I’m not particularly good at mornings. And, as much as I like the idea of jumping out of bed and tackling the day, I don’t magically transform into an early bird when I travel.

Here are a few things I’ve found helpful.

1. Get organized for the next day.

Anything you can do the night before is one less thing you’re stumbling around trying to do in the morning.

Either shower at night or at least get your shower stuff set up. You’re not at home where everything is in a place you’re used to, so make it easier on your sleepy self. Unpack your razor and unwrap the soap. Make sure there’s a towel within reach.

I also get out everything I’m planning to wear the next day, down to my skivvies. Finding out you need to iron a top or don’t have a crucial part of your outfit is a bigger issue when you’re traveling. I’d rather not have that type of surprise in the morning.

Getting your purse/bag/daypack stuff together, as well, will help make sure things don’t get forgotten in a last-minute groggy scramble.

2. But first, coffee.

If you require morning caffeination, make sure you plan for that too. Figure out the coffeemaker in your room or pick out your tea or find a nearby coffee shop. Or if you’re particular enough to feel it’s worth the hassle, bring your own.

I like to set up the coffeepot the night before (sometimes doubling up on the coffee packets), so all I have to do when I get up is turn it on. Even if coffee comes with breakfast and even if the hotel does not have good coffee, I like having a hot cuppa right away while I get ready.

3. Plan for breakfast.

Stay somewhere that serves breakfast, find a spot nearby (check the hours ahead of time), or bring your own.

Easy BYOB(reakfast) ideas:

If there’s a fridge, you can pick up yogurt, local fruit, etc.
We like those individual oatmeal cups that you just add hot water to.
Trail mix or granola bars work pretty much anywhere. No kitchen required.

4. Time or sleep?

For me, a little extra time to ease into the day is even more beneficial than a little extra sleep. Even when it’s hard getting up, an earlier wake up time is better for me than having a rushed, hectic morning.

Maybe this is the case for you or maybe not. It’s worth paying attention to what works for you, even before your trip.

5. Set multiple alarms.

Traveling often throws off your sleep cycle and routines, which can make it even more difficult to get up.

If you really need to be somewhere at a certain time – catch a flight, make a meeting or tour time – don’t count on just one thing to wake you up. Some ideas:

Set more than one alarm on your phone, but don’t rely only on your phone.
Request a wake up call (or two).
Don’t use black-out curtains. Allow natural light in.
If you’re traveling with someone else, ask them to wake you up (or knock on your door or call you) if they haven’t seen you by a certain time.

6. Give yourself permission to sleep in.

If you have flexibility in your schedule, don’t make every morning an early one. Plan for some more relaxed days that allow a later start.

Of course, this requires some compromise if you happen to be traveling with a morning person. In that case, come up with a plan so that they’re not just going crazy in the room (and driving you crazy in the process).

Things a morning person can do while you’re sleeping (i.e. take all that annoying AM energy elsewhere!):

Go for a run, swim, or work out.
Take a walk and get familiar with the area.
Bring you breakfast.
Visit a sight (or go do something) you’re not interested in.
Start on an activity you can join when ready. (Head to the beach, begin working their way through a large museum, etc.)

As much as you can, honor your natural rhythms instead of constantly fighting them. Resting better will help you make the most out of your trip.

In case you’re curious, here’s where I took all the photos:

1. Tasting Tour in San Francisco
2 + 5. Hotel Indigo Anaheim
3. Residence Inn, Tucson (bag)
4. Candlewood Suites Yuma
6. San Remo Hotel in San Francisco
7. Hilton in San Jose
8. Downtown L.A.
9. Omni Charlottesville
10. Airbnb in Ridgway, Colorado

Camping in China is not a thing. At least, that’s what I heard from my friend Jingjing when she was explaining why she and her husband, Zhipei, felt their only chance to ever go would be while they’re here in the U.S., before he finishes his degree and they return to their home country.

While camping is not uniquely American, it is cultural. And, according to our friends, there’s not camping culture in China. It’s just not something people do. There aren’t campgrounds. Kids at sleepovers aren’t sprawled out across the living room floor in sleeping bags. Because why would you even own something like that when no one in your culture is going camping?

So Phillip and I started talking to Zhipei and Jingjing about going camping with us. We talked about some possible dates, and then there was a miscommunication about when we would go. As we were sorting it out, we realized the upcoming weekend was the only time during the summer our schedules would line up.

Last week Monday*, we decided to go for it. We’d leave Saturday morning, just 5 days away. We kicked it into high gear to get ready in time, borrowing an additional tent, sleeping bags, etc. from my parents, planning food, and finding and reserving a campsite online. (Our default “easy camping” sites that we usually recommend to camping newbies aren’t high enough altitude/cool enough for this time of year. And we didn’t want to leave too much to chance for what could be our friends’ one shot at camping.)

Fortunately, I did have some help.

My friend Michelle brought us celery for our beef stew. My brother and his wife brought over the camping gear Dad had dug out of the basement for us. (They also told me their move to Seattle would be sooner than expected. Turns out that getting ready for camping in 5 days is nothing compared to preparing for a cross country move in a week.) (That’s not super relevant to this post, but it just might come up again. Plus, they leave tomorrow, and that’s just a really big deal.)

Jingjing picked up groceries and came over to help with food prep. We measured out Mom’s homemade pancake mix, washed fruit and veggies, made the stew, and baked mountain bread (basically this recipe, but my version originally came from my Grandma Betty. She clipped it from a magazine article in the 70s for Dad to make for his backpacking trips. My mom still has the original clipping and copied it out onto a recipe card for me.)

There was still a lot to do. But, at least I knew we’d have plenty to eat.

***

I started this post before we left. Now, as I finish it up, we are back home. (Spoiler alert: We survived.) Once I collect my thoughts and finish unpacking, I’ll tell you all about the trip itself. [Update: You can read about the camping trip here.]

*Funny thing: On 6/17/12, I wrote some thoughts about getting ready to go on our Epic California Road Trip that turned out to be oddly prophetic. Early this June, I got the post all ready and scheduled to publish here one year later (on 6/17/13). I didn’t know yet when our camping trip would be, so I didn’t know that when that post went up, I would once again be a few days away from leaving. My day looked surprisingly like the one exactly a year before – running clothes we might want to pack through the laundry, staging camping gear, making trips to Target and the grocery store, and getting excited to leave . Maybe I should make an annual tradition of being about to go somewhere on June 17.

Tag: travel and camping food

6 Travel Tips for Non-Morning People