Road trip — Today in Thyme — Moonbeams in Thyme

As I alluded to in my Instagram post earlier this week, travel is not always glamorous but in fact can be down right awful. Usually we see the best slice of travel, maybe the sweet hotel room views, the cafe you had 2 mins to enjoy while on the way to the client site, maybe the river or street art captured while you woke up at 6 am just to get in that run or yoga class. I could go on and on especially about the downside of travel - but instead honeybuns let’s keep it upbeat. Here are my top survival tips for how to pack, what to store in your carry on, and how to make the most out of your travels so that you’re taking care of YOU along the way.

The Luggage situation

The Rollie
I am a new owner of the Away The Carry-On - and LOVE it! The wheels glide so smoothly, I can fit all the things into it, and it’s so light weight. Definitely an upgrade from my ragged old Samsonite rollie. I also carry on always, ALWAYS, #always, even on my two week trips, I avoid checking my bag. I’ve had too many lost luggage incidents to deal with the stress that causes. So I pack light and keep everything close.

The Pack
I recently upgraded to a new Patagonia Black hole 30L pack and couldn’t be happier. My old bag which was great - just wasn’t cutting it; I had a 25L Hershel. She was good for the last 4 years and was due for retirement after some rips and tears. This new pack can hold it all - definitely makes one or two week trips manageable. Whatever over flow that can’t fit into my Rollie goes into the pack. Complete with several pockets to keep me organized. There’s a pocket for everything. Air travel has become so much easier. May seem silly that I’ve put such an emphasis on luggage but it truly makes a huge difference.

Next up, how to pack the right things

So it really depends on what kinda trip you’re taking but I practice the “Marie Kondo” method for what makes it way into my rollie. I opt for my favorite dress, jeans, sweater, shoes, and jackets. I do this because travel is stressful enough and if I feel good in what I’m wearing then I’ve at least got a thumbs up in that aspect. Nothing like arriving to your hotel and then realizing WTF did I pack? Why did I bring something that, 1) I am not comfortable in and 2) I don’t feel great in and 3) may not even be functional (yes I’ve packed a skirt without a top to complete the look). So I always pack my favorite staple pieces, I’m also guilty of all black everything with a few splashes of color. This is done for a few reasons. Mostly because I can rewear a majority of those items. Makes for easy mix and match outfits. And let’s be honest, if I spill something it’s usually not noticeable.

Snacks

This is a KEY piece to any successful trip and I’m not exaggerating, you’ve got to make sure you have your snack bars, mixed nuts, dark chocolate goodies to help you when you’re so hangry you could hurt somebody. You also need to stay . as hydrated as possible, water, WATER, #water. Some of my favorite staples include:

Justin’s nut butter packets
Dark chocolate (been loving on Endangered Species)
Macadamia nuts, Almonds, or any mixed nuts will do
Purely Elizabeth Granola bars (grain free!)
Tea bags
Potato chips (GUILTY! Need this especially being grain free, gluten free)
Paleo Beaming Granola

The Hotel situation

So, I’ve got about every hotel rewards program you could imagine, Marriott/SPG, IHG, Hilton … the list continues. What I find most critical in booking hotels is the proximity to a yoga, spin, or barre studio. It’s super important to maintain healthy workout habits when traveling. I focus mostly on yoga studios because that is how I survive travel. I need that grounding and centering that I can only achieve in a sacred studio space. I use the MindBody app to help me explore local places when on the road.

The Mantra

As I mentioned last week in my instagram post, a mantra is super important to have while on the go. Some of you may be wondering what a mantra is, so let me explain honeybuns. A Mantra is a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. In yoga, chanting a mantra focuses concentration on a single thought or stills the mind in meditation. Last week my personal mantra happened to be the Maha mantra (Hare Krishna). When this particular mantra is said out loud it helps to enhance consciousness to the greatest possible degree.

The maha mantra is chanted for the benefits of the energies of the three Hindu deities referred to in the mantra. The name comes from the Sanskrit, maha, meaning “great”; man, meaning “to think”; and tra, meaning an "instrument" or "tool." A mantra, therefore, is an “instrument of thought.” The mantra goes like this:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

I personally enjoy listening to mantras when flying, and Krishna Das is my go to! Peep him here on Spotify for lots of good songs, or view the Hare Krishna video on Youtube.

Your mantra doesn’t have to be the above, it could be as simple as “Love”, “I am okay”, or “Breathe in, breathe out”. Whatever phrase or word resonates with you is a great place to start. some alternative mantras that are very powerful are the below:

“Aham Prema” (ah-hem-pree-mah) This mantra translates to “I am Divine Love,” a simple mantra to chant 108 times
“Aum Gum Shreem Maha Lakshmiyei Namaha” (ohm-guum-shreem-mah-ha-lok-shmee-yay-na-mah-ha) ...
“Om Mani Padme Hum” (ohm-mah-nee-pahd-may-huum)

Now, if this is the ONLY thing you take away from my post then my work here is done. As a society we need more meditation, so fly on little birds and spread your wings, sing your mantras high into the trees.

The Oils

Naturally I have my go-to oils that I always have with me. The list includes:

Peppermint (aids digestion and sore muscles)
Lavender (for skin, sleep, frizzy hair)
Citrus Refresh (pick me up boost!)

If I’m traveling during a new moon, full moon, or in retrograde, then I usually pack one of the following:

New Moon
Full Moon
Custom blend of Sage, Lavender, + grounding oils

I think that about covers the bases. Of course I always have a great travel hat, my sunnies, my crystals, and a good book to accompany me on the go. I would love to hear how you stay sane and healthy while on the go! Always love to hear about new travel trips and ways to make travel more efficient! Love & Light, xx

We set cruise control outta Melbourne and headed to Humming Puppy for a Mellow Hum yoga class. My dear friend Allie had recommended this studio so we decided to get in some stretches before the drive ahead of us. Holy Smokes. This studio was beautiful! Picture a huge vaulted yoga space, with 3 tiers of mat space. The whole studios concept is about 'Hum's', here is a blurb from the site that will explain it better than I:

When taking a class at Humming Puppy, one of the first things you will notice is that the room quite literally 'Hum's'... and this is by no means an accident! Our yoga space or ‘shala’, engineered by ARUP (one of the worlds leading acoustic engineers), is injected with a combination of frequencies to enhance and deepen your experience. More specifically we use a combination of 7.83hz and 40hz. Being submersed in these frequencies helps you to naturally produce matching frequencies through a process of entrainment. 7.83hz otherwise known as the Schumann Resonance is actually the frequency of the earth itself and helps to 'ground' you through your practice. 40hz is specifically associated with ‘Gamma’ brainwave activity, integral for achieving states of peak performance.

Class was so powerful. It was the first style of class I had ever taken like this besides a crystal bowls class and it was incredible. Still vibing days later just thinking about the experience. After class we strolled around Prahran along Chapel st. Got some flat whites from Journeymen Cafe and then stumbled into the best little Op Shop we ever did see. All three of us gals found some amazing gems in this second hand store. The two sales ladies just loved us American Gals and we must've spend a good hour in there. Well worth it! Also side note the Amici Bakery Cafe had the yummiest looking little nutty-vegan treats and artwork to lust over.

It was a bit overcast so we had a slight change of plans for the itinerary to Lorne. Instead of stopping in Tourqay and at Bell's Beach along the Great Ocean Road (GOR) we headed inland to explore some of the general stores and vineyards. When it rains it pours wine right? We thought so too. First stop was Bellbrae Vineyard. We sampled some very delicious wines, the best in my opinion were the Sauv Blanc, Estate Pinot Noir, and the Pinot Rose. The other bonus is that all tastings are free - woohoo. We then headed up the road to Brown Magpies Vineyard. The poor fella who ran the shop was probably thinking to himself, I've got 40 minutes left before closing. In walks in 3 ladies and within 5 minutes 15 people must have strolled into this tiny little tasting room. Needless to say we didn't stay very long, but he started sampling the wines too. We left the vineyard and headed towards Lorne. Along the drive we decided to detour to a little placed called Pennyroyal Raspberry Farm and Cidery. On the drive in Coreen noticed something in the field that was not a sheep or cow ... Our first 'Roo sighting!! We were squealing like little pigs. So excited to see this herd of Roos. They were just grazing in the nearby field. As soon as we rolled up, they stood on their legs and pointed ears to the sky to see what the heck all that racket was. They didn't hang for too long before they were hopping away. We were so excited!

We arrived at Pennyroyal and were in our glory. CC and I got baskets and we strolled along picking raspberries and blackberries. We did pretty well, you know only sampling 1 for every 3 berries picked. The couple who ran the farm were adorable. She bottled up some fresh raspberry jam for us to take with and the old man even gave the gals a sample of the fresh cider.

Once in Lorne we checked into our hotel, got changed and strolled to town and dined at a little placed called Cuda Bar. I had a fantastic twice cooked roasted pork belly dish and the gals both enjoyed fresh rockling and salmon mains. We were pretty beat so we called it a night.

The next morning we got into Melbourne Swift (our rental car name) and headed along the GOR towards Port Fairy. Little did we know how long that would take us, but we were in it for the long haul. Along the way we stopped and saw all the famous sites. Peep the pictures below.

The 12 Apostle (Actually there are only 8 left)

Once we arrived in Port Fairy per usual most shops and restaurants were closed, so we grabbed some grub from a highly recommended pizza joint called Coffin Sally's. This establishment is know for it's trendy atmosphere and gourmet pizzas. On the road back to Lorne we stopped a few places we had skipped on the way down.

From the tree top looking at the forest floor

The next day I went for a run around Lorne beach and then we decided to explore Apollo Bay and Otway Fly. Apollo Bay was a cute little town, not too much going on there but we did grab some brekkie. Onward we went to the tree top walk at Otway Fly. This was a pretty cool and yes touristy walk. But the tower was the first I'd seen like it. Towering at a 47 meters off the forest floor high into the tree line. The tower itself swayed with the breeze.

We drove to the Otway Lighthouse and strolled to the nearby lookout point and Cemetery. We didn't get to see the Lighthouse up close and personal but it looked pretty from afar! The Cemetery was the final resting place for the Lighthouse keepers and their families. Sadly, there had been many children and infant tombstones. The lighthouse is located in The Great Otway National Park, within the park there are farms, an animal reserve, and campsites. At one point on the access road we drove into what I would call the Ash Forest. All of the manna gum trees have become stripped bare by the Koalas who have been starving due to the lack of eucalyptus trees. The Koalas have become sick and all that remains are the bare trees in what feels like a tree graveyard. It was so sad to see, as these trees were once home to many Koala's and other forest friends.

We left Lorne early on our last day heading back towards Melbourne to hop our flights to Byron. On the way we stopped to see Airey's Inlet and the Split Point Lighthouse. Next stop was Anglesea to see if we could find some Roos at the local golf club - no luck. We continued on the GOR and stopped at to the famous Australian surfing location Bells Beach, which was beautiful. We dug our toes in the sand and soaked up the sun for a bit. Next stop was Torquay for lunch at Whytes on the esplanade.

Coreen taking in the view at Bells Beach

Christina in her happy place with her new Kimono 😍 - Bells Beach

Next stop Byron Bay! We couldn't be more excited for our next stop in Oz!

The Traveling Gypsy