Key Takeaways:
Plan your trip thoroughly.
You cannot say you’re going to go to Washington, DC and just wing it. “Oh we’ll do some shopping, visit some museums, and etc.” The more research you do the better deals you’ll find. If it’s not free then I bet you can find a deal for it online or on Groupon.
Write down what you’re going to do each day.
There’s nothing worse than feeling like you wasted a day or even a few hours. You’ve already invested time and money into this. Most likely you had to request work off or miss a few days of class. So make the entire trip count!
Budget! Budget! Budget!
Figure out where your meals are coming from. Does your hotel have a kitchen? Does your hotel offer complimentary breakfast? If so utilize it. We all know that it’s more cost effective to cook your own meals than to pay someone else. Fast food adds up and you are visiting the nation's capital for Christs sake!
On my trip we originally planned to bring food with us on our outings for lunch, but found that idea not feasible once we got there. However, we did cook some simple rice jambalaya to get us through dinner for the 3 days we were away. Something quick, simple, and fulfilling.
Parking is a B…..
As I’m sure you’ve seen as a recurring theme I’ve consistently spoke of parking. Every time you go into the city be prepared to park your car for no less than $14.00. When we planned our activities we had to shape things around where activities were located. We attempted to go to certain places that were in the same vicinity on the same day rather than trying to drive everywhere. Take a bus or a train if there’s one available going from point A-B-C.
What have you done to go #BeyondYourWindow recently? Share on social media with the hashtag, comment below, or send me a private message!