Beat Your Travel Hangover

Every time I return home from a trip, after the initial excitement of writing the blog and talking about it with friends has ended, a slow sadness seeps in.  I realize now that I’m home, it’s back to work and routine, and it’ll be a while before I can leave again.  In-between trips, I am a regular joe, working in an office, daydreaming about my next destination. I’ve found a handful of ways that help me through the lean travel times. Below, in no particular order, are my tips to beat your travel hangover:

• Create Something With Your Travel Photos: Whether it’s picking a few shots to hang up around home, creating a collage, an album or a slideshow, it will act like Gatorade for your travel hangover. Show them to your friends and gush about your adventures.  Print a few photos to put up around your desk or work-space to remind you of the amazing places your paycheck has taken you.  If you’re really savvy, make a travel mug or calendar through Shutterfly.
  
• Read Up: Take in anything travel related. Read about where you just were and compare notes.  Read fictional travel stories, travel essays, travel blogs, whatever you want.  This will keep the wanderlust at bay and inspire new travel ideas.  If you need inspiration for a new travel read, check out “10 Books That Will Infect You with Wanderlust”.
  
• Go on a day trip: I like to take smaller day or weekend trips in-between farther travels to alleviate my chronic wanderlust. Pick somewhere close enough to get there and back easily, but far enough that you feel like you’re entirely away from home.  Getting away even just for a few hours can soothe anyone’s itchy feet.  That are a number of great places that are within two hour’s drive from Chicago that help me crush my travel hangover (see my blog on Starved Rock).
  
• Try New Cuisines: One of the best things about travelling somewhere new is sampling the food. In between trips, I like to try out new restaurants in my city and let the food serve as a travel bug suppressant.  Go out to an interesting restaurant or attempt to cook something exotic on your own.   You could try a new dish or one that floods you with memories from an old trip, either way it’s guaranteed to help cure your travel hangover.
  
• Get Yourself Some New Travel Gear: It could just be me, but shopping always cheers me up, especially if it’s travel-themed shopping.  Maybe you need a new backpack or suitcase, or perhaps a really great airplane outfit.  It could be something as small as a cute passport cover or a travel magazine. If it gets you excited to travel again and brightens your post-trip spirits – get it!!
  
• Start Planning Your Next Trip: For me, this is the best thing to do to calm my cabin fever. It may sound obvious, and it is, but as soon as I’m settled back into my routine, I immediately start searching for plane tickets.  Even if the trip is months away, it’ll still give you something great to look forward to.  Get inspired and excited for your next trip, and your travel hangover will be a thing of the past.
  

How do you get back into routine after a trip? What’s your best tip to get over a travel hangover?