There are lots of ways to travel the world — from saving up and hitting the road to landing one of the best international jobs or traveling on maternity leave, #girlbosses are finding a million ways to make it work. For those of you who might be curious as to what it takes to make this kind of thing happen, we got in touch with Gale Straub, the creative genius behind She Explores — a killer website that features female travelers doing cool things around the world. Gale is dishing her pro tips on how she does what she does, and what her can’t-miss essentials are for sustaining herself on the road.
1. A Good Camera: Travel is all about exotic photos. Whether you’re sharing the photos with your besties or on your website, Gale says, “… a full frame DSLR is key for capturing beautiful, high-res images.” Gale uses a Canon 6D because of the color profile and stresses the importance of always re-sizing images for the web.
2. File Storage: “When you take a lot of photos, it’s smart to back up your work as often as you can — file storage is key,” advises Straub, which makes perfect sense. The last thing you want is to put in a ton of work getting great images, only to have have them scattered to the wind because of a technical malfunction. Get a hold of this external hard drive that Gale uses, and make sure it never happens to you.
3. Solar Power: “A Goal Zero Venture 30 is great when you need to power a camera or a phone on the trail. It also comes in handy at airports when outlets are in high demand!” That means no more staring down someone at the airport just waiting for them to abandon an outlet so you can swoop in.
4. Notebooks: “I can be a little scatterbrained, so I keep a Moleskine with me all the time. I also have a separate spiral notebook for physical ‘to-do’s.'” We love this approach to keeping structure and creativity separate — plus, you can never really have too many Moleskines.
5. Reusable Coffee Mug: Gale loves her Joco coffee cup because it’s both colorful and good for the environment, plus it leaves her with options: “I can take this mug to a coffee shop for a fill up or make it at home. I only have a cup a day, but I make it count!”
6. Hiking Boots: Relaxation is key for this globe-trotting website maven, and for her, that means hitting the trail, her way to creatively refresh. When she’s off on foot, she’s a fan of Danner’s, “because they wear better with time.”
7. Sneakers:Another outlet for Straub, in addition to hiking, is running. “It’s another great way to keep your mind clear and work out extra energy.” Right now Gale is rocking Nike Frees to make sure she’s as light on her feet as possible.
8. Hydrate: Because burn out is totally real (yes, even when it comes to travel!), Gale advises everyone to prioritize hydration. “Make sure you take care of yourself — one of the easiest ways to do that is by drinking water throughout the day. I always have a Camelbak Eddy on my desk or in my backpack.”
9. Relax: When work or travel or both get a little overwhelming, Gale recognizes the importance of rest and relaxation to save her in a pinch. “A yoga mat like this Nike Fundamental version in the corner is a nice reminder to take breaks and add a little balance to your life.”
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(Feature image via Getty)
