Travel More 4 Less

08/30/2026

Did you know that you can wander through abandoned train tunnels in the high Sierras?

Well now you do!

08/29/2026

I was at breakfast this morning and the woman at the table next to me said, "you were on the shuttle last night right?"

I was on a shuttle last night, so I said yes. Then she said she was dancing next to Carl. I don't know Carl and didn't see dancing, but sure.

Her husband started talking and I quickly realized that she was talking about a shuttle to a concert and I was talking about the airport car rental shuttle.

I sort of bluffed my way through the conversation and sidestepped it as much as I could.

Then I went up to get coffee and decided I had to come clean.

I went back to the table and confessed my awkwardness. We all had a good laugh and then we had a great conversation.

I am trying hard to have more conversations with people when I travel and that sort of thing might shake my confidence, so I am proud of myself for correct the record and I am relieved for my future travel conversations that it went in such a positive way. Even though it is very low stakes, it doesn't always feel that way in the moment.

Also, (apparently ) check out the Greyboy Allstars if you are into jazz and they are playing near you. My table neighbors said they are amazing. And Carl is actually Karl with a K.

Pic of the beautiful library at the hotel we stayed at.

08/28/2026

Current adventure. Pete just renewed his license and forgot the paper temporary copy at home. The old one is already deactivated. We found this out at the rental car counter at 10:30 last night.

No big deal. I have my license and can drive.

Here's the thing though. Our roles are worn like deep grooves. I am passenger and he is driver. I take passenger duties very seriously and he is an excellent driver. Reversing those roles do not go well.

We are having the housemates scour the likely hiding spots to send us a copy. Wish us luck.

08/26/2026

I am really trying to define what I want to share on my Travel More 4 Less platform and with that in mind, I have a new bio for FB:

In my semi-feral era.
Traveling like it's my job without quitting my actual job
I'll show you the hows, whys, and receipts
_________________________________________________

"Semi-feral" acknowledges that my travel style can be a little rough around the edges, but not full-on hosteling and hitchhiking across the country. Being semi-feral raises the adventure potential and (at least in my case) lowers the overall cost.

Stick around to learn more about my semi-feral travel style.

08/23/2026

Think you can't take a big trip over a weekend?
We just did a 4 day trip from Portland, Oregon to Boston and with a little creative scheduling, I didn't use any PTO. Read for trip details.

Did you know Southwest does redeye flights now? I will share my experience on one, plus some free things to do in Boston

08/14/2026

My toxic trait is taking way too long to finish a blog post! We are about to head out for the weekend, but I pushed myself to pull one together. Here is an economy flight survival shopping list. :)

Enjoy!

Do you want to fly cheap but dread the thought of the cheap seats that go with it? Check out ideas to give you a more comfortable economy flight

08/02/2026

Camping can be one of the best ways to save money on travel, but what if you hate camping? I have some suggestions that have made my camping experiences a lot more comfortable!

Want to camp while keeping your sanity and relationships intact? Here are some car camping essentials that turn camping skeptics into enthusiasts