Traveling Tips for Business & Pleasure

Robert McKeon Aloe
Overthinking Life
Published in
6 min readOct 4, 2018

I have done quite a bit of traveling for work and leisure using various modes of transportation. I grew up traveling. I was born a thousand miles or more away from my parents’ city of origin. We would fly Southwest Airlines as a kid, stopping multiple times to get up to Detroit. My mother was a fan of packing for every possibility, so each of us had some ungodly large bag with everything imaginable. I’ve become more of a minimalist as an adult and a seasoned traveler.

Every year, we would take about two round trips a year, and I always left the airport with a new design for my Lego city. A few times, we drove the 23 hour straight trip to Detroit, and I indulged in the most common activity of my youth: boredom. Usually, I looked out the window to be well acquainted with American landscapes of the midwest, if there is such a thing.

When we moved to Paris for the last two years of high school, I did three transatlantic trips a year for those two years. A flight time of 11 hours became normal. I would get prepared with music and books, and I would watch whatever was playing in the back of the seat.

In my adult years, I’d make an odyssey to Europe once a year with my wife, and we would frequent Disney World. As a result, we became well acquainted with traveling, packing what you need, and preparing to improvise. This was especially true with all my Megabus trips to DC as part of remote working.

Then came kids, and we didn’t want them to get in the way of our travels, so we took them with us. We got a graduate course on traveling because after traveling with kids, all traveling is a piece of cake. We learned how to handle some crazy situations, long layovers, travel planning, packing, etc. We should become travel assistants for those with families. Below is most of our travels with kids. I’m going to note we don’t spend money on anything else in general because we enjoy Disney and Europe so much.

Here are some tips:

Eating/Drinking

  1. Food: Eat before you go, plan what you will eat when you get there, and bring food with you. Also, don’t depend on airport food. We once arrived in Phoenix at 8pm to discover the food joints shut down at 8pm, so we had a crappy sandwich instead. I like to bring calzones or sandwiches.
  2. Bring your own coffee/tea (see picture for grinder and portable espresso).
  3. Drink water: Often times, it’s easy to forget to drink water, and water is not always available.
  4. Avoid stomach upsetting foods: You don’t want to feel sick unnecessarily while traveling.

Packing

  1. Bring a coat: make sure you’re comfortable, but a jacket serves well for long flights even during the summer because some times they can be cold.
  2. Don’t let your kids pack (see picture).
  3. Bring the essentials: on international trips, our carry-on bag has our toiletries, clothes, and bathing suits for 3 days. We have lost luggage before, which can interrupt a trip. We have lost luggage temporarily, so pack anything you don’t want to lose in your carry-on.
  4. Pack fewer clothes: just aim to wash your clothes and repeat outfits; then you won’t drag as much around especially with kids.
  5. Pack strategically: make sure your bag is easy to access.
  6. Bring essential medicines: allergy, pain relief, upset stomach, etc.
  7. Entertainment of course!

Planning

  1. Travel comfortable: Wear comfortable clothes, beware of how much weight is in your bag, and be careful how you sit/lay so you don’t have back pain.
  2. Reduce travel time: Especially with kids, travel time is key. We found for longer trips, having a stop midway was nice to give them a break to run around.
  3. Consider the weather throughout the route: When traveling during the winter, we aim to make a cross country trip with only one stop in the north. It reduces the chances of getting stuck midway in a blizzard. We also try to avoid the New York, Newark, and Philadelphia triangle. There is always a storm in the summer that can leave you strained some times in the air during turbulence.
  4. Put the longest flight last: traveling back from Europe, we like the long flight to be the last one because that is the most exhausting.
  5. Consider recovery time (jet-lag): Consider adding a day for recovery with kids or planning light when arriving so you don’t burn out in your first day.
  6. Upgrade seats if possible: it makes a difference especially with kids. There is a user-experience with traveling, and how much is your comfort worth? How much stress is worth saving a few dollars? If your company will pay for business travel, do it! My dad made the mistake of trying to save the company a few dollars by not flying business, but part of the point of flying business is to be well rested and ready to jump into action.
  7. Have long trip end at bedtime: This helps get acclimated especially with kids.

En Route

  1. Bathrooms: Go to the bathroom before the flight. I’ve been on flights when because of turbulence, you have to hold it. With kids, I’ve been required to wait a lot longer when nature calls, and now I aim to take every opportunity that presents itself.
  2. Family Board / Pre-Board: these options are there for a reason, and when you have that reason, you should use them. Makes traveling less stressful.
  3. Don’t get hangry: hangry is when you are angry because you’re hungry. Get some snacks or real food.
  4. Talk to strangers but remember, they are strangers. You will certainly many wonderful people, but beware, there are some people who will try to take advantage. Trust your gut. If you feel uncomfortable or weird, walk away. Get out of there. Some people feel like it isn’t polite, but that’s what some people use to manipulate others. In dangerous situations, you have to put your safety above politeness.

The End!

Don’t forget to enjoy the experience of traveling. My experience comes from 168 Megabus rides (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tales-from-megabus-robert-mckeon-aloe/), 34 transatlantic flights (10 with 1 or more children), 100’s of domestic flights, and too many long drives (5+ hours). I hope this helps in your traveling whether it is for business or pleasure.

--

--

Overthinking Life
Overthinking Life

Published in Overthinking Life

Thinking too much on Philosophy, Math, Science, Politics, Work, and Life

Robert McKeon Aloe
Robert McKeon Aloe

Written by Robert McKeon Aloe

I’m in love with my Wife, my Kids, Espresso, Data Science, tomatoes, cooking, engineering, talking, family, Paris, and Italy, not necessarily in that order.

No responses yet