chapter 6: oops, I did it again ✌🏽
traveling to the same place more than once, second homes, and re-dos
Happy Sunday! Happy March! Happy 6th long weekend trip in a row to me 😅 – thankfully, this is my last hurrah of back-to-back-to-back travel for at least the next two months…
And, happy Women’s History Month! There’s so much to celebrate as a woman in travel this month but I’ll get more into this topic in a future newsletter, after my upcoming first International Women’s Day speaking engagement at a women’s conference hosted by University of California Irvine & UC Riverside. Getting a cold DM from a stranger inviting me to speak at this event was one of the best surprises thus far this year… I can’t wait to share highlights from that event with you all!
Since my last newsletter about a week ago, I’ve run through 7 trip-planning consultation calls with newsletter readers and Instagram followers, and have a few more scheduled for the coming weeks. I am so thoroughly enjoying getting to understand the various intentions, preferences, and travel styles that different people have for their trips, and I just love reminiscing about my own past trips while giving out travel recommendations!
This week once I’m finally back home in LA, I’ll be diving into my pinned Google Maps locations, my camera roll archives, and my repository of trip outline Google Docs to pull together customized itineraries for these lucky few first beta testers of my itinerary-making service, using my extensive personal travel experience as well as crowd-sourced insights from my global network of well-traveled people.
I’m working through these itinerary requests in order of soonest trips first and am currently at capacity, but might open up more spots in a few weeks to help some more of you plan out personalized summer trip itineraries – and I’ll be announcing a nature-oriented group trip for late July, for those of you who are lacking in the summer trip plans department!
As I’m currently experimenting and looking for feedback on my format of customized, well-organized itineraries, I’ll share a downloadable blank template in a week or two after I get some feedback and iterate.
For this week’s main newsletter topic, I wanted to double down on the idea that I briefly mentioned in my self reflection prompt of the week section last week:
✈️ why travel to the same place twice?
Without even realizing it until a few days ago, my most recent three long weekend trips have all been repeat visits to places I’ve already been: Death Valley, Mexico City, and Key West.
Death Valley
First visit, January 2021
With 3 close friends who were my entire social circle during the height of the pre-vaccine pandemic era, I ventured to Death Valley seeking adventure and nature but not quite knowing what to expect. In my friend Alex’s tiny little two-door sports car, we patiently maneuvered through the off-road sections of the park and were stunned by the diversity of landscapes – salt flats, sand dunes, slot canyons, badlands, snow-capped peaks, and more – and the sheer size of the park, which is as big as the state of Connecticut.
Blissfully off the grid, we started and ended each day in a camper van rented out on Airbnb that was parked in the yard of a family who subsistence farmed in a desert town with a population of only 37 people. The fresh eggs we procured from the hens in their backyard to cook on our camper van stove were about as farm-to-table as we could possibly get, and fuzzy cuddles with the host’s baby goats fought off the brisk early desert air as the sun peaked over the mountains each morning.
Quickly realizing that 3 days was nowhere near enough time to traverse all the potential points of interest that were spread 1-4 hours drive apart throughout the park, we covered the main spots and I vowed to come back one day soon to this hottest, driest, lowest point of the US, which I think is one of the most underrated national parks.
Second visit, February 2023 [two years later]
Wanting to make the most of the President’s Day long weekend this year, I asked around a few months ago if any of my LA-based friends would be interested in visiting Death Valley for the holiday weekend. One, two, three, four, then five girls confirmed, and I felt that it would be easily to find other takers, so I booked a nice little Airbnb that fit 8 people in the modest town of Pahrump, nestled on the Nevada border about an hour from an entrance to Death Valley.
Five girls turned into six, which turned into seven, eight, and nine girls who were all down to join a group where they didn’t know many or anyone else, yet knew the common bond of seeking adventure and nature would make for a memorable weekend with new friends.
But then almost just as quickly, misfortune struck – mere days before our trip, two girls got bogged down with weekend work assignments that couldn’t be handled from the middle of a desert, one got food poisoning, one had a family emergency – so we were left with just four of us.
Luckily the Airbnb was only $50 per person for the whole 3 nights (shockingly cheap, for a really nice and modern 3-bedroom apartment), so it wasn’t a big deal for the last minute drop-outs to forgo that expense. The four of us who remained worked out a quick Plan B with the driving situation and set off for a weekend full of 4am wakeup calls for sunrise, miles and miles of desert road driving, and hours and hours of bonding and sharing deep personal stories despite some of us only having met for the first time that Friday afternoon.
This time around in Death Valley, I felt like the tour guide as I mapped out the entire roadtrip itinerary, pointed out my favorite spots within the park, and got the group excited by referencing my photos from my last trip. But, we still managed to explore some new trails and discover new hidden gems within the park like an oasis (truly: an in-park hotel called The Oasis) where we could grab fresh date-filled smoothies, and the remnants of a ghost town called Ballarat from decades-ago California Gold Rush era.
On this second trip, we didn’t venture too far off-road and there’s still a handful of iconic sights in the park that I’ll for sure eagerly make another trip back for – and I can’t wait to see who and what will make that next trip a unique experience as well.
Mexico City
First visit, October/November 2022
On my first international group trip to Oaxaca for Día de los Muertos last fall, I organized for us to fly into and out of Mexico City due to more reasonable flight pricing. We spent collectively two nights in Mexico City and squeezed in some of the best food the city has to offer: conchas and guava cheese rolls from Panadería Rosetta, the entire dinner menu at Rosetta Restaurante, cookies and pastries from Pastelería Ideal, churros from Churrería El Moro, and basket tacos from Los Especiales (an order of 5 of the best tacos I’ve ever had, for only $2.78 USD total 🤯). We hit the Zocalo, El Bosque de Chapultapec, a salsa-dancing lesson in Parque México, and roamed around the tree-lined streets of Roma Norte and Condesa. A speed run of the best of Mexico City, from what I had heard.
I was traveling with 10 people from SF, LA, and NYC who all met each other for the first time on this trip, and we dined and transported around the city with all 10 of us at once, which was an experience in and of itself.
Second visit, February 2023 [four months later]
Now with a 4-day trip dedicated to spending time in Mexico City and its surrounding day-trippable areas, I not only had time to get to know the neighborhoods better, but also to feel that sense of familiarity that comes with re-visiting a place you’ve once been. On this trip with me was one girl who had previously lived in Mexico City for 3 years, but another two who had never been to the city or country before. Our balance of exploring new places versus visiting familiar ones kept the trip exciting yet comforting within the city – and our day trips to nearby states to explore the nature made for an entirely different dynamic than the typical long weekend exploring a city.
Before leaving the city this time around, I hit up all my favorite food spots that I mentioned from my first visit, and then took a little taste of Mexico City para llevar in my carry on bag to share with friends back home in LA, one who had never been to or tasted anything from Mexico City and the other who is Mexican-American herself and had originally showed me all of these iconic spots on our first trip there together.
Visiting Mexico City for the second time made me realize how much I truly love and feel at peace in the city, and I know I want to return again likely sometime this year to further explore new places while also re-visiting my favorite spots. Each time has been a similar, yet different experience with new friends and new memories along the way.
Key West
First visit, January 2023
When I first came to Key West with my best friend just two months ago, our main objective was to visit Dry Tortugas National Park, which is only accessible by a 5-hour-roundtrip ferry which sells out months in advance.
However, two days before our highly-anticipated tour of Dry Tortugas, we received a heartbreaking and somewhat confusing email – the ferry would be cancelled, and our trip therefore impossible, due to too many Cuban migrants landing on the shore of the island in makeshift boats as they fled their home country seeking a better life.
I would expect a trip to a national park to get cancelled due to weather, but never would I have expected that illegal immigration overcapacity would be the cause of a cancelled trip… as heartbroken as we were since this was the main purpose of our (fairly expensive) trip down to Key West, we made the most of it and instead added in a scuba dive on the Vandenberg shipwreck, which is known as the second best wreck and largest artificial reef in the world!
We also embraced the fact that we had significant downtime and did something extremely unordinary for ourselves, two adventure travelers who frequently visit national parks and places like Patagonia to backpack and hike and overall seek adventure – we went shopping. We chilled at cafes. We sought out the best vegan key lime pie multiple times, to no avail. It ended up being a super memorable and enjoyable trip, and it made me realize how much I loved Key West as a destination – so much so that I had absolutely no problem coming back sometime in the near future to experience it all again and actually accomplish a visit to Dry Tortugas, one of two underwater national parks in Florida.
Second visit, March 2023 [two months later]
Normally, I wouldn’t return to a place this soon after my first visit, but this time I had a great excuse to come back – to be side-by-side with my dad as he finally got scuba certified! If you know me at all, you’ll know that scuba diving is something I’m really passionate about not only as a hobby but as a motivation for traveling to new places to explore the underwater world.
My dad has had scuba diving on his bucket list for even longer than I have – my initial motivation for getting scuba certified was honestly only because I was dating an underwater videographer at the time. Despite him no longer being in my life, I am so thankful for him introducing me to this sport that I now love and want to eventually make part of my profession… I now have dreams of moving to Australia in a few years on their 1-to-2 year working holiday visa to become a professional divemaster and lead tours around the Great Barrier Reef on a career break.
Anyway, I’m currently here in Key West full of joy and pride knowing that now my dad can also indulge in the pure peace and serenity of underwater exploration. This is also my first trip with both of my parents, but without my younger sister – I have traveled to Antarctica and Malaysia with just my dad before, and have done shorter day trips with just my mom, but never just the two of them and myself.
My dad and I love the water so have been submerged in the crystal clear, impossibly turquoise waters the majority of this weekend, while my mother doesn’t know how to swim and doesn’t have any desire to be in the ocean, so she’s been exploring the culinary and historical richness of Key West on land. We did secure a reservation on the Dry Tortugas ferry this time, which has not been cancelled by any migrants landing ashore!
With 3 action-packed full days in the water and barely any free time to explore the cute downtown area, this second Key West experience has definitely been a different circumstance, with different people, and different activities – but I’m so thankful for this second visit which has prompted me to even consider buying a property down here due to how much I love the water and weather down in the Florida keys.
second homes and former homes
I consider a lot of places my former home – I studied abroad for two full semesters (5-6 months each) first in Florence, Italy and then in Singapore; I did shorter-term immersions for 2-5 weeks abroad through international business classes and programs in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and Tel Aviv, Israel; and have lived nomadically spending at least a month in Bar Harbor, Maine as well as San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, California. And that’s all on top of my actual hometown of Oakland, New Jersey, and my “college town” of New York City.
I’ve re-visited Florence once since moving away from there, and felt a sense of magic as I returned to my favorite restaurants and walked down the same street from my apartment near the Duomo to get to my study abroad campus in the Tuscan hills above the city. I’ve frequently returned to San Francisco and New York City multiple times a year after no longer having a home base in either location – mainly because I enjoy maintaining my social circles there with frequent in-person catchups despite having moved away.
places in need of a re-do
I first visited Japan as part of my fall break while studying abroad in Singapore but definitely do not feel like things went according to plan on that trip, nor did I get to see more than just a sliver of Tokyo amidst an entire country with cities and nature spots to explore.
I was unfortunately in Tokyo during a week-long typhoon, which caused me to have to cancel my plans to hike Mt. Fuji, and I write in my book You Are Where You Go about how my travel comparisons’ trip preferences of eating as cheaply as possible and clubbing until 4am didn’t quite mesh with my own intentions of getting up early to explore cultural landmarks and indulging in local food as a primary way to experience Japanese culture. Perhaps this is relatable to some people… the people you travel with can really make or break your trip sometimes!
bottom line: a second visit is often very worthwhile
I often struggle with the idea of spending valuable time in this short life going back to a place I’ve already been, when there are so many new places in the world I have yet to visit – especially when reconciling the fact that it is literally impossible to visit every place in the world that I would ideally want to visit (for me, I literally want to visit every country and territory eventually…. perhaps need to find the fountain of youth and win the lottery first, but I’ll get there eventually!).
But, if you’ve never visited the same place twice, I hope this reflection inspires you to re-add a place to your upcoming travels – depending on who you’re with, what time of year you’re traveling, the pace and type of activities, and so many other factors, trips to the same location can feel drastically different from your previous experiences of the same destination. And, repeat trips can inspire a special sense of familiarity and nostalgia that is quite hard to replicate any other way.
xoxo your *repeat-visiter* Type A travel bestie,
Caitlyn
🚨 If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to your friends! I am doing this all completely free and out of the kindness of my heart because I want to share my knowledge to help as many people as possible travel more economically, more sustainably, and more intentionally…
so forward this email, share the link, post it on your IG story… share it far and wide, please, if you find this valuable :)
📝 travel hack of the week
I’ve taken quite a lot of overnight flights and long bus rides with my recent travel schedule and realized that I’m doing the world a disservice by not sharing my hack for the best sleep possible while in public or on transit: the manta sleep full blackout eye mask. As someone who wears contacts overnight (yes these exist, they are like retainers but for your eyes… every time I mention them someone seems to be mind blown), this eye mask is incredible because nothing is directly pressing on or touching your eyes while you sleep due to its design.
Additionally, for sounds that will lull you to sleep and block out any crying babies or blabbering fellow passengers: I highly recommend this “city that sleeps” playlist or the Nemo Egg instrumental track from Finding Nemo, on repeat loop.
Every single time I use these two tools in tandem to catch up on sleep while traveling, I sleep so peacefully and uninterruptedly that I consider it my travel superpower. Highly recommend!
🌎 where in the world is caitlyn?
As I mentioned above, I’m currently in Key West – typing this as I’m on my way to Dry Tortugas National Park, which is my 14th national park (out of 62… so I still have a LOT to explore!).
I really appreciate how the National Park system encourages people to explore far corners of the country that they probably wouldn’t otherwise have a motivation to visit. If you don’t know much about the US National Parks system, I recommend downloading an app called “NPS Tracker” where you can see the name of every national park, identify which you’ve already visited, and learn more about the other national parks out there.
On Monday, I’m finally heading home and will be staying put in California for the next two months except for a quick weekend trip to Dallas in early April to see Taylor Swift! After 6 hectic weeks of travel in a row, I’m excited to have more time back home to catch up with my extended social circle, get my life in order, and dedicate more of my free time to group trip planning and customized itinerary curation along with some of my other YAWYG business goals like starting a TikTok and launching a website… stay tuned for those updates hopefully coming this month!
👯♀️ group trip opportunities
🤿.🦈 🌊 los cabos, mexico - june 1-5
I am honestly a little in shock that this happened only about two weeks after first announcing it… but my dive trip to Los Cabos on June 1-5 is currently sold out!
It’s still possible to get on a waitlist, and if there’s enough interest to sign up by April 1 we may add 4-6 additional spots… so let me know if you want to be on that waitlist!
I’ve partnered with Your Friends Are Boring, a trip-planning platform centered around travel-centric sports like surfing and scuba diving, to serve as their first guest host for this dive trip.
Check out the full trip outline I put together to get all the details!
🎿 🏂 🏔 mammoth lakes, california - march 24-26
If your preferred extreme sport is skiing or snowboarding rather than diving, I’ve still got spots available for a weekend in the picturesque mountains of central California on March 24-26 right at the base of Mammoth Mountain!
Even if you’re not into winter sports, but are yearning for cozy cabin vibes this season – feel free to join the group and make some new friends :) Reply to this email for details if you’re interested!
📱app of the week
Time zones can be extremely difficult to navigate successfully, and with so many friends of mine living abroad or constantly traveling – or when I myself am traveling many timezones away from my home – I rely on Time Buddy to make sure I never mess up a timezone conversion.
Highly recommend this app that visually represents up to 3 timezones at once, and even clarifies which day of the week for timezones that cross the international date line!
🪣 bucket list inspo
Mexico City is often visited for the city itself… but what about the mountains and surrounding countryside? I’m here to tell you to put two experiences on your hit list ASAP before you visit Mexico City in the future:
El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in the mountains of Michoacán
Taking place from around November until March on an annual basis, the monarch butterfly migration brings millions of monarch butterflies to their home outside of Mexico City and you can experience the sheer magic of walking through a cloud of fluttering bright orange butterflies. I can’t highly recommend this experience enough!!
Grutas de Tolantongo waterfalls and hot springs in the valleys of Hidalgo
These natural hot springs and pools that are carved into the mountainside are picturesque and absolutely worth a day trip outside of Mexico City. Not only can you soak in these pools with a view pictured below, but also you can explore dark caves that lead you to the waterfall sources of the hot springs – the best natural sauna and hot tub I’ve ever experienced!
📖 read with me
This week, I’ll be having my first book club discussion about the travel memoir book What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding.
The next book I’ll be starting is Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World – I’ll be giving everyone, including myself, about a month and a half to read, so we’ll schedule a time to chat about it in late April.
Click here to join my virtual book club on a social reading app called Fable that I’m trying out – if you choose to read the ebook in the app, you can write comments on specific chapters or paragraphs that the rest of the book club members can also see! I’ll change over the book in the app after the book club discussion happens this week.
But if you’re old school like me and want to buy and read the physical copy of the book, you can do that too – just reply and let me know that you’ll be participating so I can include you in a book club group chat :)
💭 self reflection prompt of the week
When my flight on a budget airline was delayed almost 24 hours due to a freak SoCal winter storm last Friday, it was cutting into my 4-day Mexico trip by about 25% so I just bit the bullet and bought a brand new fight on a different airline that was guaranteed to be leaving in the next few hours. I only did this because I knew that my travel credit card would reimburse me up to $500 as trip disruption insurance against unexpected expenses caused by delayed flights.
However, not everyone on my original flight was in the same financial situation as me — being a budget airline, it’s very likely that most of the Mexican couples and families who were still stranded at LAX and just desperately wanting to get home to Mexico City probably couldn’t afford to splurge on a new same-day flight. Budget airlines are incredible for increasing access to travel across income levels, but is it fair that such horrible customer service and service disruptions should be tolerated by earnest working class people who just want to get to their final destination like everyone else?
What’s the worst travel day or delayed flight experience you’ve had to deal with?
📱let’s connect
If you’ve got feedback on the format of this newsletter, or suggestions for travel topics you want to hear more about, don’t be shy! Reply to this email or DM me:
Instagram: @caitlynlubas / @you.are.where.you.go
Twitter: @caitlynlubas
TikTok: @you.are.where.you.go
LinkedIn: Caitlyn Lubas (feel free to reach out if you want to talk about working remotely, transitioning careers, etc!)
That’s all for now…
Remember, you are where you go – never stop exploring the world and yourself! 🌎 🌍 🌏
If you enjoy my writing in this newsletter, you’d love my book called You Are Where You Go: A Traveler’s Coming of Age Journey Through 70 Countries and 7 Continents During College. Feel free to pick up a copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or reply if you’re interested in me sending you a signed hardcover or paperback copy :)
Enjoyed it! Keep it coming!
Wish I could experience this when I was still young but truly enjoyed the travels of my granddaughter at an early age enjoying places and sharing it with others.