Holiday Travel Action For An Introvert (+Bonus)

Posted: December 29th, 2009 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah | 5 Comments »

This holiday season I’m doing a little tour of 7 North American cities in 17 days to visit family and friends. It’s also nice timing because then in a few weeks I take off to Asia with no real idea of when I’ll be back. While flying around I decided I wanted to mention the topic of being an introverted traveler, and how I make it work for me. It’s not much of a big deal, but it is really nice once you understand how to get the most enjoyment out of your travels.

Firstly, let’s get the list of cities out of the way in case someone is curious. They’re in a nice geographical order.

Campbell River, BC
Victoria, BC
Denver, CO
Las Vegas, NV
Tucson, AZ
Austin, TX
New York, NY

When I was plotting out this travel route I worked in some vacation time. You know you’re a spoiled little travel bitch when your vacations have vacations. Actually, the Vegas stop in the middle is an example of how I travel as an introvert. I need to have bits of downtime every so often when traveling. I hate the typically used analogy, “time to recharge my batteries” but it’s at least sort of accurate. I don’t get tired like my batteries are drained. I just get annoyed, or enjoy what I’m doing less. If you really want to understand how an introvert works then I recommend this summary: Top 5 Things Every Extrovert Should Know About Introverts. After a couple weeks of being social I crave a day where I can get my solitary fix.

If you travel with someone who is even a little introverted then I recommend figuring out some ways to make the trip more enjoyable for everyone. Plan for some times when everyone can just do their own thing. Not times that exclude those who want some solitary time from participating in activities though.

I’m actually really lucky as everyone I have visited on this trip are always really great at giving me my own space and time. It sure makes a world of difference. Anyways, on to the aforementioned “bonus” of sorts. It’s not so much a bonus as it is some crappy pictures. Surprise! I’ll dump some photos from my phone below for those of you who have bugger all else to do with your time.

I don’t know about you, but I always like seeing my country’s airline when I’m at an airport. Admittedly, it’s cooler when you’re far from home, but whatever. So what if seeing this Air Canada plane in Montreal is about as rare as seeing tears at a prom, I still enjoyed it all the same.

“The local weather is 5°C with a slight chance of low clouds.” Oh really? Slight chance? This is at 800 feet. You might want to get a more confident weather wizard. Does the cockpit even have a window? I actually got to talk to the co-pilot after we landed and we both thought the pilot’s weather report was good for a laugh.

A not so lean, not so mean, drooling love machine. My mom has the sweetest dog I’ve ever known.

The view from my secret Las Vegas base. Where I sleep in late and try to grow my fingernails as fast as possible.

Last, and most certainly least, this pic is for the one Nascar fan I know. You know who you are. I stood really close and breathed deeply to fill my lungs with the indomitable spirit of left turning hooters.

So far I have been having a totally fantastic holiday season, and I hope you have also. Have a great new years and all that sort of crap!

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// shawn