Preggy Styler

[trip style = any]

Editor's Note: Have you checked out the online Trip Styler Store? Stop by for handpicked finds from around the globe. 

In case you missed last week's surprise there's-a-new-Styler-in-town-post, I've added a new member to the TS flight crew: Baby Styler.

To say that Baby Styler is well traveled is an understatement. Logging almost as many miles as an airline captain, he jet-set and road-tripped to more destinations in my womb than I visited in my first 20 years on planet Earth {too bad he couldn't start collecting frequent flyer miles nine months ago...}.

While I was a little {read: a lot} nervous to travel with him in my belly when it came to common considerations such as turbulence, adverse reactions to foreign foods or constant mountain-to-tropic climate changes, I got the go-ahead from my doctor for every trip, so I went. Since I travel frequently and am acclimatized to the lifestyle, I was fortunate enough {and very careful} to avoid any major issues on the road {unless you count the time I came within one meter of a boa constrictor in West Bali} though I always made sure I had access to medical care in case I suddenly needed it.

Doing every trip style—active/adventure, beach/sun, weekend away, food-focused, glamping, urban, steals, luxe, spa—over the course of my journey into babydom, I learned that traveling while pregnant is not about what you can't do {i.e. food restrictions, drink restrictions, spa restrictions, exercise restrictions, etc.} but tweaking the trip styles you love to fit your preg 'n' traveling comfort level. 

Here's how I made each trip style work during my womberlust:

• In Tokyo at one of the best sushi restaurants in the world, I chose the vegetarian omakase menu over the raw fish menu. 
• In Northern Thailand, I had a facial instead of a massage at the spa. 
• In Bali, I lounged under a palm tree versus in the direct sun. 
• Also in Bali, I consumed fresh-pressed fruit juices over poolside cocktails.
• In Mexico, I stayed in a shorefront glamping hut with air conditioning instead of one naturally cooled by the beach breeze {because midday temps reached 41 degrees C}.
• In Kuala Lumpur, where temperatures hovered in the 43-degree-C range, I stopped into malls and restaurants every 30 minutes to cool down, rest, re-hydrate and nibble while exploring the city on foot.
• On a road-trip from Vancouver to San Francisco, I became well acquainted with Washington, Oregon and California's highway-side rest stops.

Preggy Styler Photo Gallery

One month. Mexico.

One month. Lake Tahoe. 

Two months. Palm Springs.

Three months. Hong Kong. 

Three months. Thailand.

Three months. Thailand.

Four months. Kuala Lumpur.

Four months. Bali.

Four months. Bali.

Four months. Bali. 

Five months. Tokyo.

Five months. Tokyo.

Six months. Seattle. 

Six months. San Francisco. 

Seven months. Mexico. 

Seven months. Mexico.

Seven months. Mexico.

Seven months. Mexico.

Eight months. Oregon.

Eight months. Oregon.

Eight months. Oregon. 

[photos by @tripstyler]

Travel Splurge :: The Great Migration

[trip style = active + adventure + glamping + luxury]

I recently wrote an article in the Expedia Viewfinder about one of USA Today's New Seven Wonders of the World: The Great Migration from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, a time of year {July to October} when stadium-sized masses of zebra and wildebeest roam close to 1,800 miles from Tanzania to Kenya in search of water and lush grazing ground.

Standing in my safari lodge's Land Cruiser in the midday African heat watching The Great Migration take place {tail end of the river crossing pictured above} was easily one of my top five travel-wow moments. And while getting to and from Africa is a trek, it's SO worth putting "African Safari" on your once-in-a-lifetime, dream-trip list. 

See my first-hand account of viewing the Migration, getting {almost} intimate with a baboon and glamping beside the Mara River, here. 

PS: The above photos were snapped with my point-and-shoot Sony camera. I wish I'd splurged for the occasion and brought a fancy camera. 

[photos by @tripstyler]

10 Ways to Stretch Summer

[trip style = glamping + sun + food + wine]

First things first. Summer does not officially end until September 21st. The back-to-school/work hustle—or its mentality—may be in full swing, but that's not to say that we can't continue to wear shades or shorts, go to the beach, or bite into watermelon like it's going out of style. 

If you're summer-obsessed like we are, here are 10 ways to avoid falling into fall too quickly.

1/ Book a trip 
Since summer never really ends in my trip styling books {I prefer to extend it into the winter}, know this: One of the BEST times to book travel is in early September. Planes bound for tropical locals are running at quarter capacity, resorts are more quiet than libraries, and best of all, prices reflect this low season bliss.  

2/ Resist "fall mode"
With 19 days of vitamin D-painted skies still on the seasonal horizon, keep your back-to-school clothes in the closet in favor of a warmer color palette and easy-breezy styles.

3/ Find a water source
Don't spend your free evenings or weekends doing errands {that's what October is for!}. Instead, take advantage of the weather and go to the beach, the lakeside or a pool and savor every last bit of heat September is graciously giving.

4/ Say no to the Pumpkin Spice Latte {PSL}
Synonymous with sweaters and cords and leaf peeping {a trip style favored by fall foliage enthusiasts}, the PSL has made an early arrival at Starbucks this year. Here at Trip Styler HQ, we're not fans of the florescent orange beverage {remember when it was tasty and sported a non-offensive color circa 10 years ago?}. We'd much rather hold on to memories of picnics and polka dot bikinis with bevvie trends like iced tea lemonades, fresh-pressed juices and blackberry cocktails. 

5/ Have gas will grill
Have as many barbecues as your grill can handle. Come Novembruary, you'll be longing for warm nights and the summery scent of just-flamed veggies or meat wafting your way. 

6/ Keep s'moresing
Obviously. 

7/ Go Glamping
Once a summer-only trip style, glamping is going through a coming-of-age with many outfitters introducing heated tents and accommodations built for wilderness Ritz'ing year-round; meaning even if it cools down at night, you can still live the summer dream. 

8/ Drink rose
Like white jeans, we refuse to give up our rose after labor day. If rose tickles you pink, too, some of our favorites include: Le Vieux Pin Vaila Rose, Gray Monk Rotberger, Joie Farm Rose, Road 13 Honest John's Rose, or for something cheap and cheerful, La Vieille Ferme Rose. And since we're on the topic, September is a great time to go trip style = wine tasting.

9/ Channel Saint-Tropez
Just because the sun is setting earlier doesn't mean you have to throw your summer tan out to sea. Keep your glow going with these tips from St. Tropez's self-tanning expert.

10/ Wear white  
As we alluded to in number eight, we don't buy into the age-old rule of packing away our whites until springtime. In fact, we challenge you to wear them after labor day and into winter, because nothing says winter chic like white. Duh. 

Pssst: when in doubt, visit a tiki bar. They do "the {tropical} trick" every time. 

[photos my own, except lead, 4, 5, 9, 10 via various online sources]

Dog Styler: Have Pup Will Travel

[trip style = glamping + luxe + urban + weekend getaway]

In my mini family of 2.5, the .5 is my furry wonderdog, Mr. Nacho King, whom Mr. Trip Styler and I adopted from a Washington State county animal shelter seven years ago. When I found him online I knew we had to be together. When I met him face-to-face it was kismet: I cried and he peed his fur-pants {pictured below}.

I don't talk about "Dog Styler" much on TS, yet he deserves more lip service—just don't get too close, his breath smells like the beach at low tide—as he's one of the most trip styled pups on the block. Case in point: he has more Instagram followers than I do! 

As an important member of the Trip Styler clan, Mr. Nacho King does not stay at home every time we escape the roost. Au contraire; he accompanies us on all local getaways, though he leaves the jumbo jet travel to his parents because he'd rather eat spinach drenched in lemon juice than fly. 

Like a true trip stylin' sidekick, Nacho lives the dream traveling once every two weeks. And while his human owners love a styled stay complete with a cushy bed and a panoramic vista, he prefers a cool bathroom floor to sleep on—Carrara marble, preferably—and hotel staff who dole out dog treats when he glances their way. Bonus points go to dog-friendly accommodations with a bacon or salmon scent wafting toward his nose.   

For some dog-sight into how we've fairly effortlessly incorporated Nacho into our nearby jaunts without sacrificing our regular repertoire of cool hotels, it restaurants and boutique shopping, check out the recent article I wrote in the Expedia Viewfinder chronicling some have-pup-will-travel tips, and our recent road trip to San Francisco.  

PS: Later this week Nacho's tagging along on a beach trek we're taking down the Oregon Coast. Follow along via Instagram: Trip Styler // Mr. Nacho King. 

Nacho's Five-Paw Review Hotels
{penned from his POV}

The Wickaninnish Inn {Tofino, BC}: Because I got my own welcome email, my own après-beach shower station and a resort amenity kit worth its weight in treats.

Four Seasons Resort Whistler: Because the staff—shout-out to my homeboy, Paul {pictured above}—gave me treats every time I walked in their direction.

Painted Boat Resort {Sunshine Coast, BC}: Because it smells like a cocktail of forest and sea, and they let me go stand-up paddleboarding with the humans.

The Alexis Hotel {Seattle, WA}: Because dogs are welcome at the nightly human wine hour, and my presence was announced on a welcome board in the lobby.

Rolling Huts {Mazama, WA}: Because dogs dig glamping. 

Ace Hotel Portland: Because I can eat kibble and sample my parents' Stumptown coffees {I like mochas} in the lobby. That, and my fur really pops against the industrial backdrop.

[photos by @tripstyler]

My Brush with Bachelor in Paradise

[trip style = beach + sun + glamping]

I'm not head over heels for ABC's The Bachelor franchise—full disclosure, I did watch one season circa 10 years ago—but when I was glamping in Tulum in June, half my resort was shut down for what turned out to be the sultry and saucy six-episode Bachelor in Paradise, which debuted on ABC, this past Monday, August 3rd, 2014.

When I tried to book the Papaya Playa Resort {a hotel I just featured in my Roam+Board hotel series and where Bachelor in Paradise was filmed} in the Spring, I noticed zero rooms were available for a five-week period in May/June. I thought this was really strange for low season in Mexico, so I emailed the hotel asking if this was correct, or a glitch in the reservation system. They confirmed they had a tentative property buy-out. I thought it might be major corporation planning tropical team-building, or an intense yoga retreat, though the duration did seem long. 

Absolutely JETSET on staying at Papaya Playa, a hotel I've longed to visit since it opened in 2011, I kept checking if they'd released any rooms, or if the room buy-out would miraculously disappear. Suddenly, a few bungalows came available and I snapped one up immediately. 

When I arrived, check-in was as usual {ie - no mention of resort closures, high profile guests, etc..). We got to our thatched-roof beach perch, slipped on our bathing suits and hit the beach like any sun-deprived souls. The property sits on 900 meters of coastline, so, naturally, we started strolling the near kilometer-length swath of sand.

Suddenly, a gentleman dressed in all black started chasing us, and asked us to stop in our tracks. He told us that half the resort was shut down, and that included the beach. I told him this was ludicrous, and we were not advised of this significant closure at check-in. He said he was under orders not to let anybody cross an imaginary line his superiors had created "in the sand." Jokingly, I quipped, "we can't just go on a normal beach walk? It's not like there's a 24-hour camera rolling" to which he replied, "actually, there is."

This tiny tidbit of info sent me into an internet research tizzy, and after some digging Trip Styler Sis connected the dots: I was there while Bachelor in Paradise was filming. Hence the secrecy. Hence the oh-so-slow internet. Hence the apparent Instagram ban. Hence limited access to the hotel and the beach. 

While the filming was not too visible, I did notice castaways of a rose ceremony at the opposite end of the beach making out in the waves, and dates in town, one of which took place at Casa Jaguar, a romance-steeped secret garden-style restaurant I recommend in my Tour de Tulum. 

Aside from the Bachelor in Paradise production staff who took up most of the other rooms, hung out at the bar every night and traded in beach accessories with walkie-talkies, the resort was pretty quiet—on my side of the beach—and tranquil due to 90% of the guests working.... or canoodling. 

A glimpse of Bachelor in Paradise filming on the beach at Papaya Playa Resort. Note the camera on the shore filming the couple in the water.

Did I recognize any of the love-struck Bach alumni in town? No. Did I walk by any of them at the resort? No. The imaginary lines between hotel customer and contestant were surprisingly strong, and causing a scene isn't my style. 

While I'm not sure I can handle two hours a week of drama-tempered storms courtesy of Bachelor babes, bodies and boozing, I will update this post weekly given my brush with the filming and my knowledge of Mexico's hippie-chic beachfront stretch. You're welcome.

August 3rd Episode Insights
Clare and Robert head to the Tulum Ruins, located about 2 kms from the resort. Access to the historical site, where it's so hot you sweat just standing still, costs 59 pesos per person and is only payable in cash. If you thought it was a strange TV coincidence the two potential love birds were swimming at the foot of the temples at a national historial site, think again, this is one tourist attraction you are encouraged to BYO bathing suit and hit the sea. But don't get too many ideas, contrary to their pow-wow at the top of the seaside temple, you can't climb the Mayan relics, that was a special Bach-fandangled circumstance, so was the lack of crowds.

[top photo via Bachelor in Paradise, other photos my own]