Even though I was born in San Diego and I love my summers, August is one of my favorite months in Colorado. It’s not because the trees start thinking about changing colors, or because I can start thinking about which fall colors I want to incorporate into my outfits. It’s because the little children that trip you in Cherry Creek Mall and disrupt your lunch dates finally go back to school. But what I love the most about kids going back to school is that they can’t interrupt my random weekly vacations. I love traveling this time of year, so to plan ahead I’ve assembled my go-to packing list.
I’ve never been known to pack lightly, even when I traveled to a small village in Ethiopia. But with many trips stamped in my passport, I’ve learned a thing or two – at least what I need to bring no matter where I travel whether it’s to Paris or Estes Park. Here are five tips to help make any trip less stressful to pack for:
#1. For those of you who know me, I’m rarely seen wearing the same outfit twice. Since it’s unrealistic to pack different outfits for every day when you’re living out of a suitcase, you need to plan a little better. Bring more tops than bottoms. It isn’t exactly a sin to wear the same denim two days in a row, but wearing the same top can get gross. Plus, skinny jeans may be tight on your body, but they take up a fat amount of space in your travel bag.
#2. Don’t pack shoes as if they’re your underwear. You don’t need to change your shoes everyday like you do your unmentionables. Bring a pair you can wear with black, a pair you can wear with brown (if people wear brown anymore), and a pair that makes you feel colorful and sexy – even you guys know what I’m talking about.
#3. Pack something you can get dirty in – translate that as you wish. Even the most luxurious spas tucked away in beautiful, mountainous regions have toys that are too tempting to pass up, such as ATVs. The last resort I visited had awesome ATVs accompanied by sexy tour guides, but the only outfit I could put together consisted of black motorcycle boots, leggings that proved to be see-through in the sun, and a ruffled Free People top that’s barely seen the light of day rather than mud and sweat. You don’t want to be that city girl the locals make fun of.
#4. Bring sunscreen. Yes, even if you are moving fast on those ATVs, the sun still follows you and you don’t get such a good tan in that ruffled top you’re wearing (I even got sunburned through my leggings).
#5. Finally, bring an open mind and a good attitude. That may sound completely cliché and callow, but when you travel somewhere, you can be anyone you want to be. The people you come in contact with don’t know you just broke up with your loser musician boyfriend, or that you like to go to bed at 9pm. Stay up late, swim in the pool when you’re not supposed to, go to the staff’s bonfire, and do things you wouldn’t normally do in your normal life back home. After all, that’s what makes a vacation a vacation.
Happy August, 303 friends. Until next month, pack lightly and enjoy your kid-free vacay.
Lindsay is a California native who loves leather bags, killer heels and a bright shade of long-lasting lipstick. She’s always on the lookout for a great guy in skinny jeans, but puts her independence and writing first, traveling to some of the best hotspots in Denver and all over the world looking for a good lede.
What an amazing writer you are,the more that I read your columns the more that I am impressed! Good job young lady.
I love love Linsley's work …I want to read more!
good story keep it up.