Tara even got the opportunity to hold a lemur. It was wild, and the lemur’s feet were SO soft.

We decided to fall into the tourist trap and see the famous Patong beach known to be bursting at the seams with people, and shops, and music, and sunkissed bodies, and more people. However, when we arrived that wasn’t what we found. Although there may have been more people than the beach we were staying on, it also made it overtly apparent seeing Patong how deserted things had become. As we walked down the famous street known for any knock off name brand item your heart could ever desire, we found that about two thirds of the things were shut down completely. It was really kind of an eerie scene. It felt like we were plopped into a real life remake of ‘I am legend’.

As our time was wrapping up and we had come to our final night in Phuket, we were sitting in our Airbnb talking about all of the crazy adventures the week had thrown our way and how thankful we were for our time together and with the Thai people. We started to check in for our flight home and as we loaded the screen our hearts sank as we saw in big red letters “cancelled”. We immediately shifted from keeping our cool to panic mode (it wasn’t our finest hour). But after hours and hours... and hours on line with Customer Support who told us they couldn’t find us a flight home for 4 more days and not taking that as an acceptable answer, we finally found an alternate flight into the United States Landing in Boston. We couldn’t get a connection through to Chicago or Michigan but, we could figure that part out. We checked the flight status about every 15 minutes for the next 20 hours until it left and we had peace of mind knowing we were on board and en route to home. Usually as we leave a place after a trip, all we hope for is extra time to not have to go home quite yet. It was a weird shift to feel the intensity of what was happening in the world around us and just feel that desire like no other to know we were able to make it home safe, before it wasn’t a possibility for who knows how long. Sparing you the details of the long trip home, we made it. Safe and sound! We are incredibly thankful for our time in Thailand, for the people we met, for the experiences we were able to partake in and we hope everyone is home and healthy!

Stay tuned for our upcoming blog posts where we are looking to share some itineraries from past trips, including Thailand. Happy to be a resource for anyone looking to navigate travel plans and not quite sure where to start.

Happy Travels (someday)!

The Starback’s

WoW 03: What Chiang Mai Taught Us

What a wild few weeks it’s been for Starback Wanderlust! In response to our last post “Who says it’s not a great time to go to Asia?”, well, turns out it wasn't the best time... We left on March 6th when the Coronavirus climate in the United States was still very new and there was a lack of education around it. There wasn’t any change in day to day life for American’s quite yet. There was a level 1 travel advisory for both the U.S. and Thailand, so travel was considered “business as usual” and there were no additional precautions in place. So we went! Then the climate changed quickly for the United States on March 11th when The WHO declared a Global Pandemic. Amidst all the chaos, we tried our best to still have open hearts and take everything in that Thailand had to teach us. That being said, here is a quick teaser of what our weeks’ stay in the City of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand taught us. More to come when the dust settles about Thailand overall and our second week based out of Phuket in Southern Thailand.

Here we go!

Road rules do not exist and pedestrians definitely DO NOT have the right of way. If you were thinking of renting a car on your trip to Thailand... maybe don’t? 

If you put gold on anything, it must be fancy. The more gold, the better. 

You could take a tuktuk from Chiang Mai to wherever your heart desires for less than a 15 minute Uber ride in the U.S.

Coconut milk is the base to a lot more recipes than we realized. Almond milk is not the king in Thailand like we are used to seeing at home. Not even an option most times we got coffee!

Elephant skin is a lot more rough than we expected. It’s THICK and lined with little hairs all over.

The “You get what you pay for” rule doesn’t really apply in Thailand. You can walk up to a sketchy shack, pay 3$ for two people to eat and leave completely satisfied (and not get sick 😉). Eating from a street stand is the norm in Thailand.  

It’s hot. All the time. Plan on a minimum of two showers a day if you want to feel semi-human. 

BYOTP. Not because everyone went into mass hysteria and bought all the toilet paper off the shelves... but because toilet paper is never a guarantee in Thailand.

“Smoothies” are your fruit of choice and ice. That’s it. But they are insanely refreshing (pairs well with the heat, mentioned above). 

The inflection in the voice is super important in Thai. The way they say thank you, Khup Kun Ka, has the same music like tone to it no matter who says it. The ka at the end is high pitched and carried out for much longer that other words. Whereas, everyone says thank you with a different tone & demeanor in the U.S.

Mango makes everything taste better. 

Breakfast is not really a thing. If someone eats breakfast or provides it, it’s usually Thai food you picture eating at lunch or dinner. 

Even big, struggling, poor cities are kept clean in terms of trash. It’s a matter of respect for them and I don’t think you would ever see streets lined with litter like we often do in the US. 

Water is not safe to drink, but bottled water is not expensive making it easier for the country to be able to access it.

Wear. All. The. Sunscreen. 

The night bizarre is big, every night. It’s not just a Sunday thing like we often saw online. The vendors are there about 4pm every day for blocks and blocks ready to sell you any off brand item your heart may desire. 

Always look where you are stepping. The sidewalks are wild... if they even exist. They are usually buckled, beat up and have random drop offs to watch out for every few feet. As if you aren’t clumsy enough!

Things you have been taught should be refrigerated, they don’t seem to feel the same way about.

Thai beer is cheap. Wine or liquor is pricey in comparison to the price of most other things in Thailand. Mostly because didn’t seem that they produce much of their own so it’s all imported. 

Living spaces are much, much smaller. Going back to Buddhist principals that lead the majority of the country, they are always trying to be happy with what they have and not want for more so even if people HAVE money in Thailand, they don’t often have a large house or apartment.

Geckos are everywhere. Even inside. Comes as quite the shock when you wake up in the morning and find one running across your bathroom floor.

WoW 02: Who says it's not a great time to go to Asia?

We’re gearing up to head to Thailand in just 5 short days. What we keep hearing right now is, “Why would you be going to Asia, NOW”. For anyone who hasn’t scrolled through a social media feed, watched the news, or had access to the outside world in 2020 so far - here’s the high level view. The Coronavirus is running wild causing panic all over the world. Though the virus itself is similar to the flu, with a lower mortality rate, the fear of the unknown is really freaking people out. Paired with the rapid pace at which it’s continuing to spread, has people very concerned. 

The Coronavirus is continually being compared to the SARS outbreak, however, if you look at it by the numbers.. They are wildly different. SARS infected about 8,000 people at its peak. The Coronavirus is at above 80,000 confirmed cases, and climbing.

SO WHY ARE WE GOING TO ASIA?

The truth? We booked this trip well before we were in a Global Health Emergency. Would we have booked a trip to Thailand last week to go now, probably not. 

Alas, here we are… and we are going to make the most of it! Amidst all the chaos, we are still incredibly excited to go. Don’t worry, we aren’t being entirely reckless. It is still considered ‘safe’ to travel to Thailand. That being said, we are definitely taking into account some extra precautions we hadn’t initially envisioned when we booked a trip to this bucket list destination. Our pictures on the beach may be featuring us starring in some face masks - what’s cuter than that? In reality though, the risk within Thailand itself is pretty minimal. The biggest risk is airports and planes, which anyone heading down to Florida this month to beat the winter blues could be sitting in our same boat.

One huge thing that was affected was our flights. China is a HUGE air hub for Asia and lots of flights from the United States connect through China. With the travel ban, our flights to and from had to get rerouted and flights that were already insanely long, were made even loooonger with a few more stops added along the way. (If the Coronavirus doesn’t get us, blood clots in our legs from sitting for an unhealthy period of planes may). Just when we thought we had the air travel figured out, there was a travel ban issued this week for South Korea… and you guessed it (!)  that’s the asian hub our flights were rerouted through. So after a few torturously long phone calls with airlines we got our flights cancelled and were able to rebook avoiding any countries with a travel ban. Here’s to hoping Qatar stays safe!

March is normally a very busy time to travel to Thailand as the weather is warm and monsoon season is at bay, however, with the travel ban to and from China we may experience a different reality. The Chinese drive the majority of tourism in Thailand so we are expecting a much more desolate experience which is sort of a silver lining for us. What doesn’t kill us makes for a great adventure and we’re all about making lemonade out of lemons! 

Follow us in the weeks to come and we will share more about this adventure of a lifetime.