4-H Congress & FFA Convention - How I Survived My First Overnight Travel Experiences In Over A Year

Traveling is one of my all time favorite past times. I love the feeling of loading up and just taking off and going somewhere -- anywhere.

But, traveling is also something that is my most stressful past time.

Yep, you read that right.

Let me set the scene for you:

Two weeks ago yesterday I was loading up my pick-up truck to be ready to go to 4-H Congress (which I hadn't been to since I was a sophomore in high school -- aka March 2011). And, I was in distress. Y'all. Listen.

I'd been working on laying out my clothes for about four days at that point to make sure I didn't wear anything I wanted to take with me and made sure I packed enough underwear (that's a story for another day). I'd been working on getting stuff together and checking my list twice that I made on my Happy Planner Half-Sheet that was a Travel Packing List. I checked it over and over again. I then started remembering things I hadn't even wrote down.

The day before departure -- Saturday -- I'd put in a full day of work up at camp. I came home to just want to go to bed and woke up the next morning with FOUR VIPKID CLASSES BACK-TO-BACK that I had to teach and then finish packing. I was so stressed out. I couldn't find my chargers for anything. I was having a hard time making sure I was even dressed myself. I even at one point just had to change clothes into something that was comfortable and didn't even care if it was cute (but it totally was, by the way).

I had never been this stressed out about packing in such a long time. I knew my truck was full of gas and everything was out of it to where I could haul kids -- all to which I'd even originally planned to drive my mom's vehicle but that thought about caused a new wave of panic.

Needless to say, my parents are saints and put up with panic/anxiety attack number 5 of this calendar year and let me just cry it out and hugged me and helped me get my monster of a suitcase finally loaded. (Like, the suitcase was bigger than the two 4-H members that road with me put together.)

Y'all. After I'd gotten to Congress, I realized the one thing I forgot to pack was probably the most important -- Pepto and Dramamine. I forgot the stuff for my upset stomach I always get the first day of traveling and the medicine for motion sickness for when I'm on the charter buses. But, I survived without it -- even though I had some doubts at times.

In the back of my truck, I was able to not only haul my suitcase but another one and a duffle bag and have my backseat full of one 4-H member and luggage. I even made sure to pack snacks AND my laptop for homework (to discover that the Embassy Suites by Hilton does NOT have complementary WiFi, so homework did not get done).

I was thankful I over packed, though, because as the weather changed, I discovered all the options I had for attire and could dress based on my mood and how it felt outside.

Okay, so y'all are tired of reading about my packing experience, you're probably wondering how someone who has such a weird work schedule as me pulled this off financially.

Here it is: I took the time off. Yep. I turned down subbing jobs to go as a volunteer to my favorite 4-H event of all time. I turned down VIPKid classes for this. And, I regret nothing. I purposely planned my budget (what I have of one, that is) around making sure I had money for this trip, and I put what I did spend in gas on my Shell MasterCard. I get 10 cents off per gallon when I use it. I also spent cash on everything else. I was only out my meal on Monday night and Wednesday morning coming home anyways. Everything else was buying 4-H shirts and bottles of water everywhere I went. Between gas and eats and shirts, I wasn't out any more than $100. That's a couple of days of subbing. No biggie. Most of my expenses were spent before on getting a new pair of flats (that I didn't even wear) and a professional looking bag that was huge enough to carry my water bottles in (I had no desire of toting around my NorthFace backpack around downtown Nashville and into the Capital Building while following John Mark Windle around).

All in all, it was a very affordable trip as that all meals minus those two were included. All my clothes I had beforehand (minus my new skirt I wore to the banquet, because let's face it -- you can never have too many polkadotted skirts).

My clothes were what I normally call my "teacher clothes" and my shoes were my Mary Jane Chacos that look like dress shoes but make my feet super happy. I did wear my Adidas Memory Foam shoes a couple of times during my casual wear. I even rocked my wrist brace all day every day -- to be diagnosed on Wednesday with tendinitis in it at a doctor's appointment I went to after I interviewed for a job after getting back from Congress that morning.

All in all, Congress was the trip I needed more than I thought I did. It reminded me of why I love traveling. I got to see so many things and experience so many opportunities I normally don't get to do. I went to places in downtown with my representative that I didn't even know existed. I learned that my personal branding went even to how much water I normally consume a day. I was reminded of why that Extension is something I hold near and dear to my heart.

After getting back home, needless to say, I didn't completely unpack. If anything, I pulled out the "bare necessities" and kept everything else packed up good. I started that same day to work on packing for Tennessee FFA Convention that I'd be attending on that following Sunday.

Y'all. I was home FOUR NIGHTS to turn around and be on the road AGAIN. I hadn't done anything like that since the fall of 2015 when I went to Oklahoma for National Block and Bridle Convention and turned around to go to Louisville for National FFA Convention and Expo.

I made sure that Saturday night before I went to bed that everything was packed up as good as I needed it to be. I had my clothes laid out for the next morning and had my VIPKid class stuff prepped -- as that I had four classes, once again, back to back before I was going to pull out.

This go around was smoother in having everything I needed together and getting my truck loaded -- as that I had started with more time and had a better idea of what I wanted to take. I might've even took more stuff this time than I did the week before. I didn't even care. I felt more prepared.

At this event, though, all meals are on my own. I spent cash as often as I could, but I also used my Capital One Platinum card to make my purchases as that it has a low balance on it already and does instant updates on my balance. I did put my gas on my Shell MasterCard again for the exact same reasons -- which also helps that I was able to get there and back on one tank of gas.

I also packed food and made sure that I ate at places I could afford. Sunday, I ate at Sonic on the way and Mellow Mushroom that night for supper. Monday, I had a coffee from Starbucks and a muffin. Lunch was actually provided by the convention center. Supper was a pizza and garlic rolls from Pizza Hut -- which also served as breakfast the next morning, too. I still got my coffee, though, because I love it when I stay somewhere fancy enough to have a Starbucks in house. Lunch was ate at the Bones BBQ Joint and it was probably my most expensive meal the whole time. It is one of my favorite restaurants in Gatlinburg as that it is right beside the convention center and it's cheap. I did order more food than I normally do -- as that my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I was starving -- which is why it was higher than it normally is for me.

I toted snacks around with me in my bag as to nibble on when I was hungry and to have as a plan B if I got hangry (which almost happened on Tuesday at lunch, y'all).

Convention was a grand ole time as it always is. I worked the TSU booth but visited all the schools who I had friends at. I probably almost spent as much time at the TTU booth gossiping as I did at my own. I wandered around and got the free stuff along with spent time judging the agriscience fair contest -- which is my favorite contest at convention. Shoot, I even got a watching of Dumplin' thrown in there for good measure too.

I say all of this about both trips to say this: It had been way too long since I'd traveled anywhere overnight that wasn't staying at camp, and I had missed it more than I realized. I am a homebody and backwards and introverted, but I also enjoy seeing the world and getting out of my routine to make memories.

My next adventure has me setting my eyes on making a weekend of going to Atlanta -- maybe go to the aquarium and see the Lightning Thief Musical along with who knows what else, but I can tell you, I'll be staying in style like I did in Gatlinburg with a hotel with good WiFi but not turning in a paper at the last minute like I did there. *shrugging emoji*

Until the next blog post, I hope you all find joy in traveling and seeing the world on the budget of someone who only gets paid by the hour but took the time off to go on some wild adventure.