Travel Squad
"Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter." - Izaak Walton
Your travel squad is really important and it’s hard to come by a good one. Not everyone who is your friend is easy to travel with. I learned the hard way you have to find someone who matches your style of travel. When testing out a new travel squad member it is best to start off with small trips. You must decide what you want from that person; do you want them to help plan the trip or do you want to be the planner? Are you an early riser? Are you adventurous? Are they? These are all questions you have to ask yourself! My travel squad has a solid 5 people that all compliment each other. I have to say, I am lucky to have that many people I can travel with and we have been to over 11 countries together as a quintet!
Steven
My boyfriend, my partner in crime. He is always up for any of my crazy antics and is down for ALMOST anything I plan. Over the years he has taught me when I am trying to do too much on a trip or when we should pass on something because it might be unsafe or just a bad idea. Definitely the ying to my yang and the group’s voice of reason.
Maggie
She is my first travel partner ever. We met in college and lived together during our study abroad in Italy and never looked back. We have some beyond crazy travel stories we can tell and we are the duo that will try anything once. Which is sometimes not the best idea (that’s when Steven comes in). We have learned a lot throughout our travels and years but it’s always great to have that adventurous person there to hype up the crew and give everyone a good story to tell. Oh Yeah, she’s also an amazing photographer. You NEED that person who will document all your cool moments and who’s literally not afraid to get on the ground for that good angle.
Pam
Pam is amazing and so go with the flow. Want to wake up early and hike a mountain, she’s there! Want to binge drink and dance the night away, she’s up for it! She’s the adventurous foodie in the group (none of us are), another amazing photographer #wherespam (she will literally aimlessly wander taking amazing artistic photos). You also need a healer in the group and Pam is ours! She always has ground up ginger and chinese pressure point massages to cure our illnesses (holistically) during our trips.
Rashid
Rashid is also for the most part going with the flow. He’s always silently watching what we are about to do and always with Steven making sure Maggie and I don’t get the group into anything too crazy. He loves outdoor adventure, but most importantly he is the analytics of the group. When we go out for dinners or buy any group tours Rashid always pays for it and keeps track of all expenses. At the end of the trip we will see venmo charges from Rashid of our damages.
So whether you’re the voice of reason, the firecracker, the analytics, the healer or the planner. You need a little bit of everything in your group and you will have stories to tell for years to come and friendships that will never end. So go ahead and pick wisely for your travel squad!