chapter 19: travel time = time travel
zooming through jan-march – plus, sign ups for summer/fall group trips (!!!)
Hello! It’s been a minute – welcome, if you’re new to my travel-centric corner of the internet, or welcome back if you’ve been here for a while :)
For upcoming group trips you can join – scroll to the bottom! ⬇️
I’m trying to find the balance between sending out this newsletter more regularly for those of you who want to hear more, but also only writing when I have something meaningful to say. Thanks as always for reading!
We just hit the third month of 2024 and it seems like there’s two common sentiments:
How is it already March?
How is it only March?
For some, it may feel like the first two months of this year dragged on begrudgingly and time moved slowly.
For others, it may feel like time moved so quickly and days were so busy that a year’s worth of activities have been squeezed into just two months.
I certainly fall into the latter category.
I have been traveling in full-on ~maximize every second of the day~ mode for 39 (non-consecutive) days out of the past two months.
Yeah, I’m tired too after just reading that back to myself.
My January and February recap:
two weeks traveling and scuba diving on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Mexico (and getting my Rescue Diver certification!) 🇲🇽🤿
a weekend snowboarding in the mountains of central California 🏔🏂
a few days in San Francisco for a mix of work and pleasure, bonding with coworkers during the day and seeing old roommates and friends at night 👩🏽💻👯♀️
two weeks in Rio de Janeiro where one week entailed all nighters and early morning street parties for Brazilian carnival celebrations, and the second week entailed trying to relax and recuperate from the first week 🇧🇷💃🏽🌴
And my March lookahead:
a week in Honolulu (which will be my first trip to Oahu, and finally will have visited every major Hawaiian island!) – working remotely on the weekdays and completing my AIDA 1+2 freediving (aka breath-hold diving, very different than scuba diving!) training and certification on the weekend
a long weekend in Austin, Texas to visit two of my best friends from college
It’s not quite as hectic of a travel schedule as I had last year, when I booked myself solid with back to back weekend trips for 7 weeks in a row (🥵) – but it’s still a LOT.
The more tired I feel after every trip, the more I think… is this what getting old feels like?
I may only be 25, but I can feel the difference in my stamina levels compared to my 19-year-old self who managed to travel to a different European country every single weekend for the entire semester that I studied abroad in Italy as a college sophomore, and likewise with a new Asian country every weekend during the semester I studied abroad in Singapore as a college junior.
This year, I tried to intentionally incorporate at least a week or two of down time in between trips. I just wrapped up two full weeks in peaceful Santa Monica after my extremely fun yet incredibly tiring trip to Brazil. My thoughts: I am so happy to call this home.
I’m constantly oscillating between my two polar opposite states of wanting to be stimulated by new experiences around the world, and wanting to savor the familiarity and routine calmness of the place and people that feel like home. I want the feeling of seeing the awe-inspiring view at the top of mountain summit for the first time, but I also want the feeling of walking down a street where I recognize and anticipate every crack in the sidewalk.
To balance the thrill of the novel and the comfort of the mundane is the tightrope walked by every nomadic soul who yearns for adventure yet has found a home base they love.
As I debate whether to give up my lease in LA, since I’ll be away for so many weeks and even months at a time this upcoming summer, I especially feel the wobbliness of this balancing act.
One benefit of carving out more time in between trips is that I actually have a chance to reflect and apply the learnings and perspectives from each trip to my life. Here’s a few examples:
After my wellness-themed group trip to Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, I started to incorporate meditation, ice baths/cold plunges, and saunas into my routine as much as possible, after trying these activities and learning about the health benefits.
Seeing whales and hammerhead sharks on my dive trip to Cabo – one of the most awe-inspiring moments of my entire life – reaffirmed my desire to make scuba diving a big part of my life and pursue it professionally in the near future.
Snowboarding, in contrast showed me that although I love the feeling of developing a new skill (I had never tried skiing or snowboarding prior to last year), I get a lot more enjoyment and fun out of doubling down on things I already know I love.
Experiencing carnival in Brazil inspired me to build up more physical fitness and stamina, for the purpose of having more fun – partially because everyone in Brazil is so physically fit and attractive, but also because the go-go-go nature of carnival made me realize how much I want to be able to continue to be hyperactive in my young adult life.
Time moves so quickly while traveling and constantly experiencing new things. In a sense, traveling feels like time travel – a distorted state of maximized living that makes every day seem incredibly long, but also makes two weeks feel like it went by in the blink of an eye.
Back home, time moves slowly. Monday through Thursday are spent yearning for Friday, and then Saturday and Sunday are spent hoping Monday never comes.
In my normal routine and daily life in between packed trip itineraries, I have a lot more time to think about the ambiguous future – and I end up often slotting more travels into that ambiguous future to have more to look forward to, in an effort to make the slow days move faster. But, I also savor the time with people I love in LA, made all the more savor-worthy since time at home is so scarce for me.
👯♀️ upcoming group trips you can join!
🤿🐠 may 24-28 = florida keys scuba diving and coral restoration
For any certified diver friends – you know how valuable the coral reefs are not only for our diving experiences, but to the planet as a whole. I’m planning this trip with Key Dives in Islamorada in the Florida Keys where not only will you get to go diving in crystal blue, warm water, but also you’ll get the chance to learn how to plant new coral stems and get to participate in coral restoration on the local reefs! I’m SUPER excited about this and would love for any other divers out there to join us.
Reply to this email or DM me on Instagram if you’re interested in seeing the full Florida Keys dive trip itinerary!
🤠🎸 june 7-11 = nashville: country music, southern food, good times
Nashville is one of the major US cities that I have not yet visited, and as a music lover and a foodie, I can’t wait! Come join me for a long weekend exploring the city – don’t forget your cowboy boots.
Reply to this email or DM me on Instagram if you’re interested in seeing the full Nashville trip itinerary!
🌌🇮🇸 september 21-28 = iceland: northern lights, geysers, and glaciers
This is THE bucket list trip – 2024 is one of the best years in recent history to see the northern lights due to the sun reaching the peak of its cycle, and the fall equinox on September 22 is supposed to be one of the best days to see the aurora borealis dance across the sky (read why 2024 and the equinox are the best times).
This one has a LOT of interest (50+ people responded to a poll about iceland northern lights on my instagram!) – the itinerary will be finalized by end of this month and I’ll send it out on this newsletter for first dibs on approximately 10 spots that are first come, first served. If you’re REALLY interested, then hit reply to this email and let me know so I can follow up with you directly once the trip booking page is live!
My group trip to Brazil was SO much fun – check out the recap in my Instagram story highlight if you missed it – so I simply cannot wait for more group trips to bring people together through traveling to new places and once-in-a-lifetime shared experiences!
Hope to see you on a trip with me soon :)
Hello Caitlyn,
I’m highly interested in the Iceland, Northern lights trip. If there is no available space on the trip no worries I completely understand, but just wanted to reply to let you know.
Best,
Cheyenne
Awesome:) Thank you so much!