Double Booked Episode 2: The Travel Episode

Today's episode is all about travel.  We cover funny travel stories, work travel strategies and helpful hints for how to pack. 

What travel hacks are worthy, which you can skip, and how to keep score on parental duties. 

Also some great hints on afternoon childcare and building your village.

Below are links to a few of the products we talk about in this episode.

https://beistravel.com/products/the-east-to-west-tote-in-black

https://www.madewell.com/p/womens/accessories/wallets-bag-accessories/the-makeup-pouch-in-leather/NY486/?ccode=BK5229

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hi everyone, welcome back to Double Booked, another episode having to do with all things family, motherhood, career, beauty, health, wellness. I'm Nicole and I'm joined by Michael and today. You can hear us on all of your favorite podcast recording spots like Apple, Spotify, and YouTube channel. Welcome everyone.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Yay! Hello. Make sure you look for Double Booked Official. That's our podcast name in the search bar.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

And I'm feeling very official today because check out my headphones that I've added to my podcast listening and speaking. So full on, I feel very official now.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

You look official and you sound great coming in crystal clear. I'm using my microphone for the first time. The red light is on. You could tell I'm using it. The last time it was just a prop.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

So funny. So we have a lot to talk about today. I think we want to, we got to recap the weekend, what's been happening in our in our daily lives, but we're really gonna talk a lot today about travel, whether it's business travel, personal travel, traveling with kids, traveling without kids, all things travel. We'll tell you stories, we'll tell you tips, we'll tell you all the things we like and don't like about traveling. And I think it should be fun because we have a lot of travel stories together. And then, you know, of course, have a ton as individuals in our family. So tell me what happened with your weekend? What's going on with the family?

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Everything is good this weekend. So being in, I just want to be completely transparent, being new to kind of the podcast world and putting ourselves out there, things like that. So this weekend, I really, really wanted to do a spend the day with me, spend the weekend with me real situation because I am often like just completely impressed by the number of like just the total shit that we get done in a condensed period of time. So I endeavored to do it. I took all these little snippet videos, which was laughable, ridiculous. It's definitely a learning curve. And now I had to find the time to stitch them together. So it was a jam-packed weekend. It should be a good representation of what a typical realistic weekend was. We had very few sports, so that was the only thing that's missing. Usually we add in, you know, baseball tournaments and soccer games, and we didn't have any of that this weekend. So it should be interesting. That was my weekend. Pretty, pretty low-key.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

I will tell you. So when you mentioned you were gonna put these little snippets together over your weekend, I was like, oh, I could do something similar. And then I started sitting there and I'm sitting with yesterday afternoon. I was sitting at the pool trying to relax. I had one of my kids, and then all of a sudden I remembered I had a showing at the house because our house is for sale. So I was like, shit, I gotta go get the dogs. So I grabbed the, I left my child with another mom at the pool. I went and grabbed the dogs, put them in my car, brought them back to the pool, left the car on, and then my family member called and said, Oh, I'm dropping off one of my kids. And so now I have another kid. And so I'm sitting there and I'm like, how do I take a picture of all of the things that are happening right now, all at one time? I was just like, ah, then I had to get everybody back to the house and the dogs, and then I was like, I'm losing it, I'm losing it. But all worked out, so I don't have any pictures of that. You guys maybe you'll see pictures of me sitting at the pool because that was the most enjoyable part for the five seconds it happened.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

The five seconds you were sitting at the pool that looks like, oh, look at this mom has all this time to just chill and work on her tan, but they don't understand the behind the scenes, and you can't encapsulate that chaos in a picture.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

No, no, and this is after the weekend of we had one go to prom, we had one at private dance lessons, and then how to go to this is like first world problems, right? Then how to go to the BTS concert. So it was, you know, it was all moving parts, but one thing I did do this weekend, which very rare, rarely happens, is I binged a little bit. Okay. The Madison on Paramount with Michelle Pfeiffer. Okay. It makes me want to be a real life cowgirl and just live in Montana and all the things.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Okay, which I gotta be honest, knowing you the way I do probably didn't take a lot of persuasion.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

No, no, not at all. Like just the way that they shot this, and the like the views were incredible, and it reminded me of a trip that we took to Wyoming and just the scene of the pretty yellow flowers and the water and the mountains, it was just gorgeous. So if you get a chance, watch the the Madison.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

And also take a girl's trip to a dude ranch. We went particularly to Brush Creek in Wyoming, and I'm telling you, it was it was really life-changing. It was a life-changing experience, I think. You know what I was thinking about this weekend, oddly enough, about being a cowboy and horseback riding, since I feel like we've apparently we've done a relative amount of horseback riding together.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Do you remember when I almost died a couple of months ago of riding along with the Blue Ridge? I hate to I hate to laugh, but you've got to tell everyone like set the scene for everyone about we so we travel. I'll start and then you chime in. So we go do an annual girls' trip. This this past year we went to Blue Ridge, and we usually have some different activities throughout the trip. So we all decide, all right, we're gonna go horseback riding again. Very we call ourselves beginners so that we can go on this leisurely stroll and talk and and horseback ride and see all the scenes, all the beautiful stuff, right? So we're almost done with the trip the horseback riding trail, and all is going well until I'll take it from there.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Okay, so yeah, so and I am not, I wouldn't we went beginner because there were some people in our group that are beginners. I I mean, I'm not gonna be I can't wrangle cattle on a horse, but I mean I can ride a horse. I'm not afraid of horses. I enjoy it, I can canter, trot, gallop, the whole. This was just walking. We were just walking on a dedicated trail. These horses do this 17 times a day. They're lazy, they're chill. We get to this point where there is a tree, and I mean like a at least seven foot, six-foot diameter oak tree that has grown diagonally across the trail, and it's growing this tall grass below it. So casually, our guide is like, Hey, try to get your horse to stay over to the right because they like to eat this tall grass over there and try not to let them. And I'm like, I can control this thing, I know how to control a horse. This horse was like, Nope, we're gonna go over this way and just kept going in such a way that before I could blink, had me pinned crossways over with this, you know. So the tree's going this way, and the horse is going this way, and my body is here, and it is pinned up against here. And yes, I know I'm supposed to pull back on the reins again. However, it happened so quickly that, and it was just pressing almost decapitation style, that I had to take both hands and physically push the tree off of my throat or die. And I dropped the reins, and the horse just kind of kept walking. And I was so nicely in the saddle and tucked in and everything that like I don't even think I would have fallen off backwards. Like I wasn't, you know, loose. Like I'm a fall.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

I I don't know what was gonna happen, but all like the rest of us look at it in shock, like, what is happening? And the guy did nothing. She literally sat there, it's like, Are you okay? And we're like, No, she's obviously not okay. What do we do? What do I do? Like, I wanted her to jump off or like go, I think, trap back and she or say words like reverse or whatever this horse is particularly.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

So, yes, it was a little bit scary. I generally was rushing a little bit. The result is I ended up pushing him while squeezing far enough that he got the message to back up a few steps, and then I, you know, matrixed myself around the thing.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

You definitely showed some serious flexibility that day. That was impressive.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

Impressive. Thank you. Oh, so yeah, so today's episode is all about travel. And I want to set the scene about why we are the experts to talk about this. Nicole and I travel a lot for work, if not every week, every couple of weeks. I try not to be gone more than six or seven nights a month. Sometimes I do a good job of that, sometimes I do a less good job at that. But Nicole, do you have any rules about how you try to stage your travel?

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Yeah, I'm I'm about similar. So I try if I'm going to do it just one night a week. And I say that because I'll take an early morning flight and then I'll stay the night and then take the late flight out the next night, even though I won't be home for bedtime or what have you. It's one last night that I have to be in a hotel and I can be up the next morning for getting everybody out the door for school. So I I really try. Now we have a few big conferences and stuff coming up. So, you know, next week I'm gone two nights, and then after that, I think I'm gone for actually I'm only gone for two nights for Vegas this year. So I um I really, really try not to be gone more than probably the one to two nights. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

But just sometimes I can't do it. If I can take, you know, the five or six a.m. flight, which I hate to do, but if I can take that fly to a location, have my meetings, and then take the late night flight back home even that same day, I do try to do that. Now, uh in your home, in your domicile, when you're keeping score, this is a debate we have often with my husband. If you're keeping score, what counts? Like, how do you count it if it counts as a night away? Like if you are going to yell at Mike or he's gonna yell at you and be like, Nicole, you've been gone six nights this month already. Like, what is a cutoff? What counts as being gone?

SPEAKER_02 10:13

That's a good question. I don't it doesn't really it happens more on the flip side. I'll be like, oh man, you've been at golf X amount of times. I need this. I don't very, very rarely get it for the travel piece because it's not. But I tr again, I try to be home in present as much as possible. So when I am home, I will take on some additional responsibilities sort of to make up for it. So I think maybe that's where my flip may I I know you take on a lot of responsibilities, but I think I specifically say to him, like, you get one night at golf, I'm doing one night at travel, even though it's for work. So there may be some of that going on. Why? What is is are you guys?

SPEAKER_01 10:56

We debate this all the time because I guess because he also travels for work. Yeah. And so sometimes we have to negotiate like whose trip can be flexed and who when are we gonna have to? We we never like to have either any of the grandparents have to spend the night and get them to school the next day. Like it's they have to be at school so early. You know, all the grandparents are retired, so that early morning chaos, they're out of practice. So if we can, we try to. So we we often debate. I think you count it if you weren't there for bedtime. If you were not there for bedtime, you were gone for the night. You didn't do dinner, you didn't do sports pickup and drop offs, you didn't do bedtime, you were gone. I don't care if you get home at 11 o'clock at night, it counts.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

I think that's fair. I think that's I do think that's fair because you're right, those are the heat of the responsibility dinner, pickup, all the sporting. I think that's fair. Now I will say what's been a game changer for us is having, and we've had this for a while is afternoon help. So I have somebody come in, lucky to have somebody come in from two till anywhere between five or after, if need be. And it's to do the driving so that we do not have to worry about that part of it. And then this person will stay and do pickup if we absolutely need to. Therefore, one of us just has to be home for sleeping.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Yeah. I will say I have to give a plug to my mom. My mom is our official nanny. Like we've hired her, we pay her to keep things copacetic, but and she does a part of it's because we've got three kids and they're generally have sports every single night all in different places. So we need a third driver, regardless, like we can't just give it all to my mom. Yeah. So it's it's a bit, but she has been a life-saving game changer. And if she's busy or one of us is gone, then my in-laws are happy to be there as well to take any of the kids anywhere they need to be.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

Well, and I think not to get off topic of the travel piece, but like something that I was told a while back before all the children is don't be afraid to ask for help. And I think because of our personality, sometimes it is hard to lean on other people. And I've once I embrace the fact that it's okay and this is acceptable and my life, their lives, everybody's lives seem to work a lot better when we do have the help. I've been able to grasp it. But I, you know, if anybody is out there and trying to struggle with this decision, like I absolutely get it. It took us a while to get here. But once I started bringing in the help needed, it has been a game changer because it allows for me to be present when I'm home. So it allows for me to be at dance if I want to be at dance. It allows me to cook dinner if I need to cook dinner or really truly do the homework if I want to do the homework, which I don't love doing the homework, but it's it allows for me to be present with the family as long as there's other people taking on some responsibilities for me.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Yeah. I love to do homework. So if anybody ever needs any homework help with their kids, give it to me. I love it. We do it all. We math, English, you name it. I'm all over it. It's Higer Mob. Yes. And I do also want to say my mom just retired and moved here two years ago. My kids range in age from 13 to 8. So we had, we didn't have my mom here for, you know, a 10 years of parenthood. So I do understand if your family doesn't live close, I would say we had great success hiring college kids. We used care.com. We paid for the like background research membership to care.com, and we would find college kids that often they would just be with us for maybe a semester until their schedule changed or they got an internship or things like that. But that did work out, it was reasonably affordable.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

That's what we have. Yeah, that's exactly what we did for this last one was care.com, and and she's worked out great. Oddly enough, she actually lived like three minutes from us, and so it really and she went to school with a lot of our friends' kids, so we had a lot of reference points. So it was it actually worked out really, really well.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

But yes, okay, all right, all right talk travel tips, knowing that we are clearly the right people to talk about this. Let's talk about it.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Okay, well, I have a few questions before I give any tips. Okay. Okay. Is it acceptable when you are on leisure travel to wear slippers or pajamas?

SPEAKER_01 15:21

It is not. It is not. And you know where I stand on this. No, it's not. I'm sorry. I believe that the world is going to treat you in the way that you present yourself. Okay. Go the extra step. I don't all these two-piece athleisure sets are so comfortable. They feel like pajamas, they look a little bit classier. You know, tennies, lifestyle sneakers are all the rage. I can accept that. It doesn't cost much time, money, or comfort-wise. Come on. Come on, people.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

I just I think I'm gonna end up doing a post with all the slippers I see in the airport tomorrow. So stay tuned because I every time I take a 6 a.m. flight, I'm shocked by the adults. I mean, kids is one and a whole other thing. Like, I get it. Like, right? Young kids, it's yeah, it's early for that. I I that is fine. I can get that. But adults in slippers and pajamas, I really have no clue.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

What about the people that are in pajamas and slippers, and they are also then bringing pillows and blankets, like full-size blankets. I think this is a theme that we need to talk about when we get to the do's and don'ts of flying. You are in a public space, a tiny confined public space that has to be shared with other human beings. It does. You gotta share the space, you gotta share your so your armrest, your foot space, your air space. You have to give it some courtesy here, people.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

Oh gosh, yes, you're that it's hitting really close to home.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

It is, it is all right. So then are you allowed to take your shoes off on a fight?

SPEAKER_02 17:08

I am so against this. I hate feet, so I really freak out when I see somebody who doesn't have their shoes on. And then if they're sitting next to me, forget it. I have the heebie jeebies.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Yeah, I would I don't take my shoes off when I travel for work. But if we're on, like, you know, when we went on spring break, it's a bit of a longer flight. I had socks on. I have, you know me, my compression stockings for the flight. So I have socks on. I just took off my tetra shoes, you know, underneath the seat. It's hidden, you can't really see it. It's just me and my kids in the whole row. We take the whole row. I feel like this is mildly acceptable.

SPEAKER_02 17:49

Mildly acceptable is fine. And and I get for overnight travel and things like that on planes. Sure, totally understand that. But on an everyday, like, you know, hour to two hour flight, I don't know. Yeah, not a fan. I'm not a fan.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

Have you ever had somebody like I see them all over social media about like the seat behind you putting their feet up into your armrest or on the side of you? Have you ever seen this? I would I would lose it. Like I would lose it.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

There would be yes, there would be a post about me online for sure.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

But they would say something to that human being as well. Like they're not just gonna like ride this out.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

So feet grossed me out. So I was on the plane a few months ago, and this is not feet, this is someone's hand. So whatever. I try to be genuinely nice when I'm traveling, and I'm on the window seat at this point, and I start hearing this like sound, and I look up, and this person's nails, gentlemen's nails, were probably the longest nails I've natural nails I've ever seen in my life. And he was tapping his computer his screen in front of him on the headdress to watch a program. And I I just like I was like, oh, I can't, I can't look at this.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Like, I just be aware of your surroundings when you are tapping your screen or playing a game, there is a person sitting in that seat. There's a person sitting there, like, hello.

SPEAKER_02 19:25

Yes, couldn't handle it.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Or what about what do you do if a kid is sitting behind you and they keep kicking your seat? What do you do?

SPEAKER_02 19:35

You know, I've battled this one back and forth. Sometimes, like, if it's excessive, I will I'll look and be like, hey, like I'm sitting here. I do understand, I have a little bit more leeway, especially the you know, depending on the age and if the mom or dad is by themselves and they just are having a moment. Like, I get it, it's tough. Like traveling with infants, toddlers is is hard. So I do give some leeway to it, or I'll be like, Hey, I have this pack of gummies. Do you want to like I try to I try to diffuse the situation as much as I can? You know, I've had four kids on an airplane, I totally get it. And always the mom, even with my kids being older now, like it for those of you don't, my kids are 11 to 22 years old, so they're very self-sufficient on airplanes at this point. And I still take a bag of snacks because inevitably, and we'll get to the snack stitch because my plan is snacks. Um, we uh we always take snacks, so if it's you know another kid or what have you, we help it helps diffuse the situation.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Yes, I agree. I will offer snacks, I will have sympathy. If you are a parent and you are trying your best, I do. I have sympathy, I get it. I think for the most part, we're all just doing the best we can and we're just hanging on for dear life. I have, however, seen the parents that are just unparenting. There's unparenting. And that and that does bother me. But I also have a really soft spot for parents who are travel alone with infants and they have like the carrier and the diaper bag and the stroller and the carrier and their bag. And it's like, my instinct is to offer to hold your child because I love babies, but I do recognize that that is creepy. So instead, I will offer to help. Can I get your bag up there? Let me get your stroller.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

I think it depends. I will say, like, if you immediately go for the baby, that might be one thing. But I've been on a few flights where the mom is having a moment and I'm like, listen, I have four kids. Like, I totally understand what you're going through. I'm happy to help you. And I have people have given me their kids before. So I will say, like, I'm yeah, I'm the same way. I genuinely feel for those traveling alone because we've both done it, and it's not easy. And you have so much crap that comes along with these kids when you travel. So for sure, I try to help them.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

And if your baby's ears are hurting on the way up or way down and they are just losing their shit. I gotta tell you, it doesn't bother me at all. Don't care. Been there, done that. I know you, I know you're trying. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 22:07

I tune out.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

Yeah. Okay. Let's talk about. Okay, so in getting ready for this episode, I did I try to go back and do a lot of research and I spent a lot of time on social media looking up travel hacks. And as somebody who really does travel frequently, I two things I'll say. One, some of them are great. And the other thing I'll say is some of these are stupid.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

I can't wait. Cause I I want to know what a travel hack uh can consists of because I feel like I've become such a minimalist when traveling. Like in my daily life, I'm not a minimalist at all. But when I travel, like I probably only pack the exact amount of outfits, underwear, socks. And that used to not be the case. And I've gotten into a situation where I luckily had some friends around me because I pulled out a shirt and it had a hole in the sleeve. And it's like, oh shit, I have only packed what I had. I didn't know the outfit had a hole in the sleeve. So what tell me, tell me what the hacks are.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Okay. So first, there's a lot of hacks out there about pill containers, how to carry your supplements or your vitamins. I have there, you do not need that. You take your smallest, like prescription bottle you already have, put everything in there. Just put it all in one. I take one bottle. I don't need a colorful rainbow labeled by day. I'm just putting it all one bottle, the end.

unknown 23:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 23:34

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

Also, I want to say that a lot of these like enormous suitcase style, hard cased, like makeup and toiletry type bags, doesn't work. Doesn't work. I'm trying to get into a carry on here, people. That's not gonna work.

SPEAKER_02 23:49

Nope.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

But to that end, I think I own not probably nine different styles, types, consistency of toiletry bags. I don't have one that works. If anybody does, please send it to me. Please send you this.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

I'm gonna send you the one. My mom got us all. So my mom gives invites us on a trip each year as part of our gifts. So she gets us one gift for the entire year. So part of that, she like presents it very nicely. So she presented us with these travel bags. It's a trifold. Okay, so you can hang it in the bathroom. So it's a small pocket, a pocket that has like a mesh on it, so stuff that wouldn't leak, and then stuff that a plastic pouch so that it's like shampoo and this, you know, stuff that could leak or get all over. And it's the perfect size. So it folds right up. It fits in the top of my suitcase where your shoes would go. So it's like the same height as that. So it's probably, I don't know, maybe two inches, three inches thick. And it's been it is a game changer because I was in I was in the same boat. Now my makeup bag is separate from that. Let me be clear. That's what I was gonna say.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Okay, I have plenty of bags that work for just face products, soap conditioner, too. I have, but then my makeup is always separate, and I'm looking for one. I can do both. I don't wear a ton of makeup, I don't need a ton of makeup. I'm not bringing my entire nine-step evening routine with me if it's just a one-day trip. So I should be able to put these both into one bag and haven't found it yet.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

I feel like you could with this one. I although I will tell you, I don't separate up. I just take my makeup consists of literally just my makeup. Like it's not any, like you're saying, none of my face wash or anything like that. So it kind of fits, like whether it's in my suitcase or in my you know, other carry-on, like my backpack. So I kind of keep those separate.

SPEAKER_01 25:42

But do you have double of everything so that you always have a ticket of me neither? Me neither. Everybody says do that. I don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

No, I don't.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

I don't even think I'm obsessed with my hair line that I'm using right now, shampoo, conditioner, styling cream. I don't even know if they make travel size. It's uh interesting. It's Virtue, the uh Jennifer Garner, I think, sponsors I'm a repsember as part of that. Obsessed, obsessed. I don't even think they make travel size. Maybe they do, I'm not sure, but no, I don't have doubles. No.

unknown 26:18

No.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

Oh, the only thing I have double of is deodorant.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

I have a lot of different deodorants.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

I'm not sure any of them work, as we talked about in the last episode, because we're they're all aluminum-free, but I do have a lot.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

Okay, so you get to the airport. What is your how early do you get there?

SPEAKER_01 26:38

I am not a wild and crazy just running through security to the gate. I like to be there a little early. I like to buy a physical newspaper when I get there, which I know, I know I'm a hundred years old. I like it. I like to read the physical newspaper. So my goal is usually to get there one hour before boarding. So arrive at the airport in the parking garage one hour before boarding.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

Okay, so about an hour and a half before takeoff is when you're airplane. That's about where I'm at. I will say I'm a creature of habit. I park in the same, same almost same spot every single time, same floor, same elevator, no matter what airline I'm on. So I'm a creature of habit. So you get to the airport an hour and a half, you go in, you go.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Oh, a funny story. I do the same thing. I'm the same spot, but I went last week, no week before last. I went up and my floor was full. So I had to go up a floor. Oh no. No, no. Did I go down a floor? Up or it was a different floor, but the same spot. And I usually like if I'm not on the same floor, then I'll take a picture of it just so I remember. But this was just a two-day trip. I'm like, you're not an idiot. It's a two-day trip. You're gonna remember where you parked. I did not. I literally had to be that person spending 20 minutes. I went in and out of the elevator three times. I'm hitting the panic button on my car to figure out where it was. And long floor, I hit the panic and I'm close enough that it starts going off, but I'm on the wrong floor. So I'm like hanging over the side of the open part of the thing, trying to see if it's upstairs or downstairs.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

Stop it. It is, I totally understand. I feel you. It gives you a panic attack. It's been two days. Oh my gosh. Well, it reminds me of the time where I parked because I am such a creature of habit and and so used to going and the repetitive nature of it. I left my suitcase in the car and flew to a whole nother city without my suitcase. So there you go. Tell us that. It happens. It happens. All right. So you get on the plane. How great do you feel if the middle seat or row are open? Like oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

On the same flight. And this woman, she was in the window, I was in the aisle. I'm an aisle girl. I like my aisle. I don't know why I don't I feel claustrophobic in the window. But we were there, and I think this was the only seat available on the entire plane. And they were like something was happening with the paperwork where the they weren't closing the door. And I was like, We're we're waiting for the person who's gonna be sitting here. I mean, that's just for sure. They're not closing the door until this person gets here. And they didn't. It was like, I mean, we could have cheered. We were so excited.

SPEAKER_02 29:27

Yes. And I'm a window girl, but I am claustrophobic, so I have to have control of the window so I can see out. Oh so we're a little bit opposite in that regard. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:40

Jason's a window guy. And so whenever I book our flights, I book him like us in the aisles opposite each other. Like so we both have aisles because I forget that he's a window guy. He's like, Why am I in the aisle?

SPEAKER_02 29:54

So then do you book exit rows? Like, how do you feel about the exit row? Is it do you feel like you have a lot of pressure on you, or is it great because there's so much a little bit more room?

SPEAKER_01 30:03

No, definitely more room, definitely more room for sure. I feel no pressure at all. I will save you guys. I can open that door and chuck it out and in, you know, activate the slide. I'm here, I'm your person. I'm not concerned about that at all. I will do that. Or if the exit row is booked or costs a lot of money, you know, on Frontier or Spirit or whatever, one of my favorite seeds is to sit this row behind the exit row because usually the exit row seats don't recline. And I am anti-recliners. I think we should remove the recline function. Period. Remove it.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

I agree on domestic flights. Like absolutely agree on all domestic. And it irritates the daylight out of me when someone sits down and does it almost automatically.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

I'm like, oh, this is like again. We're back to personal space. Like when you recline your head, your scalp is now in my beverage.

SPEAKER_02 31:08

Yeah. No thanks.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

You talk about how you sound very pretentious when you say, I agree on all domestic life. Domestic.

SPEAKER_02 31:18

Domestic. Okay. Here's the real thing. Do and I know your answer, but for all of our guests, do you pack snacks? And do you have food scarcity issues?

SPEAKER_01 31:32

Yes, I do. I've huge I am always afraid. I don't know what I'm afraid of. I don't, I don't know what I'm afraid of. Like that we're gonna get stuck on the tarmac for eight hours. I don't know. I'm a hungry girl. I have to have snacks. There is always protein bars that live in my bag, which I'm gonna show you my bag in a little bit. But uh yes, I have to have snacks. Go-to snack. What are your go-to snacks for the blank?

SPEAKER_02 31:56

Go-to, this is very common. Cheese it's a almond Hershey chocolate bar, Twizzlers are like the three go-to. And I have to have gum. I'm a major gum chewer. I think it I am a nervous flyer, whether I do it all the time or not. I'm just a nervous flyer. So I think that it eases a little bit of tension for me when I'm on the flight. So that's it. Gum, chocolate, twizzlers, and some cheese it.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

I love this. I did not, I don't know that I knew you were still a nervous flyer. I'm not a nervous flyer. I don't know why. I just there's a lot of things I have anxiety about. Flying is just not one of them. I can't have gluten, as you guys know. So I love the RX bars, but only the sweet ones. Like it has to be blueberry or strawberry. I'm not trying to do savory nuts or some kind of my other high protein bar and then peanut MMs.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Oh, love. I will mix those in every once in a while, for sure. Now, do you drink on a plane? Are you a cocktailer on an airplane?

SPEAKER_01 33:00

It depends. Have I been given a free upgrade? If I've been given a free upgrade, I feel like I have to. I have to get they've given me this for free. I have to use the amenities at hand, or I am unworthy of the upgrade. Carmel will come get me.

SPEAKER_02 33:19

Okay. So, but on if you're on a traditional flight, it's you know, it's Thursday afternoon, you're flying home, and or you're flying to vacation with your family or friends or whatever. Are you cocktailing?

SPEAKER_01 33:32

Uh not usually. Not usually. Are you?

SPEAKER_02 33:37

It depends. I mean, I've been known to cocktail on on the flights from here.

SPEAKER_01 33:41

If we're together, you know we're getting the shapers, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:45

I I mean, I I'm not, I don't love the cocktails they have to offer. I'm a very picky drinker, and I would say I only drink Savion Blanc, New Zealand. From New Zealand, they don't have that on the plane, so sometimes I'll do uh a mixed drink or their their version of sparkling wine, but yeah, I think cocktails though, when you're on certain flights, like I do think it loosens everybody up for a conversation. So we've been on a few flights where we've met people in other rows, and you know, it's always a good time.

SPEAKER_01 34:19

Yes. Let's talk about one of those times we were on a flight together, we were cocktailing, we were on our way to this Vegas conference. When was that? When did when did the very first movie come out in that series?

SPEAKER_02 34:35

That's a good question. I'll have to Google it. I'll have to Google it. It's gotta be 10 years ago, right?

SPEAKER_01 34:40

Yeah, it's gotta be. So, yeah. So we're we're flying to Vegas for this conference. As I we've said in the last episode, it's a huge conference, huge global conference. So we get on the plane, and there's only one direct flight out of our home city to Vegas. There's only one. So we get to the airport, and I mean, we know at least 65% of the flight is, and it's southwest, and this was back where you just you get a number and you had to pick your seat, open CD. And so somehow, going back to being an aisle and a window girls, we go and we are we take a row, and I'm in the aisle of that row, and you're in the window to start. And a friend of ours, a gentleman friend of ours, says, Oh, I know these girls, I'm gonna sit in the middle. Now, and then eventually we did switch with him. I think I went to the middle so that we could be tucked into the movie. But we have this plan. We had read this book and we were gonna watch this movie that had just come out and we were saving it for the spike because this is before really Wi-Fi was on planes. So we decide, what are we gonna watch, Nicole? What movie?

SPEAKER_02 35:49

We decided it was a great idea to watch Fifty Shades of Gray, which if anybody has seen the movie there or read the book. I mean, there's some very racy scenes in there for an airplane with the two of us, with co-workers and people we do business with on the daily, but didn't stop us. We just kept on watching. And when we would get to a scene, we would hover over the computer and each other so that people wouldn't understand, wouldn't see what we were seeing, and inevitably people saw what we were watching, even though we tried to keep it like on the down low, but nobody I don't know. I think everybody wishes they were us at that point. I wish I think they are wanted to watch that.

SPEAKER_01 36:35

We are a good time, I would say. All right, so we've talked about talking about pill containers, we've talked about makeup bags. I want to share a travel hack that people are always incredibly surprised at how much I can put into a carry-on. Yeah, they love my packing style. I've been trying to hoard this as a secret for many years, but I will share it with you now. Everybody knows you got to roll instead of fold. Got it. But this will show you the nerd that I am. When I am packing a suitcase, I think of, I think it was a science video I probably saw in fifth grade about when I first learned about osmosis and about how water fills all the available space. So that is how you have to think about your packing. So you have to start with the material and weight of every item that you are packing, right? Okay, so you got to put the shoes at the bottom because they're you cover the flat surface. And then you have to take the weight. So whether it's blouse, a blouse, a workout shirt, PJs, those can roll and then roll again so that they're really tight and they fit into the tiniest little molecule spots tucked in between, you know, shoelaces or the tongue of the shoe or things like that. And you kind of layer on top like that until you get to the things like blazers and jeans and sweaters that are really hard. Like when you roll a sweater or you roll jeans, they actually don't take up less space than folding. So you roll and tuck everything you can, squeeze it into all the crevices, and then lay your heavier items across the top flat unrolled.

SPEAKER_02 38:09

I think you're gonna have to share a video real of this for us, like as a backup to this explanation, because this is fantastic. I have not done it like that, but that's pretty genius.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

Yeah, it's I can get a lot of stuff. I'll hit the weight limit before I'm gonna hit the full limit of my carry-on. Dang. Yeah, even for business, even for business, even for business. It's one packing style for all things. Okay, pack in the same way. All right, all right. Are you a hard-sided or a soft-sided?

SPEAKER_02 38:44

Soft-sided.

SPEAKER_01 38:46

I am a soft-sided, but my soft-sided broke maybe a year ago. Oh, and I couldn't find a good a good soft-sided I liked better. So I went with a hard-sided, and it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 39:01

Yeah, I'm gonna stay soft-sided, but I'm in your shoes. If anybody has any suitcases that they highly recommend, please shoot them to us. I will tell you, I am going to I have two me's that I've had for 10 years and they keep breaking. So I'm gonna be in the market for a new one here real soon.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

I have heard that Briggs and Riley carry-ons make a fantastic design to them, the way I think you sort of hang and then it collapses into itself to get it to carry-on size. They're pricey. They're I think the one was like $700, and that's pretty pricey. So I'm gonna need a really good excuse or a lot of a lot of support to do that to pull the trigger on it.

SPEAKER_02 39:42

That's expensive, but if it comes with the warranty and everything else, I'd you know, might make sense.

SPEAKER_01 39:48

Okay. All right, talk to me about ports and chargers and tech.

SPEAKER_02 39:51

The worst. I'm the one that they're like shoved in the back. There is no organization I have one thing that organizes my portable charger, and then I try to throw everything in there, but inevitably it's like shoved in. So yeah, I am a I told you, I am not an organized, like I'm simplistic. So it's just I'm throwing it in the exact thing that I need. Like it's not, there's no excess in there. So I have the one charger, I've got the you know, the one battery thing, I have the one set of headphones, like that's it.

SPEAKER_01 40:25

Yeah, we'll throw it together. I had a Madewell gift certificate, and I so I bought this cute little monogrammed bag.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

So cute.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

And this is, I think because it's pretty and it's monogrammed, it is currently what I use. I have all my chargers, all my excess, you know, extra ports, bases, cubes. I have all that in there. And I think because it's pretty, it's been motivating to do so. And then I had this quest, probably about six months ago. I started this quest and I want to just share the results, current results, open to change. So I wanted a bag that if I just had one meeting, I was gonna be gone one day, and I didn't need to pack up an overnight bag that I could use that's gonna fit, you know, notebooks, computer, charging, that kind of thing. But generally, we also had to have a makeup bag and usually a change of shoes, right? Because, like, yeah, if I'm going to a meeting in heels, I don't want to be truthing around the airport in heels too. So it had to be able to discreetly hide a pair of shoes and then also be suitable to walk into a meeting with. So it had to be able to do all of these things. And I wanted to be able to get crossbody in case it was a little heavy and I have to walk through the airport with it. So I ended with this. See what you came up with. I've got base. This is my base bag. I like that. It's black, it's got all kinds of pockets inside, it's got snacks inside at all times. It does slide onto the handle of your carry-on if you're gonna take it with a carry-on.

SPEAKER_02 41:51

It's got it fits under the seat, fits under the seat, yep.

SPEAKER_01 41:54

Fits you know, straight up and down on the seat, squishes all down, fits all my snacks, fits my charging bag. I'm a fan.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

Yeah, I like that. You'll have to tag that in there because I want to maybe order one of those. That's cute.

SPEAKER_01 42:06

Yeah, and it's got handles, and then it's got over-the-shoulder strap, and then it's got a crossbody strap. So you could do all any of the three. Versatile, I like it. I know. So I've got some.

SPEAKER_02 42:18

So you've now landed, right? We've had our snacks, gone through all of our snacks, we've had all of our bags, everything's in our bags, we've landed. How much does it annoy you when people just get up first off and then think that they're gonna cut you off when you go to get out? It is every it is every row going back. I don't quite understand why you don't load the plane that way, but that's a whole nother, agreed. But like, how do people no, how do you not realize it goes every every row, every row, every row.

SPEAKER_01 42:53

We're all in a hurry, we all have somewhere to be. I got it, but the plane unloads the same way every time since the beginning of time. Yes. I'm sorry, I'm sorry that that doesn't work for you. Sit down.

SPEAKER_02 43:08

Yes, and then the to top it all off is those that decide both in the airplane and in the airport that talking on your speaker phone is appropriate.

SPEAKER_01 43:19

Uh I actually have heard twice now on, I think it was American in Delta, maybe it was Southwest and Delta, it was Delta and somebody, where in that beginning announcement they do now say it is you have to you must have earphones in. Thank God.

SPEAKER_02 43:35

And I'm like, yes, yes, yes, yes. I totally agree. I don't want to hear what you're talking about. I don't want to hear what you're listening to.

SPEAKER_00 43:43

Like, I don't.

SPEAKER_01 43:44

I don't. I also like what was I just gonna say? So I think that we you get the clear, you get TSA pre check, you have these global entry, you have all these pay for play services, and they do these background checks. Because we want to make sure that you're not dangerous. And I get that. But I do think that there needs to be some kind of a common sense component. Like, I think you have to qualify for these services above and beyond just not being dangerous. Like you have to be not dangerous and also able to go through security and board a plane efficiently. I think there should be an IQ test.

SPEAKER_02 44:24

There should be, because there's some people that are in pre-check and all like I think I do try to when I'm traveling for personal, I try to take off my traveling for business hat because I am efficient and it's like I want to I do everything like very methodically when I'm traveling for business because I'm on a time crunch. Now personal, I'm usually like a little more laxatical and ready to, you know, to have a good time. And I still get annoyed with the way people are, you know, so stinking slow. And by the way, you know that you have, you know, you're only allowed two bags. It says everywhere. You're allowed two bags. Why do you have the third one? Why you also know that your suitcase can't be over 50 pounds. Why are you getting to the airport and your suitcase is 75 pounds and you're ripping everything out of it? I just don't get it.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

And if you do, you step aside.

unknown 45:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 45:14

Let the others go. Step aside. Step aside. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:17

All right. Let's talk about what is your best tips on traveling with children? Like, what are some things you've done with the kids? Oh gosh. That's a lie. That's a lie. What like what are like what has saved you time? What has saved you saved you headaches? Like, what do you what do you do with your children?

SPEAKER_01 45:36

More food than you thought you did needed.

SPEAKER_02 45:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

I think it's also important, like on the actual traveling, like the flight and the airport, try to keep it still segmented to the same things. Like if it is lunchtime, try to, okay, guys, it's lunchtime. Let's have a meal, not just pick, pick, pick. I'm not really hungry. Like divide the time the same the way that you would if you were not in an airplane. I think that helps. Have things that are fully downloaded. My kids are uh they're old enough that they're really into video games and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But you know, God forbid you get on that plane and the Wi-Fi just isn't working today. So have things that don't need Wi-Fi to be able to do. Like there is offline games, I think it is that they all have on their devices that you could play offline games.

SPEAKER_02 46:23

We do a lot of hangman. I take gold, you know, go fish and Uno, uh, yeah, tic tic-toe. Like we do a lot of those types of old school games that I grew up playing. So we've done that. I would also say, you know, just don't it the more frazzled you are, your kids pick up on that. So staying just kind of cool, calm, and collective as much as possible. I know there are scenarios where things kind of come up, or you know, the seed arrangements may change, but um they the kids feed off of your energy, so just keeping a cool demeanor helps.

SPEAKER_01 47:01

That's when you start cocktailing, right?

SPEAKER_02 47:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 47:06

Yes. And my husband, my husband is not, he's not very chill, but we'll try to keep it chill for him. Okay, we're almost out of time. Obviously, there's so much more to talk about that we're just not gonna have time. We're gonna have to get to a second one for sure. I do want to cover a hot topic, zone skipping. How do we feel about zone skipping?

SPEAKER_02 47:27

Oh, in the air in the airplane. Yeah, okay, so we've done this. We're guilty of this.

SPEAKER_00 47:32

I know. We are within reason. Within reason reason.

SPEAKER_02 47:36

So I won't do it. I like hold to my hold to my guns on my when I'm traveling by myself. Now, where it goes a little awry is if I'm traveling with a friend like my Glenn or my husband and children, and I take them with me, or vice versa. So I've done it. I can't say like I still feel guilty even when we do it.

SPEAKER_01 48:00

Yeah, I'm a rule follower by nature. I just am, I want to board with my zone. I'm not trying to like hurt anybody here, and I will never ever board with like a different class of service, right? Like, even if my husband or best friend or somebody is boarding in first class or comfort or whatever, I'm not gonna do that. I'll just meet you when I get my zone. But like if you're five zone five and I'm zone six and we are sitting together in the same row, I think boarding with zone five is okay, but don't do it on American.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

Oh, because then you get your scanner now says nope, nope, wrong zone, wrong zone. My client got buzzed when she flew with me. I happen to have the earlier one and she got buzzed, but they were okay. They let her slide after the alarm went off. Yeah, they did. Both of them. That was amazing. That was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 48:53

Okay, is there anything else we definitely need to cover? Oh, how to travel with a hat. If anybody has suggestions on how to travel with multiple hats that can't be squished into your suitcase, we have a friend what she's like that book children's book. She has literally sent us photographic evidence of her wearing five, I think five was the max cowboy and mesh and summer and beach hats on her head for the duration of the flight. Five hats on her head the whole time. So uh if anybody has a better idea, I'm all about that. I also would love a suggestion on a two-piece outfit or any of those like uh really fantastic athleisure trousers. I want something that's comfortable for the flight, but that I can roll straight into a meeting with. Ooh, interesting uh thought. I wouldn't mind that either. Yeah. So if anybody has any thoughts or suggestions they can send us or things we could try, I would love, like, especially if you had like a picture of you doing this, that'd be great.

SPEAKER_02 49:58

Yes, absolutely. That'd be awesome. And last, I'm gonna ask you, will you take a red eye flight?

SPEAKER_01 50:05

Uh no, I don't take the red eyes.

SPEAKER_02 50:07

Me either. I can't. I had a I had a disturbing experience where someone had a medical emergency on my very first red eye, and I haven't taken one since because oh no, I have no traumatic stories. It's it's a lot. I give kudos to those that can take the red eye and fall asleep and do all the things. I am not that person.

SPEAKER_01 50:25

I mean, I can kind of sleep on a plane pretty good. I'm pretty good about like sleeping in anything that's in motion, but it's not good restful sleep. A no B, if I land back at home at 6 a.m. and I walk in the door, like I have to be immediately on. Like it is you are just stepping right into the fray of chaos. And I'm not ready for that.

SPEAKER_02 50:47

No, I in the in the time that I did do, I felt like I was on a permanent hangover the whole day. Yeah, and I didn't even, I didn't even have a cocktail. I was, you know, it just wasn't the good sleep.

SPEAKER_01 50:57

Yep. Agreed. Cinder Eyes.

SPEAKER_02 51:01

All right. Well, listen, I think that's all we probably have time for today. Thank you all for joining us on Double Book. Don't forget, Double Booked Official on all of your listening stations, Apple, Spotify, YouTube channel, and more. And stay tuned for our next upcoming episodes.

SPEAKER_01 51:18

And follow us on social media, Double Booked Official Podcast.