In The Art of Travel, when sharing a reflection on a trip to Barbados, Alain de Botton says, "I had inadvertently brought myself with me to the island."

In The Clean Daughter, when planning a family trip to the Netherlands, Jill Kandel says, "Sometimes, the preparation's as much fun as the adventure."

In Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted, Suleika Jaouad shares a theory of a man she met on her 100 day road trip, "When we travel, we take three trips. There's the first trip of preparation and anticipation, packing and daydreaming. There's the trip you're actually on. And then there's the trip you remember." She quotes him as saying, "The key is to keep them all separate as possible. The key is to be present wherever you are right now."

These quotes are all very relevant to me right now, as I plan to meet a friend in Austin over a long weekend and as I plan a longer trip this summer to Spain and Morocco. It's been quite a while since I've been on a long trip, or any trip really. I went to the Dominican Republic for a wedding in October but a trip like that hardly requires planning. You show up and hang out on a beach chair waiting for someone to bring you a pina colada in a coconut.

The ideas or preparation and anticipation are where my mind is currently as I get ready to leave more that a foot of snow (some of the snow drifts are waist high!) to go sunny Austin, TX. My friend Tony and I are currently sharing ideas on where we want to eat and what we want to see. I can sometimes get too involved in the planning of a trip. I've been known to make spreadsheets. With this trip, I want to take it day by day. I have a few loose ideas of places and experiences but we have no concrete plans, which feels really great. It keeps the expectations in check as there really aren't any.

I relate to the quote by Alain de Botton when I think about how I want to spend my time in Austin, a place known for its nightlife and music as much as its food. I have been reflecting a lot on previous travel and trips where the travel styles of the folks on the trip didn't really jive. I wonder why, when I am in a different place than home, I expect myself to suddenly become someone who likes to stay out all night, drinking in bars. That's not who I am in real life so why do I think that's how I want to spend my time in other places? This is just one example of a travel expectation that does not line up.

Because of this realization, I call Tony and we have a discussion on what we want to do and how we want this trip to go. I want to make sure we both enjoy our time and that we will want to travel together again. Same goes for my longer trip in June. I will be spending a little over two weeks with a friend who I've never spent that much time with before. I've learned I need a lot of downtime, a resource I have never really allowed myself in the past. Especially when I am in a different place, this is important to me, as is trying as much is possible to stick to routines. I want to set this expectation ahead of time so when the time comes for me to have downtime, I don't feel bad or like I'm letting anyone down.

Sometimes I just want to be the girl with a book in a hammock watching the backyard crabs!

Most importantly! I picked up two books relating to Austin. One takes place in Austin and has fairies, goblins and other wonderful monsters which makes me very excited to read it. Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill is about an Austin musician who landed there after leaving the Limestone Kingdom. However, this version of Austin includes genies who drink whiskey. Fabulous!

I also bought Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter, who was born in Indian Creek, Texas. This book was published in 1962 and turned into a movie with Vivien Leigh. I love having a follow-up movie to watch.

The thing for me to remember is I am taking myself on these trips. If I remember that, I should be just fine and truly be able to enjoy myself.