[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to Two Travel Dads podcast. Here we share our favorite destinations, travel tips, stories from our adventures, and tips for saving money. Be sure to subscribe and check out our detailed show
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[00:00:22] Speaker B: Hey, welcome back to Two Travel Dads podcast. I am Rob, your host, and I have a hostess with me today, Miss Kate.
[00:00:30] Speaker C: Hi.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: Who also has been on here before to talk about my or our family's trip up to. I can't speak over to Hawaii, but today we're going to talk about something else and I'm actually going to kind of twist it a little bit. I told her we were going to talk about prep for her upcoming trip to the UK, but we're going to talk about.
[00:00:52] Speaker C: And now she's making weird eyes.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: I know, right? We're going to talk about travel trepidation.
[00:00:57] Speaker C: Okay, great.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: Because I feel like that is an underlying theme in so many of our daily conversations.
[00:01:03] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: And I feel like it's very applicable to lots of people.
[00:01:07] Speaker C: I would agree, having seen the world through my own lens of travel trepidation, but yeah, I would agree.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: So I know what I think that means. What does that mean to you?
[00:01:20] Speaker C: Essentially just travel anxiety. And the reason that I know it does affect others is because there are 1000 Pinterest posts about travelers tummy and how to get over your nerves when flying and all of these different things. So I know I'm not singular in my unknown fear.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Wait, Traveler's tummy?
That means one thing to me. What does that mean to you?
[00:01:48] Speaker C: People get weird stomachs when they travel. Like all of their normal constitutionals are thrown out of whack.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: But also people have to eat a lot when they travel. That's what I was thinking.
[00:02:02] Speaker C: I was like, also a thing, but I have fun.
I think that anxiety is always linked to your gut for some reason. Not a doctor. Thank you. Not a doctor. Not a doctor. But I think that for whatever reason, I know my stress has always been linked to my gut, so.
Throws my whole system out of whack.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: Yeah, well, so you've got a big trip coming up.
[00:02:28] Speaker C: It's really coming up, too.
[00:02:29] Speaker B: I know.
[00:02:30] Speaker C: It's like two weeks awAy.
[00:02:32] Speaker B: I think it's less than two weeks away.
[00:02:34] Speaker C: No, don't think.
I started to freak out this morning because I thought it was three weeks. And then my son came in, he was like, oh, two weeks till a trip. And I'm like, what? No, what?
[00:02:43] Speaker B: Yeah. So you are heading to the UK. They're going to do London, Scotland.
Tell me just give me a quick little overview, and then I've got my line of questions.
[00:02:58] Speaker C: Okay, great. Well, I've had to change the title of my spreadsheet on this to trip to Europe now because we're not just doing London and Scotland, because we are also going to Amsterdam for a day, which I am told by everyone, that's plenty. That that's plenty.
And so this kind of just came about because I have friends who live in both of those countries, not Amsterdam, but London and Scotland or England and Scotland, and they have been begging me for about 20 years to come and visit them. And I feel like they've come here and I haven't gone there.
I finally just bit the bullet and was like, okay, we're going to do this. And I got the travel bug about 2022. Basically, as soon as COVID was kind of dwindling down and people were allowed to start boarding planes and go to other countries again, I was like, well, apparently this may just go away again, so I need to just knock it out and start going places and seeing the world and stop putting my life on hold and making the excuse that I think a lot of us make, which is, someday I'll do it.
[00:04:09] Speaker B: Someday comes really quickly.
[00:04:11] Speaker C: I have an 80 year old mother who continually still says, maybe I'll do that. And it's like a hiking trip to Everest or whatever. And I'm like, mom, you're not going to go on a hiking trip.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Good luck.
[00:04:23] Speaker C: Yeah, it's not going to happen. But she's like, you know, I could go to that. I'm like, all right. But I think that she missed an opportunity to go to the UK with her parents when they went, and she was, like, 18 or 19, and she regrets it to this day, and I just don't want to have those regrets.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: It's worth getting over the anxiety part of it.
[00:04:45] Speaker C: You know what? It's just going to have to be something that I just suck up.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: But once you do it, you're going to want to do it again and again.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: That's my hope.
[00:04:54] Speaker B: And it is not a problem.
[00:04:56] Speaker C: If this becomes my addiction, I'm okay with it. Let's put it that way.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: All right, so you are heading to the UK and then Holland for a day.
[00:05:07] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: I always love that because that's how they say it in Austin Powers Gold member.
[00:05:10] Speaker C: Also, side note, is it the Netherlands and Holland?
[00:05:14] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:05:15] Speaker C: And everybody, we're just accepting that. That's just. It could be either or, and it's totally interchangeable.
[00:05:22] Speaker B: Totes.
[00:05:22] Speaker C: Okay, great. Yeah. I don't know what's right.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: So when you get to Europe, when you get to the UK, where are you starting?
[00:05:30] Speaker C: So we begin our adventure in London, flying into Gatwick. We are flying into Heathrow.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Heathrow.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: And I am very lucky that my good friend Nikki has offered to put us up in London, which that has know London is an expensive city. It's like the New York of is.
That has been a.
And she's the most amazing human being in the entire world. And Nikki, I'm going to make you listen to this podcast so that you can hear that I'm praising.
So. And Dan, her husband, is also amazing because he is going to drive us to the airport when we leave London. However, I digress. So we land in London, and then we are staying with her for four days. And then we are flying from London to Scotland, to the Highlands of Scotland, to Inverness.
And the reason that we're going to the Highlands is because of Outlander. Well, my husband is kind of obsessed with Outlander, but that's a bonus. That was kind of how I convinced him to go. My girlfriend Louise, that I've known for 20 years, she lives in Inverness. So we're going to go and visit with them. And there we are staying in a castle.
[00:06:49] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:06:50] Speaker C: I'm very excited about the castle. The castle has been owned by the same family for 800 years. And I have lived in the United States my entire life. And my father was a history buff. And there is nothing here that was lived in for 800 years.
[00:07:04] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:07:05] Speaker C: It's very cool. And my dream scenario is that we get to see the Northern lights while we're there because it is told to me that that is a possibility.
[00:07:14] Speaker B: If it is clear, it is late enough in the year that it gets dark early enough. And 02:00 a.m. Rolls around. Got to pop outside if it's clear.
[00:07:23] Speaker C: Yeah, we'll hike up a hill at 02:00 a.m. If we have to.
[00:07:26] Speaker B: Last time I saw the Northern Lights, I was flying over Russia and it was in an airplane. It was fascinating to see from the sky.
[00:07:33] Speaker C: Okay. I'm really jealous that you were able to use the words last time I saw.
If I ever get to see.
And it's funny because it's currently November for any of you listeners that are listening, like, later.
And I think a lot of people, when I've told them that we're doing this trip, are like, why are you going to get November?
[00:07:54] Speaker B: I think that's what I said.
[00:07:55] Speaker C: Too, but there's a lot of good. It's funny because I was doing our budget today, and I was kind of looking at the pros and cons stuff of what we're doing, and I'm writing about our trip and stuff, and I think that my pros list for going in November is much longer than my cons list for going November. Because in all reality, you kind of take the breaks with the weather over there. It kind of changes throughout the day.
I've been checking, and it's been sunny in some days, and it's been not some days, and it's fine and it's not that, so. But we don't have to deal with the midges in Scotland, which if anybody doesn't know what a midge is, I did not know what a midge was. So we have mosquitoes here in Florida. They're very annoying. I don't like the mosquitoes. Yes, midges are like mosquitoes with a vengeance. They're mean, they're nasty, their bites hurt really bad, and they will 100% swarm. You like nats? It is very not enjoyable.
[00:09:04] Speaker B: Sounds great.
[00:09:04] Speaker C: It's like horror movie level.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: Sounds like mosquitoes in.
[00:09:08] Speaker C: I'm not. Don't put that on my list of places that I'm going. Sorry.
Or I go in there. It's cold, but. So the midges in Scotland we're going to miss, which is like, perfect. The Northern lights aspect was a big thing for me. I really wanted to be able to see that. And it's less expensive if you go in the off season. Going to Europe in the summer is very expensive and busy not having crowds and stuff like that. And then also London at Christmas time is beautiful. There's so much they do. The whole city is, like, decorated, and it's like the real version of are. There are a lot of more pros than cons. And honestly, I can't have my kids going to Europe and be fallen in love with it. Right. There has to be a little reality.
[00:10:03] Speaker B: They have to have some gray days to keep their reality.
[00:10:06] Speaker C: Yes. They have to be like, this is cool, but also it's really cold. I don't really want to live here.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: So as you've been getting ready and as time marches on. So one of the things you were asking me to help you with was to kind of look at your stuff and make sure that you're all ready to roll for things like customs and stuff.
[00:10:24] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: Do you feel.
I've been through customs lots of times, and I do get nervous every time even though I know you don't have a dead body. I don't have a dead body. I'm not trafficking drugs or anything like that. What is it that makes you nervous about going through these different processes for international travel?
[00:10:46] Speaker C: So I will say this.
[00:10:49] Speaker B: Do you have a dead body?
[00:10:52] Speaker C: I do listen to a lot of podcasts and a lot of true crime ones, but I think that the thing for me is, okay, so, weirdly, I am the person. When I get pulled over by a police officer, I start to sweat. Even if it's not, I've done nothing wrong. And they've pulled me over to let me know that there's a road closed or, like, my taillight is out or whatever. I still am sweating like a person who has a dead body in their trunk. I don't know why. I've never had, like, a negative run in with authority, but that is my experience. I don't know why. And so I think that that aspect of it is a little bit scary.
I'm very nervous about what they're going to ask me and that I'll slip up and be like, no. I mean, yes. I don't know what was the question again?
[00:11:40] Speaker B: Or that your kids will have a sassy conversatioN.
[00:11:42] Speaker C: Oh, that my kids will be like, they're not my real parents. And then, like, anybody.
Your listeners don't know my boys, but they can be essentially like me and kind of goofy and weird.
[00:11:55] Speaker B: I can picture it happening, and they.
[00:11:56] Speaker C: Think it's, like, funny. And of course, now my youngest thinks that my oldest, who is the much more prankster, is going to do that. And he keeps saying, like, Ben, don't say anything weird to the customs. You know, there's that aspect of it. I'm sure they'll behave when we're there.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: I'm sure they'll be like, when reality hits, you could be separated into the country.
[00:12:15] Speaker C: I mean, keep in mind, my oldest does his number one goal in London is he wants to make one of the guards at the palace laugh. And I'm like, everyone tries to do that, and it's not going to happen. He's like, oh, no, it's going to happen. And I'm like, but I think also there's so much information, it kind of gets to be overwhelming as far as global entry clear or mobile passport or this or that or the other thing. And I think that if you don't travel a lot, you're like, well, wait, which one is right?
[00:12:57] Speaker B: Those things? What do I need?
[00:12:58] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:58] Speaker B: Did you do any of them? Did you do mobile passport.
[00:13:01] Speaker C: So I downloaded the app.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:13:03] Speaker C: I got that far, and then I got nervous and I stopped because I was like, so I'm like, do I go in a special line for this? What does this even mean? Does it just mean a person is not scanning my passport, just a machine? And I do a lot of Internet research before we go on trips, but the Internet research is like, even like.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Sometimes it's sketch and not reliable and it's overwhelming. Or sometimes people will write something that's a real generalization where they might tell you, oh, it works this way. But then that was their experience in one airport, and then they went to a different country and it maybe didn't work the same way, or maybe they didn't tell you about all the other countries that actually didn't accept the mobile version of a passport.
[00:13:47] Speaker C: Right.
[00:13:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So just to kind of set you at ease, you can never go wrong with a paper passport.
[00:13:54] Speaker C: Oh, I'm bringing my.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: As long as it is still valid with at least six months, you're good.
[00:14:01] Speaker C: Yeah. I think that the documentation and you.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: Don'T need any visas for where you're going.
[00:14:05] Speaker C: Yes, I did look into that, and I don't need any visas for where I'm going. Thank goodness. But I think the documentation thing can be very overwhelming for people. So when our passports needed to be updated, because mine was not going to be expired, but it was within that six month window, and I wouldn't have known that had I not researched that. You have to have it. It has to be six months of validity or more.
And then both my boys needed passports. So, of course, then we go to the passport office in April. Everyone, just FYI, if you're going out of the country, please get your passport early because it takes a long time. So we applied for our passports in April. My husband and I renewed my boys, we got new ones, and we were waiting and waiting, and I'm, like, sweating, and then I'm getting emails from the airline saying, you have to put your passport information in. And I'm like, I don't have it yet. What do you mean? And so we finally got our.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: You were able to purchase without having your passport?
[00:15:03] Speaker C: Yes.
Which is that not a thing? Are people not able to.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: I always have a valid passport, so I've never not just put it in right there because I'm worried that I'm going to forget to put it.
[00:15:16] Speaker C: Yeah.
So finally we got our passport in for. We did get them in, like, September, but it took from April to September, which is a pretty long time.
And I'm, in the meantime, hearing all these horror stories of people being like, you're not going to get it in time. Oh, my gosh, it took us forever.
So then I'm like sweating that. So I think there's a lot of just built up anxiety for me thinking about it. Yes. And it's like, would I rather plan a trip in the last minute? Probably not. No. I started planning a trip in February. We're leaving in November. That is not enough time for me. I could have taken two more months to prepare, however.
But I think also making sure that yesterday I was walking through Michael's, weirdly, the craft.
[00:16:04] Speaker B: Like the craft store.
[00:16:05] Speaker C: Yeah. And I was listening to another podcast because it's like my thing. And they were talking about the guy on the podcast. He got his driver's license. He's from another country, and he got his driver's license in the United States. And he was like, oh, and now I have my real ID, which apparently you need now to even go along with your passport to go anywhere. And then I immediately checked my license.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: We are real ID in Florida.
[00:16:34] Speaker C: And I called my husband, I'm like, is yours a real ID? Because I haven't got my license update. I don't know if it was. So I think that there's just the unknown for me is very scary.
The more research I do, the more at ease I am. But at the same time, I think that having resources in people to ask, like having you to ask, has been such a blessing. Because in all reality, I don't know that many people that travel out of the country and those that I do, they haven't gone in a long time. So I think that having people that you can ask for questions to, because you have to verify everything you read on the Internet. Anyway, true story.
Now, my anxiety is mostly based around just, do I have everything ready? Am I prepped?
[00:17:28] Speaker B: So with that, then I've got a question about once you're over there, because I know that you're doing more than just know, you're going up and doing Scotland. So that means you've got either the Harry Potter train or you're flying from England up to Scotland.
[00:17:44] Speaker C: So we are flying from England. So the Harry Potter train is not running in November.
I know.
[00:17:51] Speaker B: How do all the kids get back from Hogwarts for their Christmas break, for.
[00:17:56] Speaker C: Their happy Christmas break? I don't know. I guess they have to ride on their dragons or whatever if they do.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: So you're flying then?
[00:18:05] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:18:05] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:18:07] Speaker C: And the flights were super inexpensive, so it was totally worth it. It was like $49 for each of us or whatever. I'm sure we're on like a plane that there's like a guy running.
[00:18:15] Speaker B: Is it Ryanair?
[00:18:21] Speaker C: So we're flying from Gatwick to the Inverness airport. And then.
And then here comes another anxiety inducing thing. So my anxiety comes from the getting there. Once I'm there, I'm usually okay. Wherever we go. Once I'm there, I'm probably good. My husband, however, his anxiety comes from the driving part of it. So in London.
[00:18:47] Speaker B: Oh, it's going to be so funny.
[00:18:48] Speaker C: In London, we're not driving because it's London and you don't have to.
And then we're staying with friends anyway.
But when we get to the know, it's all farmland and open fields and whatever. And one lane roads. I'm like, don't worry about driving on the other side because it's all one lane anyway.
But daylight savings time, winter. So it gets dark there at like 415.
[00:19:18] Speaker B: Sounds like Seattle.
[00:19:23] Speaker C: I was worried about. So we're flying into Inverness, and we get there at like three ish, like 330, I think we land and then we have to go get our rental car. And then we're not staying in downtown Inverness. We're staying on the outskirts of Inverness. Because castles. Because they can't just keep all the castles in one city, right?
[00:19:42] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:19:45] Speaker C: So then by the time we would get to the castle, or even be driving to the castle, it's going to be dark. So then I started thinking about, oh, he's going to freak out.
There's going to be yelling. It's going to be stressful. Because then you have the dark, you have the other side of the road, you have the other side of the car.
So that's a lot.
[00:20:07] Speaker B: So can I give you a little silver lining on that, though?
[00:20:10] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: Okay. So you arrive. By the time you get to your castle, it's dark. One of my absolute favorite things about travel is arriving at night. And then in the morning, waking up and seeing the light hit everything and realizing that I am in a completely different place and not having any previous thought of, oh, my gosh, I can't wait to see this again in the daylight. And it's all so very fresh and new, and it sounds really weird, but arriving at night and then getting sunrise wherever you wake up is actually awesome.
[00:20:46] Speaker C: All right, that'S.
[00:20:46] Speaker B: It's one of my favorite things about traveling on a long travel day.
[00:20:49] Speaker C: I'll take Brian yelling at me for that.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: Oh, it's totally worth it. And he will also think.
[00:20:56] Speaker C: Sheep, sheep everywhere.
He gets very stressed out. Like Siri stresses him out when she's giving him directions.
Like even my Siri, who is an Australian man, stresses, like, it doesn't matter what voice you give the Siri, he gets very stressed. And then if I turn Siri off and I just read the directions, I become the Siri. And then he's for yelling at me, why, I can't go down this, that. But he's going to have to drive while we're there. And so that's his anxiety that he's going to have to get over. And of course, for the listeners, he doesn't think he has this.
But this is Brian who doesn't like.
[00:21:38] Speaker B: To come downtown here.
[00:21:39] Speaker C: This is Brian who does not like to park in downtown St. Augustine, FYI, because parking is really that. But I think everybody has their kind of, their hangups of the unknown. And I think we went to San Francisco last year and for him it was even public transportation because it's that unknown piece, right? He was like, I don't know how know ride the ferry or the subway or the trolley or the bus or whatever. And so it's like once he's on the, he's fine on an airplane, but once he's on the ground, that's the part that kind of stresses. Like how are we going to get from place to place stresses.
[00:22:21] Speaker B: So for him, something that's already all squared away and where he does not have to be in charge of getting himself from point A to point B, that's what would be perfect for him. An anxiety free trip.
[00:22:32] Speaker C: Just. Yes.
[00:22:32] Speaker B: Show up and be carted around.
[00:22:34] Speaker C: Yes. If he had a chauffeur, if he was wealthy beyond his imagination and had a chauffeur for every trip, it would be ideal. His own personal Uber driver. And actually, the day we Ubered in San Francisco was probably his least stressful day. He was like, this is so think. But once we got the hang of it there, because the transportation system in San Francisco is fantastic. And once we got the hang of it, I mean, thEre's an know. London has an app, they have a city mapper.
My, again, you already have your oyster.
[00:23:03] Speaker B: Cards or something, don't you? You mentioned you don't.
[00:23:06] Speaker C: You're going to look for an oyster card for me. Actually, I will. No, I have to. And that was the other thing I did research on that I wouldn't have known. And I think that there's so much unknown and I think that that is what stresses people out. So when you go in the tube, for those of you that don't know, when you go in the tube in London or any public transportation, every single person, not family, but every single person has to tap in and tap out with a card. So you actually tap it like you would tap your credit card to pay for something, and it tracks by that card. And you have to use the same card every time for the same person. So, like, if I use my one, Brian has to use a different card than I use because otherwise it's going to track us differently.
And then my kids each, they don't have their own credit cards because Lord knows them, never given them.
So they have to have an oyster card, which then I had to figure out, okay, what's an oyster card? How do you get one of those?
And then that they can tap in and out on as their own. So it's a lot. I mean, it's learning any new city, but you're only needing it. For a.
[00:24:17] Speaker B: The first time I experienced public transportation with the tap, it was before that was a standard in the US, and I didn't have any credit or debit card that had tap.
And my friends had got on on the bus, and they were like, get on.
[00:24:32] Speaker C: You're like, can I give you, like, token?
[00:24:33] Speaker B: What do I do? What do I do? And the bus driver's like, one of your friends has to pay for you.
And so they're like, okay, I didn't use this one. And that was how we got home.
[00:24:43] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:24:44] Speaker B: Yeah, it was kind of, you're like, I live here. That's also when I realized how different the United States is in terms of accessibility and ease of everything, and how behind the curve the US is with so much stuff.
[00:25:00] Speaker C: Well, I think in big cities in the United States, they've got it down better. Their public transportation systems are much better. But when you live anywhere outside of a big city, forget it. And I think for people who didn't grow up using public transportation or currently using it, even I grew up using public transportation. I grew up in Philadelphia, which know we use public transportation for a lot of things. But I think when you aren't using it in your everyday life, it becomes. And then you go to a new city, right? You're like, oh, my gosh, how do I navigate this? And what if I get lost? And it's funny because I have a friend, when I went to New York for the first time, who I said, what if I get lost on the subway and I get off at the wrong stop, and she's like, you just get back on.
[00:25:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:48] Speaker C: And I was, okay, so, you know, you have all this pent up fear, and then when you get to the what, what's the worst case scenario? Then you're like, oh, okay. It's not really that think that. I think it really is for a lot of people. I know for know, it's definitely the fear of the unknown. I'm just not sure how to do this. And I do think that that prevents people from booking that trip to Italy that they've always wanted to take know, going to Reno. I don't know where people are going.
[00:26:20] Speaker B: I mean, Reno's fun.
[00:26:21] Speaker C: I know. I love cars. Who doesn't love, you know, I think know having those and I want to see the places that I want to see. I don't want to have a bucket list that never gets anything checked off.
[00:26:35] Speaker B: I think that's a great point.
So then makes sense about ground transportation, the whole planning things out. So what have you done for. Because I know the other thing that you were adamant about is that for this trip specifically, you guys are only doing backpacks.
[00:26:52] Speaker C: We are only doing back.
[00:26:53] Speaker B: Okay, tell me about this. Why is this only backpack? What sort of pushback have you gotten from the kids who like their shoes and like, all these things?
[00:27:03] Speaker C: How are you managing? First of all, everyone that's listening to this is like, why is this lady even going on a trip? She seems like she's really stressed out about all of it.
Everything about traveling stresses me out for everyone.
[00:27:14] Speaker B: But backpacks is a but I'm doing managing, not having to deal with other stuff.
[00:27:19] Speaker C: I am moving through it. So I don't want my luggage to get lost because that will be a stressor for everyone because clean underwear is a necessity. And so I bought backpacks on Amazon that are roughly the same size and are carry on size measured. I did all of the research on what the best ones were for carry on size and so on. And so to everything that we're taking, we are fitting in backpacks, which my husband thinks he's buying Doc Martens. I'm like, well, you'll ship them home because backpacks bib. So I have done three practice runs, three practice runs for packing. My packing.
[00:28:05] Speaker B: I think that's fantastic.
[00:28:06] Speaker C: And my children, my children's packing. And I think packing smart. And there's like a billion or more tikToks and pinterests of what's tap pack and what's take and this, that and the other thing and I'm looking at these chicks bringing, like, trench coats and knee high boots, and I'm like, girl, that's not going to fit in my backpack. So it is going to be one pair of jeans. We are lucky enough that we have laundry in both of the places that we're staying.
[00:28:35] Speaker B: Thank goodness.
[00:28:36] Speaker C: And I am not opposed to wearing, like, three days of worn jeans. I'm just not.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: Was it sure where you're going with that?
[00:28:44] Speaker C: And I'm also a Florida girl traveling to a very chilly place, so I'm bringing long johns, so my skin probably won't be touching my pairs of long johns. Yeah. And I do spill on myself. I'm very clumsy, so I have, like, shout wipes. I'm good. Eat there so I can do spot check cleaning.
[00:29:01] Speaker B: And you wear a lot of black.
[00:29:02] Speaker C: I do wear a lot of black, so I think it'll be fine.
I think for my kids, their clothes are still smaller. They're not very large children, so I think they're really okay. And we're bringing thin, thin layers, because the number one thing that I have read in all of my research is that the weather changes from warm to cold and so on and so forth. So thin layers. We're wearing our jackets onto the plane. I have it all planned.
[00:29:35] Speaker B: And do you feel like knowing that you don't have to check bags that you've practiced this? Does that help you? Or do you feel like I should have done this more?
Because I feel like you are beyond set. Like, as you tell me what you.
[00:29:50] Speaker C: Think that most people would be like, you're a psychotic person. What is wrong with you? I think that these are all the things that I do to kind of ease my mind and not having. Because my heart rate will start to grow. As soon as we are on the car, on the way to the airport, we're flying out of Daytona Beach Airport.
[00:30:11] Speaker B: Which is the best, literally.
[00:30:13] Speaker C: Shameless plug. Not a sponsor. Shameless plug. Daytona Beach Airport. But it's like going to the shopping mall and getting on an airplane. That sounds weird and kind of maybe like their planes are wonky, but they're not. It's an international airport, but it's so small. It's so they just. It's like one guy named Jim that works at the security. He's like, hey, how you guys doing?
[00:30:34] Speaker B: And sometimes you get there and they don't even have security open yet because nobody flies out at 03:00 in the afternoon.
[00:30:40] Speaker C: I know. It is the best airport. It's never crowded. They have really good that's a great.
[00:30:45] Speaker B: Way to actually start your trip is by starting your first leg with the least stressful thing you could possibly imagine.
[00:30:51] Speaker C: That is why I chose that, and it was cheaper, so bonus. But we live in St. Augustine, so Jacksonville is about the same distance from Daytona Airport and from know. It's. It was an easy choice. And that way I can feel I don't have to deal with know. I think the stress. There's a lot of time you're, when you're a parent and you're traveling with your kids, the stress are like, oh, my gosh, and my kids are going to be there. I have all my own travel anxiety. And then like, oh, my gosh, my kids are going to be there. And I'm going to be dealing with them doing whatever they're doing, which is, I mean, my kids are now teenagers and I have one that's a preteen and one that is now officially 14. So he's a teenager and they're both whiners.
I love my children. If they're going to ever. I do love my children, and I think that both of them would admit.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: That they are one about communicating their thoughts and feelings.
[00:31:49] Speaker C: Yes. They are not. They're much like their mother.
But I think that a long line is annoying to anybody. I mean, we've been at Disney on a ride they wanted to go on in a long line and they're like, how long is this? You know, you're dealing with your own anxiety of just like, okay, I'm sweating bullets over here. I'm getting nervous about going on this airplane and going to this place that I've known. I have to fly over the whole ocean.
And then you have, like, whiny children that are like, lines long. So I think that going to an airport, that the lines are not going to be long.
Starting that and then just like, getting a cocktail and chilling in the lounge and wait. Reading your book books. That is my key to travel.
[00:32:37] Speaker B: I have no response.
The reason I have no response is because you're bringing just a backpack.
[00:32:44] Speaker C: Three books will be in that backbook. Like three at least, minimum.
[00:32:48] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:32:48] Speaker C: Yes. I have to finish my current book because I can't bring a half book.
[00:32:54] Speaker B: And you can't just bring a tablet.
[00:32:56] Speaker C: No, I don't like those. I like to smell my book.
[00:32:59] Speaker B: I know the little ereaders are great.
[00:33:02] Speaker C: My kids will have that. They have their iPads that they'll use for reading and watching movies and whatever. I have to have physically of books. I'm an old school girl. I'm a Barnes and noble sitter and reader.
[00:33:15] Speaker B: Well, you are going to struggle with the little backpack and not buying a bunch of old antique books that really smell like old books when you get to London.
[00:33:24] Speaker C: Well, and we're going to go to Leaky's bookshop in Scotland because it's like the oldest bookshop in whatever the history of the world or whatever it is. That's not true.
And it's got, like, a crackling fire in the middle, which I'm like, ooh, that's a little bit of a fire hazard. No, but it looks so just like, oh, I could just stay here all day and drink a Tea.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: So we'll have to have another podcast episode where we talk about your trip when you get home.
[00:33:48] Speaker C: Yes, because see if I've survived.
[00:33:50] Speaker B: Well, I want to hear how all of this went. But then also, I'm kind of curious because I haven't been up to Scotland. I can't wait to.
[00:33:58] Speaker C: Let me take you there.
[00:33:59] Speaker B: I can't wait to hear about it.
[00:34:04] Speaker C: I think the trepidation of getting there is my biggest.
There's just a lot of logistics that go into it and talking to other people who are like, oh, I've always wanted to go to blah, but it's just so much work to put into researching. Where do you go? Where do you stay?
So it is really helpful having a friend that's a travel writer, I'll tell you that much.
[00:34:28] Speaker B: Good times. Well, thank you for going through all of your qualms and anxiety, because, like I was saying, it's not something I necessarily face, but I know other people do. And you have such a different take on it than me.
[00:34:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:34:43] Speaker B: And it's great. So thank you for sharing, of course. And being vulnerable.
[00:34:48] Speaker C: Nothing if not vulnerable.
[00:34:50] Speaker B: We will definitely have Kate back to talk about all the Scotland and England things when they return. In the meantime, thanks for tuning in. Check out this and more on the
[email protected] and be sure to give us a follow. And check out all of the cool videos and photos that we've got from all of this and more at Instagram and the Facebooks at Two travel Dads. And yeah, we'll talk to you later.
[00:35:14] Speaker C: Awesome.
[00:35:14] Speaker B: Bye.
[00:35:16] Speaker A: Two Travel Dads podcast is written and produced by Rob and Chris Taylor in St. Augustine, Florida. Check out past episodes in detailed show notes at two Traveldads.com podcast episodes. If you would like to be on two Traveldads podcast, please send us a note through our website or find out
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