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Summer Highlights - Catch Up Time, Sharing Our Summer Holidays, and How to Stay Sane During Travel Chaos
20 Plays2 months ago
It's about time we had a fun, catch up and chill episode, so today is that day! We wanted to chat about our Summers, and what we have each been up to. It's been a combination of traveling for fun, traveling for work, reconnecting with family, exploring new places, and overall working hard and playing hard for your AOI hosts. We each also came across some chaotic travel at times, in the form of cancelled or emergency landed flights. We will give you the tea on all of that in the episode, but we also wanted to take the opportunity to leave you with some tangible advice, and what we think your attitude can be in the midst of travel chaos. All of that and more is packed into today's fun, but always helpful, episode!
Xo - Beth and Ayla
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Transcript
Introduction and Life Updates
00:00:00
Speaker
Okay, everyone, it's about that time where we take our one or two episodes out of the year and hit you with just a little life update and catch up. Sometimes the mix of podcasting, business running, traveling, hobbying can catch up with you girls. So it's nice to take some time now and again to just hang out chat.
00:00:15
Speaker
and catch you up on what we've been up to. Absolutely. That's right. Even though we still have a little bit of summer to go, we wanted to chat about the summers that we've had. um and While we were reflecting on what we've been up to, I also got hit with a little bit of inspiration to talk about travel. so um At the end of this, we're going to talk about how important your mindset is when your travels don't go perfectly your way because we're talking about travels a lot this summer. so Yeah, it's a really good discussion. I'm pretty excited to get into it. So stay tuned for a recap on our summers and stay tuned for a little mindset lifestyle booster at the end. Welcome to the Art of Intention podcast with Beth and Ayla. Two best friends turn creative entrepreneurs. This is a place for us to discuss everything business friendships and faith and occasionally more. We're so excited for today's episode. We think you're going to love it. Stay tuned.
Ayla's Summer Highlights
00:01:09
Speaker
Okay, so I'll kick it off. I'll just give a rundown kind of vote of what I've been up to the last few months more personal wise, less business wise, summertime. Yeah, so I'll start. I'm actually starting in May, which I know is still spring, but it's the month is just before June and it counts. But that's just when Beth came up to visit, which we already dove into a few episodes back, we went into detail on.
00:01:32
Speaker
what we did, what it was like for your podcast hosts to be in person. But that felt like when summer started because you were there and life was good. So that was in May. Yeah. It's a good time. Go back a few episodes if you're just dying to know what that was like. And then June, I immediately wanted to get outside. like I was so itching for it. I always am after winters in Canada here. like They're so long.
00:01:55
Speaker
and they just keep going. So I was ready to get outside, but the weather actually wasn't really good in June. It was pretty rainy, um which is good for us farming wise because we're in a good like farming province. So it's good news when it rains a lot in June, but for me, I was kind of like ready to go, but whatever. It was cozy reading and editing days.
00:02:12
Speaker
ah But then mid-June, Chris and I went to California for a couple weeks. My entire family is still there. So we spent a little over two weeks just reconnecting with my family. um I've got nine nieces and nephews on my side of the family. So it's just like a fricking party when we visit. And it was really good. Our travels down there were actually, were there any problems?
00:02:35
Speaker
No, I think they were fine. We were delayed leaving our city like a little bit, like 40 minutes, but we had a longer layover in Calgary, so it didn't really matter. like i think that I think that was fine. Oh, okay. I won't get into this story. I'll keep this story short, but our drive ah from the airport was insane.
00:02:52
Speaker
Because Beth gets this, but it's like a three and a half hour, or it's two and a half to five, depending on traffic hour drive to my hometown from the airport. So you just never really know how long that's going to take. And my brother-in-law picked us up with one of my nephews in the car. It's so sweet. A little, brought his little guy along and we were driving.
00:03:15
Speaker
and we hit like just one area of the freeway and we actually got into it like a minor accident. It was somebody else's tire truck, the little piece of rubber that they keep. yeah I actually don't fully know what it is, but it was like this the bigger truck's tire truck flew out from underneath his car and hit the front of my brother-in-law's truck and like our windshield and flew up over.
00:03:39
Speaker
But yeah, so the tire truck hit the front of his truck, dented his grill, like cracked and dented his grill. And we had to like pull the guy over on the freeway and exchange information and whatever. So that was like a little bit crazy. That was pretty much it. Like it was fine after that. And my brother-in-law has a really good attitude about that stuff. So he was just like, okay.
00:03:57
Speaker
We're just going to handle this. But we, and then we like, before that happened, we stopped and got in and out. And then we also ran an errand for a family friend. And then Chris and I had to stop at Walmart. So we got picked up at like two and we were dropped off back home at like 7.30. It had was such a long day. And then of course we go and say hi to my mom.
00:04:16
Speaker
and she was like hi you guys want some food like you want to have something to drink and we were just like uh-huh it was all good and then um we spent a lot of time at our family cabin which was a golden chris has never got to like be up there in the summer so we it was just man we just laked laked it up. it we It was kayaking. We hung out in the sun. We did so much swimming. Like we have to spend so much time in the water, which was great. Cause I just don't really get to do that summers here. Like there are, there are lakes, but I don't know. I just haven't gotten a chance to really explore them. And i Beth knows I just love being in the water. Like summer means I have to be in the water. So got yeah lost in the sun yes, the water sun got a good tan going, got to swim. Uh, yeah, it got to like kind of camping style, spend some nights up at the cabin.
00:05:03
Speaker
Um, yeah, so that was really good. And then something else that was really fun about it was we were in California for the first couple of days of July and Chris actually got to experience his very first fourth of July. Um, I actually, there are flights around this cause I was like, you've never been, you've never had a fourth of July. And I actually, the last five years of my life, I haven't been in the States for the fourth of July. Wow. Five or six, something like that. So I was like, let's be home for the July. Oh, and I'll pause real quick just to say everybody, um,
00:05:34
Speaker
There's construction going on on the outside of our apartment complex right now. It was quiet when Beth and I started podcasting but it's not now so if you hear hammering or anything we will do our best tech-wise to fix it but uh this is just some life realness. They are putting new siding. Our balcony, I wish I could show you guys. We have a balcony. They're on it right now. like They're right there. so it's It's really intimate. They're right outside. I hung up a blanket in here because I was like, this is too too much for me. so They're right outside. They're hammering. Sometimes they're not.
00:06:09
Speaker
But anyway, thank you all for tolerating that but today is a casual episode anyway. Um, but back to it, we were there for fourth of July. I really wanted to catch a fireworks show because I was, I was trying to do the most American fourth of July. Like I was, what can we do? I was like, we got a barbecue or at least like eat something barbecued, like just some barbecue, like burgers, hot dogs.
00:06:31
Speaker
seeing some fireworks would be cool and there's multiple options of where we could go to see fireworks but actually it was really dry in California at the time so a lot of fireworks shows were either canceled or postponed and it's hard to pull off fireworks anyway in our county they're illegal like you can't just do them in your own backyard or anything like that because it's so dry so We didn't get to catch any fireworks, but instead we just had like a little family party at home and had some sparklers very safely. We had hoses and whatever around and water buckets and we just got to do some sparklers. And it was actually so much fun. Like I told my mom, I was like, I want.
00:07:05
Speaker
what everyone thinks 4th of July would be. So she and I hit up the dollar store. It was actually really manic. We went to the dollar store at like 9pm and ravaged all of their 4th of July decorations. I was like, let's just get the craziest, like shiny stars, like not sad beige or aesthetic at all. I was like, let's just get the craziest 4th of July decorations. And my parents have a big, big old yard. They have a nice big lawn and a fire pit and stuff. So we just like,
00:07:31
Speaker
blues, streamers, we just like decorated it up. And it was also one of my nephew's birthdays around the same time. And his favorite colors are red. So we just like went to camp. It worked out perfectly. So we just finished camp on the red decorations and he wanted waffles. So we set up like a waffle bar. And so yeah, the 4th of July there, it was so much fun. And then it was great. We were actually like lighting our sparklers and stuff. And I started it as a joke, but when we had the sparklers going,
00:07:58
Speaker
I was like, oh, say, can you see? And the whole family kept it going. Of course they did. They're a singing family. Yeah. ah Yeah. Yeah. You get it. I should have known. Oh, yeah. Forgetting to sing around that choir. What are you doing? There was harmonies. There was absolutely like harmonies. And then it was so funny. We just kept singing the national anthem. And then at one point, my mom was trying to talk to one of the kids. I was like, Ma, we're doing the national anthem. She stopped and just like put her hand on her heart. And she was like, and.
00:08:28
Speaker
I love it. And then I turned to Chris and I was like, I want you to know the average American family does not just sing the national anthem in their backyards, but like we did just now. But I'm telling you, like that's not normal to make up for the fireworks. Yeah, but like there you go. And he was just cracking up. He's like, that is the most American thing I've ever seen. Of course.
00:08:50
Speaker
what I was like, I swear, like I mean, we'd probably normally would decorate a bit and have some food, but I just wanted to go all out, but I did tell them. I brought us back down to earth a bit. I was like, it's not normally this crazy, but you do hear like gunshots in our hometown. like You can hear like people will fire off their guns and like um they'll take like pots and pans or whatever, like all that stuff. But yeah, that was pretty much California time. We did you know saw saw friends. I got to see some old friends, good stuff like that. I'm so sorry.
00:09:20
Speaker
You just muted yourself. I'm so sorry. It's okay. It's actually, it's gotten a little, at least in mind, it got a little quieter. you're Okay. going Okay. Yeah. Just hang out with me. I'm almost done telling my story and then Beth will tell hers and I'll pretend I'm not here, but um yeah, I can't think. We didn't really do too much else. That was interesting. Just pitter patter around my hometown, hung out with family. Um, so then going back, I'll chat about this for a bit because it comes up later with what Beth and I are talking about.
00:09:49
Speaker
but Chris and I did experience some kind of wild travel on our way home so we flew out of San Francisco and actually before we even left my house I got a notification on my app, my WestJet app that the flight was delayed an hour and I was like well like let's just still leave because like even if a flight's delayed I'm not going to just wait an hour to get there like I still want to be present and like figure out what's going on so I was like well let's just still go And then we had the smoothest drive from my hometown to San Francisco of my life. We got there in like two hours and 20 minutes. And I left a good amount of time for us to get there. And we got there, no traffic, which never happens. So we were there early. It was like embarrassingly early. We actually checked in for our flight and the lady was like, your flight's not, we got to check in, but she was like, you know, it's three hours away. And I was like, I know. I was like, just, just hand me the tickets. Just give them to me.
00:10:40
Speaker
But we go, so it's delayed an hour, but we go through security. We're like, you know, we want to find out what's going on. And we only had an hour and a half layover in Calgary, which was cutting it a little close for me. And of course, like we have to clear customs when we get to Calgary. So I was getting a little nervous about that. Then we're delayed another hour and I was like, all right, now we're officially going to have to deal with our flights. But before we can even think that I get emails that our flight out of Calgary was canceled, like fully just canceled. Yeah.
00:11:10
Speaker
Oh, sorry. Don't even get me started. at The Calgary airport. I'm surprised you didn't have any problems when you flew through there because the Calgary airport notoriously has like delayed and canceled flights. I actually just talked to a coworker of mine today and she had a flight delayed out of Calgary from ah her summer holiday. So it's just like, if anyone cares, get your lower layovers through Vancouver. Don't get them through Calgary because you'll probably be delayed. I don't know why, but anyway, whatever. So I get like the notification on my phone that that one's just like fully canceled and we're like, okay,
00:11:39
Speaker
And um then I just like the emails roll in for like hotel vouchers, hotel and food vouchers. And I was just like, okay, like they're handling that. That's whatever. And so once we kind of, I think we were hanging out at like an airport restaurant, which we never actually do, by the way, I never order real food from airport restaurants, but we kind of did that day. never I mean, it is fun. It was like 60 bucks more than it needs to be, but whatever it is fun. Probably not that much. I don't know. But we were just hanging out there so we could like get our bearings and like figure out what's going on.
00:12:08
Speaker
And we're like, okay, like, all right. And then we finish our food and then leave. And then we still had, we were basically in the San Francisco airport for like seven hours before we even ever left because of the delays. So we were just like, we never left or we were there for so long. We actually walked around, there was a cute little bookstore in there. So we went and looked at that. Like we just looked at some shops and then we picked a different airport bar to go hang out at that was close to our gate. And we're hanging out there. And so our flight, basically we were supposed to depart at like Uh, like four, five something. And then our flight basically was delayed, delayed, and then it was delayed till eight 40. We were like, all right, that's when we're leaving. So it's like seven 40. We're hanging out at this airport bar. I get a notification, which this is also why everyone needs to get their airline app in their phone because I got a notification.
00:12:56
Speaker
that our flight was pushed sooner. So it was supposed to delay at 840 and then they switched to 820, which has never happened to me. Like usually flights just take off at their delayed time. I've never had it moved back to earlier. Like I knew it could happen. That's just never happened to me. And it was 740.
00:13:14
Speaker
flight was leaving at 820. So they were boarding. And it was so funny. We both ah had like half a pint of beer left. And we were like, okay, um, like we got, like, we get, we just like slammed it, grabbed our stuff and we were like, okay, we're ready to go. And we got right onto the flight. Like we got, ah we were right by our gate. Like we could see it. We just couldn't hear any of those announcements, but we could see him like lining up. So we were like, whatever, it's fine. So then we get to Calgary.
00:13:39
Speaker
Uh, and we had already gotten our flight rescheduled for the next day. Like it was canceled rescheduled for the next day. So we just have to show up and like figure out what's going on. And we had checked bags and like, usually when you spend the night, you have to uncheck your bag. So we go to figure that out, but they're like, Oh, actually no, your bag's going to your final destination because you were never supposed to stop. So that took us some time to figure out. And then we had to like figure out our shuttle situation and i we ended up landing in Calgary, I should say at like 11 40.
00:14:07
Speaker
By the time we got our baggage and our shuttle situation figured out and got to the airport hotel, it was 1.40 in the morning. And then we each just like took a quick shower, got into bed. Oh, and our flight was at 7am the next day. oh yeah So we wanted to be at the airport for five. So we had the shuttle come get us at like 4.40.
00:14:29
Speaker
And we went to bed at like two. And I set my alarm for like, you know, 4.20ish in the morning. And it said like two hours and 20 minutes. And I was like, no. I was like, don't even tell me. I was like, don't tell me when this unlocks. You know, when you set your alarm, it's like, alarm will go off in two hours. And I was just like, no. I didn't see that. I'm just going to close my eyes. And then, yeah, got like the shortest sleep ever. We were in that airport or we were in that hotel for yeah like four hours total.
00:14:55
Speaker
um close her eyes real quick, woke up, whatever kept going. And then that flight, we were supposed to leave at seven. That flight got delayed until eight 45. Then we got home. But luckily we had a ah ah close friend of ours pick us up from the airport and we live like 10 minutes away. So we just told him like, we'll text you when we land, you know, we'll just, we'll text you when we land. And it kind of worked out for him. Cause he was originally going to pick us up at like midnight, but then he didn't have to pick us up until Uh, like much later. That's really nice in the day. Uh, so he got to sleep in and stuff. So we just texted him when we landed, got picked up and then Chris and I, we brought our stuff in. We swung out to get some food. Like we just went through a drive through, got some food, came home. We watched YouTube for a bit and then we slept for like five hours because it was still so early in the day. It was like noonish by the time we had eaten. So then we just slept.
00:15:47
Speaker
We took the longest nap ever, slept, amazing unpacked some of our stuff, and then had a friend over, and then we like got back to life. so They have your friend over literally as soon as you're back. Yeah, yeah. They love that. But that's pretty much it. Really, everything after that is like we've been home. I took a day off after we got home, and then you know just jumped back into life, editing, podcasting, all those things. Work has started to pick up. August is shaping up to be a heck of a month for me, because it's mid-August as we're recording this.
00:16:16
Speaker
Um, this is like and not super relevant, but we actually have two random house sitting gigs going on in August. So between two different houses, we're like feeding people's animals and watching their dogs and like watching their house.
Beth's Summer Experiences
00:16:28
Speaker
My season is shaping up to be busy. Like some of my regular clients, plus a new client are kind of letting me know what they have going on for the month.
00:16:37
Speaker
um So the rest of the summer holds for me is like working almost full time at my day job, full time editing and then two house sitting jobs and feeding myself. So that's a lot. I don't know what's going to happen. So, you know, tune back in in like a month.
00:16:52
Speaker
when all that's done and see how I'm doing, but what what's going to happen is you're going to make bank, get it, get it clean. I hope so. because That's the idea. That's why I'm here. like Oh my gosh. That's too funny. That's awesome. Yeah, I think, yeah, that's pretty much it. Other than that, I'm just, we're cruising. Amazing. Sounds like a really productive summer.
00:17:12
Speaker
and That's so funny. I did not know your flight back was so chaotic. That's crazy. I hadn't heard that from just now. but Oh, yeah. No, because that was the other reason I did this episode was Beth and I haven't gotten to talk about our summers, so yeah we're talking to each other about it and you're all just here. You're just a fly on our wall right now, on our walls. Exactly. Well, I guess then I'll ah head into mine real quick. So um I'll start where Ayla started. Just like she said, I feel like my summer kind of started in May too when I went to go visit her. That was like my main fun trip of the summer. So it was really cool. Got to start off with that in May.
00:17:46
Speaker
Amazing, loved it. And ah at the end of May, I did a little bit of island hopping for a wedding in Kauai. That was really fun. I did actually a lot of island hopping um this summer, which was great. I mean, I usually do, but it was just it's just nice. I always like to reflect on that and make sure that I'm appreciating it.
00:18:01
Speaker
um and One thing I realized this summer a little bit more strongly is that I want to prioritize um having some of my travel friends and planning some like just for fun travels next year. so That was like a little revelation I had, so I'm hoping to have some fun trips coming up that are not just like work trips. um That would be be fun.
00:18:19
Speaker
Yeah. And around, this was like earlier in the year, ah like so not just a summer thing, but I did start working for a boat company, which was nice like for like a little more consistently. So I'm still just a photographer, but like I started kind of partnering with like one specific boat company and working with them more consistently on like their main or like their only photographer, which is great. So whenever they have for their advertising.
00:18:41
Speaker
No for like charters. Well, yeah sure that too but like for charters like they will have tours and charters that take people out and like if the people want a photographer like ah so see i didn't know that thats love And it feels very summer like it's but definitely like a dream so like it's so funny and the crew is like that they're angels I love them so much to the point where I'm like dang if I ever wasn't a photographer I would want to just like work with them like I just love I love the boat life more than I think I realized and being like a crew member on a boat would be so I Like, you know, if this ever falls through, you might be able to find me on a boat. But anyways, so that was a fun summer development. Yeah, I've been enjoying that. There hasn't been a ton of like charters have gone out on, but I'm, you know, we're trying to do more and it's just exciting. But anyways, um, I've been to California actually quite a few times for weddings and work, but also visiting family. So you'll hear that come up a little bit. So moving on to June though. Um, again, more Island hopping ahead of Maui wedding and like, okay, actually I'll go to, that was basically my main thing in June, but July.
00:19:40
Speaker
believe it or not, I was in California again. I was there in June too, but California again, but this time it was for a family member on Chad's side of the family, at their funeral or their memorial service. So that wasn't like as a half, that wasn't like a happy trip, but there was that. And, um, the most, so like the most, that was like, that was July so yeah that was just this last month um but the most like true bit of summer time I've had relaxing was um when I was back home on a wahoo for a couple weeks at the end of July after that and like the beginning of August at the very beginning of this month and I was literally just like swimming hanging out with friends like didn't have any big like weddings really going on or anything crazy it was nice just having like a little bit of true summer for it for ah a little bit that was like my
00:20:22
Speaker
summer break. kind of um and then okay August has been my most busy month so far, actually, believe it or not. and um I had my first Bahamas wedding, which was really fun. um it was The Bahamas is very chill, more chill than I thought it'd be. like very like Literally the most chill ever. like No one does anything.
00:20:41
Speaker
Yeah. I went with my videographer a friend, Hannah from H Films Hawaii. I don't know if I've talked about her actually on this show or not before, like specifically mentioned her name, but shout out to her. She's the best ever. Her and her husband did video for this wedding. So we all like ended up going together and getting an Airbnb together, which was super fun. Love traveling with her. She's actually super like easy and fun to travel with. She's the one I did Ireland with after only knowing each other for like a couple months and like literally spent two weeks nonstop together and like sharing the same hotel room.
00:21:09
Speaker
all that. So we figure, I think we've both figured like if we can survive that, we can survive traveling anywhere together. But anyways, so that then still in August, believe it or not, back in California for another funeral, actually this, there's actually a lot. of Okay. Backtracking the flight. I'll share really quickly because Ayla and I both had some crazy flight stories this summer. So I'll say this quick. If you follow me on Instagram, my photography page,
00:21:32
Speaker
you will have heard this already, so I'll summarize. But basically, the flight back from the Bahamas, I was going to just go from the Bahamas to Oahu, but I took off from the Bahamas and we were flying from Nassau to, we're supposed to fly to New York, halfway through the flight, the pilot gets on and says we have to forest land because of like a bunch of weather that we were having and a bunch of craziness that was going on. I haven't gone through that yet. No, it's super fun, but it was fine. So we landed in Virginia and then he said, like, we we're just going to refuel and like wait for the weather. Then maybe be like 15 minutes. And then that turned into like, okay, within the hour. And then they were like, okay, actually you can deplane if you want to, because it's going to be like an hour and a half before we know. So anyways, we got off the plane just to stretch our legs. We went and like, people were kind of getting snacks, just hanging out in the airport. And then we get, um,
00:22:19
Speaker
they go on the announcement area at the gate and they say, actually, it's going to be a couple hours. We're not sure how long. And then like an hour later, they say, actually, it's going to be, and this was like, we landed at like 4pm and you know, so and then they said it's actually going to be 9pm and it was like five o'clock at that point. Um, and then you a couple more hours pass and they say, actually, it's going to be midnight now. So, you know, just kept like pushing it back, whatever.
00:22:40
Speaker
and Finally, they had everyone go off after like another hour. they They said, everyone go on the plane, get all of your belongings off because like you're staying here overnight. like We don't have a pilot now. so like If we had left at midnight, the pilot would have stayed and flown, but like the pilot said, I'm not working after this time, a certain amount of time or whatever, so they couldn't find a replacement pilot. It was weird. Anyways, and then they so they said, we have no pilot until tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock. Delta, they said they'd reimburse our hotels if we found one. and you know It was a whole, obviously during those hours, there was a lot of chaos. People were like upset and they were like trying to find rides to drive. Because a lot of people lived in New York, so they're like, I'm just going to drive four hours and go back home. So it was nice going. Yeah, like renting cars or something like that. Yeah, exactly. But for me, I was like, I'm stuck. so
00:23:24
Speaker
Long story short, stayed the night. on the wrong ah it literally could launch i considered oh wrong land like it's I was sitting there for like four hours and we still were going to just push back, five hours still push back, six hours still still push back. I did look at how ah how far a drive would be to California at least because I was like, I'm from California, I can catch a flight. But it was like two day drive and I was like, I'm not doing that. all this say Not to interrupt, we thought the same though when we were in Calgary overnight. It's like a seven hour drive and Chris literally was like, we would get home sooner if I rented a car right now. But then of course it's the exhaustion of actual like driving because we would have landed there at like midnight. I was like, no way we're renting a car and driving hours into the morning. But yeah, I get that. I get that exactly.
00:24:08
Speaker
oh i was No, I was pretty close to because like again, it was there was a hurricane going on. That's why this was all happening by the way, Hurricane Debbie. This was through Hurricane Debbie and that was in Florida and like you know all that whole area. That's why this was all happening. so We were kind of all thinking like this doesn't have an end in sight. We don't know. Tomorrow's going to be pushed more and it ended up being ah pushed again and stuff. But anyway, so but the two-day drive was kind of looking like it might be faster too. and and Actually, had I taken that drive, I probably would have arrived at the same time. Spoiler alert.
00:24:35
Speaker
um But I just didn't want to find hotels along the way. So anyways, I ended up not. And my little sister was like, you might not want to do it. I was texting her. I was like, should I just send it? And she's like, no. And for my little sister, her by the way, for those of you who don't know her and I, for her to be giving me that advice and telling me not to, I must have been delirious and making a very bad decision. That was so long.
00:24:56
Speaker
that's like I don't say know how many. That's like a long drive. Coast to coast is insane. Yeah, two days, yeah. and Never done anything like that. But anyways, glad I didn't. Okay, long story short, stay at a hotel. Then the next day I end up sharing an Uber with these two nice ladies and we get and we had we had to like take our checked bags from the night before and then we had to go recheck them in. And that line was like an hour and a half long. Again, if you're interested in hearing more about the story specifics and kind of like being in on the drama, you can go to my page, my photography page, and I saved a story highlights to watch it because it's kind of funny. It's a good time. But anyways, so getting back was a nightmare. And once I got back into California, I was looking at my schedule and I was like, okay, I'm gonna be back in California to meet my baby niece and for a funeral again in like a week. Why am I not just staying here? So I decided to just stay.
00:25:40
Speaker
And I had, I have a wedding in two weeks or like a week and a half here, a funeral this weekend. And I'm going to try next week to meet my baby niece. So it's like, I'm getting to spend a little bit of time here and just do like some fun things here while working and and catching up on everything. And I was lucky that I don't have any, I didn't have any big shoots or anything in Hawaii during this time. I had like a destination wedding. So it ended up just somehow miraculously working out perfectly. So there's that. So you can just say like, see your family.
00:26:09
Speaker
Exactly. for a bit and then go back home and keep yeah so Yes, exactly. so so My next couple weeks, we'll be yeah trying to let everything I just said, the funeral meeting my niece, and then we promised my brother-in-law that we'd take him on a biking trip. so We actually decided we're going to do that in the next week because we have time for the next like two weeks the next like week or so. and Then my grandma is trying to see if she can put together like one last minute like Santa Cruz trip ah with all the grandkids. so If the dates work out with that, then I'll stay for that too. like it'll just be like like within the same time I'm originally going to be here anyways. So we'll see. And then I'll be flying back home to a while for a while. And I think that'll be like the official end of my summer. I think that'll be when, cause fall busy season is going to start around mid to late September for me. yeah So yeah, that's so funny. Like a little summer vacay.
00:26:55
Speaker
impromptu. yeah worked doubt yeah If you can't tell, I don't plan out my life very well you guys know. I plan out the stuff that's important and sometimes I just like to let life happen and I just like to see where it's going to go and I think I end up having fun things happen when I do that. Yeah, that's so fun.
00:27:10
Speaker
okay So since we both talked quite a bit about traveling we wanted to kind of round out this episode real quick by talking about like our recent experience with people's attitude and like encountering travel hiccups as you heard we both kind of had that. So like I said if you follow my Instagram page you may have seen that little rant about this.
00:27:28
Speaker
But we thought it'd be great to talk about it on the podcast too and more specifically and kind of
Travel Attitudes and Advice
00:27:32
Speaker
more in depth. So as Ayla maybe has some thoughts on this too, we're just going to bring it up real fast. um I'll start off by saying that I noticed there are two different types of people when travel delays happen. Those who can stay calm and those who like really, really, really let it show how bothered they are. As I mentioned, my Bahamas flights were delayed and rerouted like so many times. There was so much chaos and I noticed a pattern.
00:27:51
Speaker
the people who threw fits and complained and like acted severely impatient, like they were just so obvious about how inconvenienced they were, they tended to have worse things happen to them, like forgetting their bags, not sticking around and lying long enough to hear instructions or to get help and like having just worse things happen to them. And they also made the moods of people are around them worse too. So Ayla, I wanted to ask you real quick if you can like end this episode with your thoughts.
00:28:15
Speaker
Have you noticed similar things when dealing with travel delays or issues and what advice can you give to people who may one day encounter problems with their flights like we have as well and like with the you know all that? Okay.
00:28:27
Speaker
Yes, I love that you said to end out this episode because then I have just a block of like a rant. But yeah, let's talk about it. So yeah, like i I watched this on your stories, Beth, and then it got to thinking about it. And yes, yes, 100%. Yes, I've noticed exactly what you're talking about in regards to people's attitudes versus their actual travel experience. Like I've been stuck in many a delayed flight, many a canceled flight, many nights spent in the airport that I didn't plan on spending there.
00:28:58
Speaker
over and over again and I've seen all kinds of people and their reactions like I've seen families with kids I've seen solo travelers like all just kind of like maneuver that and when Beth and I were kind of just like talking about our summers and like what we wanted to talk about and Beth was like oh yeah like I had this idea about just attitude during travel because basically what you said was like You just take that all very chill. Like you're not one to get frazzled. And like you explained, you had to spend the night in Virginia and maybe more nights there. Like that's crazy. I've never had that extensive of a delay and I've never had to forest land. So even that alone is a situation I haven't had to deal with. And I remember Beth and I were talking about podcast stuff and she was just like, yeah, so I'm in Virginia. So like, let's see. And I was just like, dude, what? like
00:29:42
Speaker
That's crazy. And we just talked about how your attitude is just like, there's nothing I can do about this. So like, I just need to take what's coming on one step at a time. Very good attitude. Like I think you and I would travel well together because we're just like, okay, whatever goes wrong. And it's actually funny when Chris and I were just experiencing our delays. I just talked about like our most recent ones.
00:30:04
Speaker
When we were hanging out in that like second airport bar, like we were figuring out all the delays and we were like, okay, okay. Like, and then it was actually such a vibe. We just like shared a pizza and we were just like hanging out talking. And I told him, I was like, I'm so glad that we traveled the same. chris Chris and I do. And it's such a blessing because I'm very particular about how I travel and we travel exactly the same. And in one of those aspects, I was just like, we don't freak out when this stuff happens.
00:30:29
Speaker
Like we might go a little quiet and there's been times we've had like 10 minutes. yeah oh Well, not that's dramatic, but we've had an extremely short layover and we're running and Chris will kind of say like, where do we need to go? And I'm like, I don't know. And then we get on the plane. Here's the times we get on the plane and he sits and takes my hand and he's like, good job. I wasn't yelling at you. I was yelling at the situation. it's wild i love that and i were like I was never mad at you. I was mad at the situation, but like, that's just when we're rushed. That's probably the most yeah it might look like we're arguing, but we know it's not.
00:31:03
Speaker
to each other or the faults of each other. Exactly. Whatever. So anyways, we were talking about this at, you know, while we're hanging out, like having it, having a beer. We're just like, I'm so glad like we don't get mad. Cause I was like, I couldn't deal if you, if we got an hour delay and you were just pissed because like, or else you're just not going to be able to travel. Like, yes, exactly. You're just not going to be able to travel at all if like one small delay, like I sat next to a girl actually on the flight. Was I, it was coming to San Francisco. So sorry, like back up. We were delayed a little bit leaving Saskatoon just like by an hour.
00:31:32
Speaker
Um, and it wasn't that bad. And I sat next to some girl who was like, geez, we left really late. And I was just like, Oh, you must be new. And she was, Oh, yeah. She was, Oh, you must be new. You said, yeah. I was like, Oh, you must be new. Well, a no, going not to her in my own mind. I said that. No, I know what I'm saying. Like, that's awesome. You should have said it. lot but And it was right. She was like, she didn't travel a lot. She had flown once, but she was okay. Anyway, I was like, yeah, if you're mad at like the smaller delays, then I just, I don't really know what to tell you. But anyway, scary to get to my actual point. Um,
00:32:01
Speaker
If you are like audibly shouting and whining and complaining within earshot of people around you when this stuff is going on, first off, truthfully, they might be making fun of you. Like if they're chilling, you're like, dude, this guy needs to like needs to calm down. But in all seriousness, like no matter who is at fault, the pilot, the airline, the airport, the crew,
00:32:23
Speaker
There's a billion factors that could be going wrong with your flight being delayed. like you You don't know whose fault it is, really, until the end. And the airport might not tell you. They might not know. like Whatever. It could be so many persons' fault. Air travel comes with so many hiccups, and it's probably not changing.
00:32:38
Speaker
We've been flying in the air for a long time and these problems still happen. So they're probably not going away anytime soon. So it's just like, first off, things are going to happen and you are not more important than the people around you with whatever you have going on. Like I don't care what crisis you're trying to get to. Sometimes people have serious stuff going on, like memorials, like emergencies. I understand that, but everyone's just trying to get to their next destination and like you can compete your problems over others and like think that gives you a reason to have this terrible attitude or be shouting or be mad and I say shouting because I have seen that like and to the work yes and all these things so you too and I'm not saying that you can't feel frustrated believe me it's okay to feel frustrated I have spent plenty of time frustrated and exhausted
00:33:22
Speaker
and feeling lack of control and near tears that come with the unpredictable travel. um I'm not saying you can't get upset, but what I'm saying is that you will help yourself out for days by letting that frustration just kind of wash past you and focus on what you need to do in front of you and proceed step by step.
00:33:41
Speaker
I have had to absolutely grit my teeth and ignore the inconvenience that can come with delayed flights or travel. But the reality is the plane's not going to take off faster because you're throwing a fit or because that's true the flight attendants or the airport staff or the pilots are not going to hustle extra. They're not going to hear that you have somewhere to be and be like, Oh, of course.
00:33:59
Speaker
Good. I'm going to make this plane take off faster. They are on their own schedule and we're all just succumbed to it really. Yeah. Go ahead. I was just going to say, and to clarify too, the people who really, really, really had somewhere to be, it was such an emergency. Again, it's not always like this, but those are the people who got the rental cars and they left.
00:34:16
Speaker
Yeah, and I totally get it. like I guess I'm also lucky that my travel is not really that high stakes. I know. Yeah, like I get that. I definitely ah do get that. But yeah, the best thing you can do for yourself and your mental state is to go ahead and let yourself feel the frustration you need to feel for a minute and then do what you need to do. Pay attention to the instructions the staff give you and be patient with them. Absolutely never yell at your airport staff because the problem probably isn't even their fault. like The amount of times I've been at delayed fights delayed fights, delayed flights, and there's some sweet little girl at like the front desk where she's announcing like it's delayed, and people who scream at her, I'm like, she doesn't even know what the problem is. One time there was more maintenance going on, and people were mad at her. i'm like she's not even in She's a employee. like
00:35:03
Speaker
She does not touch the plane. She has nothing to do with the plane. It's not her fault. like Do not shoot the messenger. like It's usually, it's but actually probably 100% of the time the person who's announcing the delay is never their fault. So direct your anger elsewhere because they don't deserve it. um And then honestly, just try to make the best of things. like I know it's easier said than done. I get it. And I know I don't have to deal like Beth and I don't have to deal with things like pets or kids while travel, but I will go out on a limb and say, if you are the head of your family traveling or your parents, I think it's extra important to keep your attitude and check and keep your spirits up or else your whole family is going to have a bad time. I've actually experienced this. My big flight conundrum of my life was being stuck overnight in Minneapolis on the way to go to Chris. It was right after we got married.
00:35:50
Speaker
And we were in separate countries because that was our life for a while. And I was going to see him. And then I got delayed unexpectedly overnight. And that one was quite frustrating because it was similar to you, Beth. It was like delayed an hour, delayed an hour, delayed 20 minutes, delayed an hour. And I was like, can y'all just make this overnight? like This is crazy. And then they did travel flight for the next day. And that was where I started to cry because I was trying to go see Chris. like And again, it wasn't like I wasn't falling. But i just like I had tears. and uh i was like trying to figure it out and so the next day everyone's back at the airport and it was again like delay delay delay like we were there for eight hours the next day before we all finally got on the flight and i sat next to this one family that was just having a time and their kids were like older-ish kids like maybe 11 and 14 so they weren't like toddlers that need constant entertainment i would say and the dad was just like
00:36:41
Speaker
Just like, this is incompetent. Like, Delta, this is absolutely incompetent. And like, going into- Oh, mine was Delta too. Yeah. And like, going and talking to the front girl. The girl at the front desk. And like, every how where, when it was delayed again, he'd be like, what's the problem now? And I was just like, Like, okay. And then his like, 11 year old daughter was like, this is why we should never fly Delta. And I was like, do you even know? Like, you're, you're 10. Like, be quiet. Yeah. But it was just like, you're draining everyone around you. And I get it. Like, I was sending Chris my own voice messages of like,
00:37:11
Speaker
And I had my own problems of like why I thought it was annoying. We weren't taking off. It was also for weather, but it was out of Minneapolis and it was drizzling. And I was like, bro, this is Minnesota. minnesota Like, come on. But anyway. yeah And then I was annoyed because we finally got on the plane and then they had to de-ice it, which takes like 30 minutes. And I was like, oh my God, this is fine. But that's the thing. It's always one thing after another. So you got to let it just like.
00:37:33
Speaker
It takes practice, I guess. Like it's a muscle you have to work, but just like, let it, let it go. But anyway, I was sitting next to that family and then they drained me so much that I actually just moved. And there was a group of girls around my age that I just kind of sat next to and they were funny. They were just making jokes the whole time, like coping with humor. And I was like, here we go. Like we're allowed to be upset over this, but then they were just like joking, like coping with humor. And I was like, oh man, like this is, and then, then we bonded like,
00:38:01
Speaker
over this and I remember we were waiting on flight crew to show up and then they finally showed up and I was so comfortable around this group of strangers I had hung out with for two hours that when the crew showed up I literally just pointed it and I was like the crew the crew and the girls were like like it's just so I was like I'd rather just laugh my frustration away and I know not everything but Um, anyway, and what an ah sorry, go ahead. Go ahead. I want an opportunity, see an opportunity to have, you get to choose in that moment. That was a literal choice. You just proved it's a choice whether you're going to have a good time or a bad time. And you made new friends and had a good time. It is a choice. It really is. And I know like maybe that's a hot take, but just like your frustration and your happiness in the midst of chaos really is a choice. Like, and i yeah like it's okay to feel frustrated and it's okay if you to feel frustrated in your heart and be like, man, I just feel out of control.
00:38:52
Speaker
This is annoying, but like letting it like, I don't know, if you need to go somewhere and be alone and deal with that for a minute and then come back, like, and you don't always have to talk to other people. Sometimes that's not comforting, but it's just like, you can choose to make the best of it. I really, really think you can. And I think it's a muscle to work. Like it might not always work the first time, but like, if you're going to be constantly traveling, I hate to break it to you. You're probably going to constantly.
00:39:14
Speaker
be in these situations. And one thing I've noticed just in life in general is if something's constantly bothering you and it's never going to go away like traffic, like road rage, I'm pretty, I'm pretty bad about road rage. Like the reality is it's like, it's never going to get better. So I'm actually wasting my time and wasting the energy of people around me by always being upset about it. like it's a i could just yeah like It's a choice to be better. so um but You just rapid fire things, like you said, Beth, like advice for travelers or people getting ready to travel. i just I'll rapid fire a few points because I know I kind of went places. but
00:39:50
Speaker
Some more tangible but advice if you get like a canceled or delayed flight. ah Like I said, you should already have the app of whatever airline you're flying and have your flight info entered in there, like have your you know boarding pass on there ready to go. This is crucial in case there are gate or time changes. And I will say, um I've talked on the show before about how I usually have like a paper boarding pass and a digital.
00:40:11
Speaker
Because of how crazy Chris and I's flights were, we ended up without our paper ah boarding passes at one point. Like we never got them, but I had them on my app and we didn't even bother trying to get them. So I'm just saying like, just have all that taken care of in an app if you can. And it's crucial in case there are gate or time changes.
00:40:28
Speaker
Again, Chris and I had the flight that was pushed sooner and I would have missed that without um the app. yeah buying me And I mean, to be fair, the airline also actually notified me and emailed, but just like be paying attention to things like that. Like you don't really just get to go in La La Land once your flight's delayed. And that's kind of my next point is if you're only delayed by an hour or so, I would recommend staying closest to your gate.
00:40:50
Speaker
Like I'm all good for airport exploring. It's a lot of fun. I like walking around and checking out like the Gucci stores that are randomly there or whatever. yeah Don't leave the airport or wander too far because you never know what instructions you need to hear. Because again, Christian, I kind of missed those ones before. And sometimes they might be actually telling you what the problem is. They don't always, but sometimes they'll let you know, like what we're waiting on and what needs to happen makes you feel included, feel more aware. And avoid using noise canceling headphones and completely tuning out. I've made this mistake while delayed before and missed some vital information. Like I missed a gate change during a delay. I didn't miss the flight. I just kind of found out about this gate change later. And then with that,
00:41:31
Speaker
what you said Beth about like people's attitudes and getting all flustered and getting mad and complaining. I've been a part of a gate change before that a bunch of people missed, but like they clearly announced it. Like they let us know we're moving to this gate and my app got the o of notification and I moved and then later this herd of like pissed off people Well, they didn't even tell us. say how we should push you but but And I was like, actually, they did tell us, like, you just weren't paying attention. You yeah you were watching a movie, you had your headphones on, like, which you can you can watch movies, you can do whatever, just be aware, like, pause your headphones now and again, make sure you're not missing anything. You know, at that point, it is on you if you keep missing
00:42:07
Speaker
stuff when you're supposed to be paying attention. Um, if you have to stay overnight somewhere, the airline, I'm pretty, well, actually, no, I do know the airline has to, and probably will compensate a hotel room and maybe some meals. There are ways they'll try to skirt around this. Like the hour delays is kind of a way they'll do that, like delayed by an hour, delayed by an hour. They'll do that in the hopes that they don't have to comp you.
00:42:29
Speaker
ah hotel. But I think once your flight's canceled, then they have to, and it's overnight, then they have to yeah do that. And don't be afraid to take advantage of this if you can. And if they don't offer that for some reason, and they're like, oh, sorry, we'll reconvene tomorrow. Be like, um, where's my voucher? Where's my reimbursement? Here's your clause where it says so. How that's the Friday to go. And I would take advantage of this if you can. I've spent a lot of nights in airport floors because I I don't know, for some reason thought that was more fun. If you feel safe and you feel comfortable, take advantage of whatever vouchers and stuff they give you. ah Many airport hotels have shuttle services that are free for you to use and it's just worth it to get a good night's rest because if you have been frustrated for hours and hours, it's better just to go sleep and be ready to tackle it the next day because navigating this stuff on little sleep is doable, but it's hard. Even worse. and Yeah. yeah
00:43:18
Speaker
And then, Beth, you kind of touched on this, but yeah, take the opportunity to make some travel buddies. I'm an introverted at heart and usually would hate this advice, but it I have been helped through some confusing situations.
00:43:29
Speaker
Thanks to travel buddies. I have literally asked strangers to be like, where are we going? What's going on? Like what's next? And they're like, Oh, I heard from this. We're going here. Or like we all have bags missing. We can all go to the same areas and like figure out our bags. Like, especially if you're traveling alone, it's just kind of nice to have some camaraderie. Even if you're all equally confused, even if you're not solving any of anything, but if you're all equally confused, then you don't feel so lost and like wandering.
00:43:52
Speaker
And then, yeah, for my very last one, realize that these problems are not life-threatening. It is okay. Even if you are getting somewhere important beyond what I know about your life, um a delayed or canceled flight is inconvenient, but it is it's quite literally not the end of the world. Your life is not in danger sitting at this delayed airport, unless you got some weird health reasons, but for the average person traveler, you're fine.
00:44:16
Speaker
You're going to be fine. It's all going to be fine. You're not threatened. You're not in danger. It's just inconvenient and you're going to handle it just one step at a time. Exactly. I love all that. I don't think I have anything else to add. So without further ado, I guess that concludes our episode today.
Conclusion and Social Media
00:44:30
Speaker
Thank you guys for listening. Um, you can find us on Instagram at art of intention podcast. If you have anything else you'd like to share about this or share any other topic ideas. Um, and you can listen every Tuesday on Spotify, Apple podcast, or Zen caster.
00:44:44
Speaker
hope to see you again next week bye
00:45:10
Speaker
We hope to see you again next week. Bye! Bye!