Ways to ‘Forget-Proof’ Your Travels, Plus a GIVEAWAY

Alaska Airlines and Darling have teamed up to offer an amazing giveaway! From now until December 13th, share your travel memories in a post on Instagram for the chance to win international, round-trip air travel for two. Just snap a picture that symbolizes a travel memory for you and tag @alaskaair, @darling and #iFlyAlaska. See here for official terms and conditions.

Over the ages, traveling for leisure has been a luxury that, until now, not many could afford but everyone seemed to try for. The variety of possibilities swung the gambit of time, and for centuries the stories lived both in legend and in literature.

Now, however, we jet from place to place more often than ever before, especially with the popularity of the “long weekend” trip. Artisan fairs and travel writers have well highlighted the unique differences between San Diego, Los Angeles, Austin and Dallas, and we go prepared to take in the sights that reflect each community with eyes of wonder.

There are many ways to bring a piece of every city you’ve been to back into your home so that you, like so many travelers before you, can continually remember and experience each treasured destination.

Here’s how:

Even though we often forget to take the time, researching where you think you might go before your trip is worth it. Often, airline sites like Alaska Airlines’ have great synopses of potential destinations or travel enthusiasts have created lists online of suggested locations and what to expect. If you’re attentive to what kind of place your future destination is, you’ll begin to notice what distinguishes it from others.

If it’s a museum-wealthy urban landscape like San Francisco, you could plan on collecting favorite postcards from each landmark or museum you visit. If going somewhere rural, like Sonoma, California, rather than selecting one or two special bottles of vino to bring back from wine tasting, you could choose something else from the land itself.

One way to forever hold the smells and sounds of your trip to the countryside is to pluck a small flower from one of your walks and press it between the pages of whatever book you have with you. If you bring rice paper, or even regular card stock, fold it in half, place the flower inside and slip it in the back of your book. The flower should dry out beautifully and you can display it however you decide.

Journaling, with all it’s details, can feel like a lost or impossible art to master, but there are so many small practices you can begin to make it more accessible:

1. Keep a notecard and pen in your bag.

This way, as you go along, you can easily jot down funny quotes or memorable sights without pulling out an entire book. Plus, you can keep to a small handbag but retain the ability to keep thoughts close. It might be something as simple as “the smells when standing in line outside of Tartine” or “the taxi driver who sang along to classical music.”

2. Keep ticket stubs, receipts, anything to mark your locations.

I like to keep a small envelope in my bag to collect the little scraps of paper that make up a day in a new place. Once I’m in for the night, I can go through and decide which cafés, bus rides and museums I want to remark upon. Sometimes, I simply tape them into my journal and draw an arrow to a caption.

3. At the end of the day, set aside 15 minutes to write impressions based on a few of the events you flagged on your notecard.

In some ways, the most certain method to follow if we want to keep travel memories close, is to fully experience our time away from home without distraction. Even if you aren’t sure what the day will bring, on your next trip make a list of moments that you want to capture. Limit the number each day. If you are traveling with another person, a sample list could include: 5 photos with my friend, 4 photos of food, 4 photos of monuments, 4 photos of the landscape, 4 random photos. If you can bring that intention to your travel photography, how you spend your time behind the lens — or smartphone — might be far more enjoyable.

Lastly, you might consider yourself an “amateur collector” and begin to buy location-distinctive jewelry, pottery, knitwear or art. However you choose to hold your memories close, I think we can all benefit from the making of them; and hopefully you will keep your treasures for future generations to read, touch and display.

Alaska Airlines and Darling have teamed up to offer an amazing giveaway! From now until December 13th, share your travel memories in a post on Instagram for the chance to win international, round-trip air travel for two. Just snap a picture that symbolizes a travel memory for you and tag @alaskaair, @darling and #iFlyAlaska. See here for official terms and conditions.

An extended version of this article appears in Darling Issue 22. Sign up now to gift or become a subscriber and make a mailbox a little bit merrier this season.

Feature Image via Grace Rivera