Tag: Traveling

Bonnaroo 2019 – Preparing for the 1,000 Mile Road Trip
Bonnaroo 2019 is quickly approaching. This time next week, I’ll be relaxing in my campsite, bracing myself for the Tennessee mid-day heat. Before I get there, however, there’s a lot of preparation that I have to get done. In this post, I hope to outline a few of the most important items for any Bonnaroo fan to bring and things that I forget every year.

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First of all, register your wristband. That’s key. I also decided to sign up for the auto-payment feature through Paypal so that I don’t have to fuss about having my card on hand during the festival. Once the basics are established, then it’s time to pack for the road trip:
1. Cooler: Although our Bonnaroo plan involves creating a large group camp, we still need to bring a cooler for ourselves while we’re on the road. We purchased a cooler on our trip to Maine last month, so that’s what we’re going to use this year. Our travel companions will be carrying the larger cooler for our campsite.
2. Tent: We don’t plan on using our tent for Bonnaroo, given how hot it can get in the morning with or without a canopy. However, it is still essential to have some sort of shelter if all else fails. Also, who knows what might happen if someone needs to borrow a tent.
3. Solar Shower: Sometimes it’s worth renting a motel room just to get a good shower. Othertimes, there’s a solar shower. Live Nation has done a great job to increase the quality and access to showers in Bonnaroo proper, so this may not come in handy during the festival, but it is a great way to save a few bucks either way.
4. Bed: Since we’re driving down in a van, we’re assembling a bed in the back to give us a nice place to sleep on the drive down to Bonnaroo. Thankfully, with enough ventilation and a canopy to keep out the heat, the back of the van becomes a cool little hideout to escape from the hustle and bustle of Bonnaroo.
5. Snacks: Although we usually pick up food for Bonnaroo itself at the Manchester Walmart, we always bring plenty of snacks for the drive down. Although the GSP says it’ll take ~16 hours, it’s more like 20-22 if we include stopping to eat, sleep, and pee. We’re going to want to bring a lot of snacks that I can eat, given how little I’ll be able to snack on at Southern gas station pit stops.
6. Medicine: Gotta always take your medicine.
7. Extra Car Supplies: Although I’ve tried my best to ensure that our vehicle is prepped for the trip, it is always wise to prepare for the worst. In our case, we bring a spare tire (not a doughnut), puncture repair kit, and some extra rags and tools if need be. Worst case scenario, we have AAA and festival insurance in our back pocket.
Now that the van is packed, the next step is to ensure that I have everything packed for my time at Bonnaroo. Usually, I try to pack light and load up on luxury items like food and comfortable clothes. I’ll be bringing mostly shorts, with a few pairs of pants and sweat pants for colder nights, mostly t-shirts or light button-ups, my raggedy pair of Nikes I bought to bring to Japan two years ago and my knock-off Timberland boots in case of Mudderoo. Always be prepared.

As mentioned previously, we also plan to bring a reflective tarp to act as a canopy over our van during the day to help keep it cool inside. We’re bringing sheets and other tapestries to hang from our easy-up as well. Solar lights wrapped around the campsite will help keep the place illuminated at night. Unlike previous years, I think I’ll be bringing a small propane camping stove to heat water for morning tea, coffee, oatmeal, etc. Fingers crossed.

I was tempted to bring my guitar this year, but given its sentimental value to me, I don’t want to chance anything happening to it. That being said, I recommend anyone with musical talent to bring their instruments and get things going back at camp during off hours.

My girlfriend and I are very excited to make it down to Tennessee again this year, but at this point, it’s just a case of making sure we have everything we need to bring before we ship out. Once we do, it should be smooth sailing from there.

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There’s a chance I get another blog post out before we leave, but it’s slim. Better chance I publish something on the road. Thankfully, there’s a lot yet to discuss! Stay tuned here, on my Instagram, and on Twitter for more updates, blog posts, and musings.
June 7, 2019
Bonnaroo 2018 – Day 6: Recovery & a Safe Return Home
If you heeded my advice from the last Bonnaroo 2018 blog post, you’ve prepared for an extra day of travel and general detox before trying to reenter the civilian world. Depending on how you got to Manchester, TN, you are either looking forward to a short, albeit cramped, airplane ride or you’re gearing up for a road trip back home. In our case, we had breakfast plans at our favorite local restaurant and lodge, a friend to drop off at the Chattanooga airport, and then approximately 1,500 miles to cover on our drive back to Massachusetts.

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After meeting up with friends just outside of the festival and saying our goodbyes, we made our way Northeast towards Virginia. My girlfriend and I decided to stop later on in the night to sleep and recharge instead of driving through the night. We found a cozy rest stop, crawled into the back of our van and made room for ourselves among our luggage and festival supplies.

Driving is rarely an issue for me, especially on long road trips. I grew up traveling from across New England every few months and have found highway driving very therapeutic ever since I got my license. The thing is, you never really remember just how long Virgnina and West Virginia are until you have to drive through them up route 81 for what feels like an eternity. Chalk this up to a whiny Yankee who is used to being able to drive to 5+ different states in less than 5 hours, but the wanderlust wears off after the 8th hour spent driving through the same cow-littered, green landscape.

The only real thing of note about our trip back was what happened after a brief pit stop in Connecticut. Just moments after taking the wheel and reentering route 95, my girlfriend was able to narrowly avoid being mixed up in a car accident just two cars ahead of us. An SUV in the high-speed lane looked like it had been bumped from behind, causing it to spin out of control across the highway and smashing into an unsuspecting car in the right lane. Thankfully, we were also accompanied by an undercover police officer who, in record time, managed to establish a parameter, call for backup and attend to the scene.

What’s the moral of this whole story?

Stay safe, don’t do anything stupid, and get your butt home before the post-Bonnaroo blues sets in. There’s nothing worse than spending the best week of the year at Bonnaroo and then having something dumb happen to put a damper on your festivities.
The few days after Bonnaroo can be a tough time for all of us. Here are a few ways to avoid the worst of the post-Bonnaroo blues, recover from your festival debouchery, and prepare for next year:
- Keep the Music Going: Leaving the farm doesn’t mean that you have to leave the spirit of Bonnaroo behind! Embrace new ideas, share your favorite tunes, and always keep the music flowing. I recommend listening to the last few years of Bonnaroo playlists on Spotify during your drive home.
- Keep in Touch: Whether it’s sharing your excitment for next year’s line-up on social media or discussing your road trip plans in a group chat, it’s always a good idea to stay connected with your Bonna-buds in between visits to the farm. There’s nothing like sharing the Bonnaroo vibe with kindred spirits that can help transport you right back to Manchester in the blink of an eye.
- Shower & Relax: You’ve survived another year of Bonnaroo. You deserve a break from all of the vacation you just had. First, I’d suggest a shower, then followed quickly by a nap. Jaccuzi? You do you. A trip to the beach? Have a blast. Enjoy yourself and reenergize, because you’ve got work tomorrow morning and it’s going to SUCK.
Next week, I’ll be discussing some of my preparation plans for our trip to Manchester, TN this June. We’ll be outfitting the van with a bed, packing the bare essentials, and planning our mid-road trip stops. There’s a lot to discuss and only a few weeks left to discuss it! Stay tuned here, on my Instagram, and on Twitter for more updates, blog posts, and musings.
May 15, 2019
Bonnaroo 2018 – Day 5: Sunday, FUNday.
The last day of Bonnaroo is here.

Sunday on the farm brings with it a bittersweet feeling after a week in the Tennessee heat. On one hand, you are most likely sore, sweaty, and quickly realizing how much money you’ve spent with your Paypal-linked wristband. On the other, it’s the last day of the best week of the year and you’re ready to tear it up!

If my memory recalls correctly (which is not always a safe bet at this point), our Sunday schedule for Bonnaroo 2018 was much more flexible than others. As long as I saw Thundercat and eventually ended up at the Killers before they closed their set, I knew I’d be alright. I also joined my girlfriend to watch Dua Lipa and was pleasantly surprised. I had listened to her on the radio in preparation for the trip and found her songs pleasant enough to nod along to, but I was impressed at how well she performed as a newer pop artist on the biggest stage of the festival.

As expected, Thundercat was easily one of my favorite sets. After being introduced to him by a friend, I spent most of the beginning of 2018 hyping myself up for seeing him in Manchester. Thankfully, he did not disappoint. After the spectacular Pigeons Playing Ping-Pong set, listening to Thundercat jam with his band was a welcome cherry on top for a Bonnaroo that felt much more relaxed and pleasant than the ones I’ve previously attended.

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If Thundercat and Pigeons created a cohesive vibe for the Bonnaroo 2018 experience, the Killers joined Sheryl Crow and the Chic in teaching me an important moral for Bonnaroo 2018. There are a TON of songs that I know front to back and had no idea before seeing the artists live. I don’t think I’ve ever sat down to listen to the Killers on purpose, but nevertheless, I knew every tune and could even keep up with some of the lyrics when I saw them close out the festival. Their cultural ubiquity was lost on me until I sat down in front of the What Stage and witnessed it first hand.

After witnessing a stranger steal our picnic mat right out from under us, our group transitioned back to camp and enjoyed the night relaxing and reminiscing about this year’s festival.

Seriously. Someone swiped our mat right as we (a group of approximately twelve or so adults) stood up to applaud the end of the festival. It cost us $5 at Family Dollar and it had spent the past week getting soaked in sweat, mud, and rain, but sure man… take our picnic mat.

They wouldn’t have had to wait much longer for stealing to turn into willing donations, however. Almost immediately after the Killers’ set wrapped up, people started leaving the farm. Once I woke up the next morning at around 10 AM, what had once been a flourishing tent city had become a barren waste of particularly American consumerism. More than a few attendees decided to leave their entire campsite behind, tent, cooler, and chairs included. Anyone who wanted to stock up on cheap camping supplies would have had a payday.

As for myself, seeing the sea of crap left behind by festival-goers put a pretty depressing damper on the whole occasion. Sure, we had a lot of fun, but what kind of waste are we producing to create that fun? Someone mentioned that the Bonnaroo staff specifically donated and recycled most of the items left behind, but it felt like a convenient way to brush aside the fact that we, as a community, leave behind so much worthless crap for others to clean up. Bonnaroo takes place on a wonderful farm, not a movie theater, folks.

All in all, Sunday of Bonnaroo 2018 was a fantastic way to cap off one of my favorite festivals. I didn’t have the normal anxiety of having to jam as much of the last day as I could into 24 hours and the shows that I did end up going to left me thoroughly impressed and satisfied.
The last day of Bonnaroo is often bittersweat. Here are a few ways to make the time between the last set and your departure as smooth and relaxing as possible:
- Hydrate or Dydrate: Depending on your mode of transporation, you may have a long road ahead of you. Make sure to stay hydrated and rejuvinated so that you can tackle the journey home in even strides.
- Relish the Friends You’ve Made: The best part of Bonnaroo each year is meeting and staying in touch with the friends I meet and make on the farm. Before leaving, take some time to confirm contact info and say goodbye to friends you may have made during your trip. At least pretend that you’ll keep in touch.
- Sleep the Night: If possible, stay an extra night after the end of Bonnaroo before leaving the farm. Avoiding the end-of-festival rush is worth the extra time it may take to get home. If you can’t stay an extra night, consider taking a nap or relaxing with your camp before leaving the farm. You’ll thank me on your drive home.
- Stay Safe & Don’t Be Stupid: Here’s a simple tip. You’ve survived another Bonnaroo. You’re leaving Manchester, Tennessee and you’re on your way home. Don’t do anything stupid. Just please be safe and don’t take for granted that you’ve been able to enjoy a week of festivities at the best festival on Earth.
Next week, I’ll describe our trip home from Tennessee, how we managed to reintegrate into real life, and provide some tips on what to do to keep the Bonnaroo spirit alive during your 9 to 5. If you’d be interested in reading more about my experiences traveling and visiting music festivals, feel free to shoot me a comment to let me know.
May 7, 2019
5 Traveling Tricks I Learned From My First International Trip

Although I consider myself a seasoned road tripper, I’ve only spent a few weeks outside the United States. Those fourteen days were spent traveling Japan with a good friend on my first international trip. Not everything went as well as we had planned, but it was a life-enriching experience and a lesson in what to do and what not to do while visiting another country with little international experience. Here are just a few of the things I picked up along the way.

Come Hungry

Food is such an essential part of the human experience that it would be a shame to restrict your diet while traveling abroad, but I extend my sympathies to those who have to do so for health reasons. I gave up alcohol just before heading to Japan and was subjected to ordering spiced ginger ale at every bar I ended up in. Other than my dry bar crawls, I made sure to try as much local food as possible, although I admit to going to a McDonalds more than once (they happened to have a Mega Mac burger at the airport a few months before I was able to find it the States.) Of everything I ate in the land of the rising sun, my worst meal was easily my European-themed hotel’s breakfast buffet. Everything of Japanese origin was a unique culinary experience that I hope to repeat soon.

My first uniquely “Japanese” experience after landing at Narita airport was wandering the streets of Itabashi looking for something to eat. My traveling companion and I had booked our AirBNB while waiting for a layover in Chicago and didn’t know what to expect when we arrived. For our first Japanese meal, we ended up stumbling into a small ramen shop with a pullback curtain and a menu sitting out front.

We saw that two other patrons were already enjoying their meal so my friend and I sat patiently for the chef to address us. Before we realized what we needed to do, another couple entered, greeted the chef, and turned to order their food from a vending machine just inside the door. After realizing and correcting our mistake, we handed our receipts to the chef and he began preparing our meals. I ended up eating some of the best ramen I’ve ever had in my life. You don’t know how glad I am that we didn’t just get sandwiches from a Lawson and call it a night.

Plan Only When Necessary

Life is full of surprises and part of traveling is embracing a certain amount of spontaneity. There are obvious necessities that must be planned for, such as passports, visas, and plane tickets, but you should have an open mind towards new opportunities in case you happen to run into them. For example, I had no idea where I was going to spend the night in Tokyo, but ended up thoroughly enjoying spending the night in a neighborhood that I wouldn’t otherwise know anything about. You don’t necessarily need to book your AirBNBs last minute to get the most out of traveling, but you should avoid filling up your itinerary to the brim and making no room for the surprises you’ll find along the way.

Read the Signs

When it comes to visiting a foreign country without much experience speaking or reading the native language, Japan makes things easy. As long as you stick to the popular cities, most important signage will be in both Japanese and English. That didn’t stop a lot of tourists I witnessed purposefully ignoring clearly written instructions, however. Some of them seemed to operate under the assumption that any potential social faux pas would be disregarded by any Japanse onlookers because of their tourist status.

It goes without saying to not be a jerk on your trip, but sometimes the stuff that goes without saying needs to be said anyway. In this case, read the sign. Just do the thing, whatever it is, that keeps you from looking like an ass in public.

In cases when you can’t read the sign, look up traveling tips for the specific country you are visiting. Every culture has its ins and outs, so no one is expecting you to be an expert, but doing the bare minimum will go a long way towards making your trip easier for everyone.

Take Some Time For Yourself

Your first international trip may be exhausting, depending heavily on your target destination and your traveling habits. Since flying to Japan was both my first time ever leaving the country and my first time on a commercial airplane, I was unprepared both physically and mentally for jumping time zones. I was already feeling sick just before departure and the jetlag only made it worse, but once I was able to recover, my next reality set in. I was going to be doing a lot of walking.

I should give myself some credit here as I did purchase a new pair of sneakers just before I left, but no amount of shoe could defend against me hiking up mountain shrines and walking around different Japanese cities for two weeks. The one-two punch of jetlag and physical exhaustion made me realize how important having a few minutes to relax and gather your thoughts can be. Whether I was calling another dry bar crawl early to get some shuteye or taking a walk before breakfast, I made sure to take time for myself when I needed it, rather than try to wring every ounce of enjoyment out of my trip. It always ended up benefitting me in the long run to know my limits.

Make Friends Whenever Possible

My trip to Japan was unique in that I was piggybacking on my companion’s work trip and ended up spending a lot of time meeting other people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I was also fortunate enough to run into other local Japanese people who were willing to help me with directions or with my chopstick etiquette. The language barrier was tough for some, but when I wasn’t struggling with American idioms, most of my acquaintances understood (or at least were polite enough to pretend) what I was talking about.

Some of my best experiences traveling have been because of the people I’ve met and my time spent abroad was no different. The key isn’t necessarily to be the most interesting person in the room, but instead to be willing to listen and learn from others. Once both parties agree to listen to one another, most barriers can be overcome.

November 20, 2018