Collaborative Approaches to Planning Our Journeys

Relationships can be quite amusing. You begin as two independent individuals, each with your own habits and preferences. Over time, however, you evolve into a dynamic duo, a formidable team that together becomes a more powerful force than you ever envisioned while being solo. Like many guys, I was initially reluctant to accept this idea: I don’t want to be BRANDY (Beth + Randy, you see?), I’m Randy, for crying out loud.

My perspective shifted when we embarked on our travels together. Beth first took me to the breathtaking landscapes beyond Tijuana in Baja, Mexico, followed by adventures in Guatemala and Oaxaca, ultimately exploring the globe. We spent every moment together, navigating unexpected challenges. Throughout this journey, our love deepened. Recently, I reflected on how our planning and preparation for trips is just as crucial as our collaboration during travels. So, I’d like to share a few ways we unite to organize our travels, whether it's a cruise in the Caribbean or a backpacking trip in Guatemala.

Related: 5 Fantastic Tips to Enhance Your Travel Experience

Travel Planning

Like many travelers, Beth and I have a fondness for guidebooks and maps. Before the era of smartphones and travel blogs, we’d spend leisurely weekends at a cocktail lounge near our home in San Diego. We would spread our guidebooks and maps across the booth, savoring our drinks while plotting our adventures. Nowadays, we handle most of our planning online. Each of us has carved out different roles in this process, which is a bit peculiar, to be honest. We never formally assigned these roles; they simply developed naturally over our nine years of traveling together.

Beth is the visionary of our duo. While many girls her age were busy planning their dream weddings, Beth was occupied dreaming about destinations both near and far. Her passion for travel was sparked by her father, Bob, who took the family on unforgettable road trips across the American West. She’s also exceptional at finding fantastic apartment rentals, as shown by her recent finds in Venice and Florence, not to mention snagging those $400 round-trip tickets for our Italy trip in May. So what about me, Randy? Well, I manage the logistics, handling transportation and arranging our accommodations, and I also play the role of the realist who keeps the dreamer grounded. No, Beth, as much as I’d love to visit Lapland to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, it’s just not feasible to get there in under 12 hours from Helsinki. In short, we complement each other beautifully.

This balance extends to deciding what we want to see, do, and eat during our trips. Typically, we maintain a flexible itinerary to allow for spontaneity. However, there are often several highlights that one or both of us want to experience at any destination. Therefore, the person with the most interest in a place usually researches a few must-see spots before we embark. More often than not, we gather a lot of our information online from travel magazines and blogs. When time permits, though, we enjoy visiting the library to browse the travel section for books about our upcoming destinations. This gives us the opportunity to return to our roots, spreading everything out on a table and immersing ourselves in the destination together—except now, we mix our own cocktails.

Preparing to Pack

I hate to say it, but when it comes to packing, Beth has me beat; she’s got a knack for Tetris-style organization. At this point, we’ve turned packing into a fine art. Yet, there are times when our views clash. This usually occurs when I decide to travel light and attempt to fit everything into the smallest bag possible. Sometimes it works out. For instance, on our seven-day Dinogo cruise last November, I went ultra-light with just the Tom Bihn Super Ego, a spacious messenger bag, and it worked perfectly. However, more often than not, I end up switching to a bigger bag.

Once our luggage is packed, we’re left with just our toiletries and electronics. Beth takes care of the toiletries, while I manage the electronics. Again, this was another unspoken agreement; it just evolved naturally. Once everything is sorted, it’s time for our final task: the checklist. This is entirely Beth’s domain. It’s something I’d probably skip on my own, but I genuinely appreciate it. With the checklist in hand, we methodically go through and ensure we have everything we need. Ironically, on our recent trip to Italy, we changed up our luggage situation and skipped the checklist, and guess what happened? Yep, we forgot quite a few things. Doh!

Attention to Detail

Ideally, we’d plan, pack, and then whisk ourselves away on our vacation. However, as you might know, we don’t live in a perfect world, and there are always last-minute tasks to complete before we leave. Like most people, Beth and I work right up until it’s time to depart. In addition to Beers and Beans, we manage two other businesses: Pin-Up Live! and Speakeasy Travel Supply. This is where Beth’s love for checklists proves invaluable once again. She prepares one a few days prior to our trip, and we go through it item by item to ensure we’ve got everything sorted before we head out. Without a doubt, this is the least enjoyable aspect of trip preparation. Ironically, though, it’s the most freeing part of our pre-trip routine; I liken it to the relief of being prepared for a school exam. I always dreaded studying... cramming for tests, but that sense of calm I felt sitting at my desk to take the exam made it worthwhile. Beth and I experience that same relaxed, fortunate feeling when we settle into our seats on the plane (or bus, train, ferry, cruise ship, etc.) knowing the only thing we need to focus on is our destination, not what we may have forgotten.