Two Months On The Road: Here’s What I’ve Learned So Far. Part 2: Away Series

LIFE ON THE ROAD

The road has its pros and cons. I think if you would ask your partner which one they prefer they would answer the same as mine that they like life on the road better than being home. The reality for them on the road is that their days are not as long, and that is very true. The structure of away series is the same as it is at home. Travel on Tuesday with games Tuesday-Sunday. The same 7:05 PM that he would be in the facility at 10:30 shifts to 2:30 ish depending on how close the stadium is to the hotel. That’s a four hour difference! It has been easier to balance on the road spending intentional time before a 2:30 arrival. This gives us time for him to do his work, have a brunch (because we are still sleeping in), a walk, we even did an arcade last week before he went in or a trip to the zoo! I mean really those four hours are life changing! I hope you are taking advantage of this when you are on the road. Tell me what your favorite activities are when you are traveling and before they go in! We are always looking for creative ways to spend our time that don’t break the bank! Which brings me to what I believe is the biggest con about life on the road, and that is how much money you can spend being away from home. Not that you can’t do that at home, but at home you have a fridge and dishes and cookware and more clothes.

The Cons

So let me tell you what we’ve learned. It’s so easy to spend $100+ per day on food. We did the math one day and almost had a heart attack. Wake up and have a coffee with a small breakfast, $25-30+a small lunch or snack $20-30+an actual dinner post game where you sit and interact and maybe have a drink $60-80=around a minimum of $105 a day on just food and drinks. Multiply that by 6. Multiply that by 2 for the two weeks of the month you are traveling. Easily over $1,200 a month just on food, which doesn’t even account for what you’re spending on food when you are at home. OH MAN! That was a rude awakening! And if you’re anything like me and Jordan, and you like to eat out and try different places, it’s going to be tough to cut this one back. Not to mention that I have an itch on the road to go see a TJ Maxx or Marshalls, JUST IN CASE they have something the one in OH doesn’t. It’s terrible. If you have the means to do all these things and not break your bank, I want to live vicariously through you!

The Solution

So this is in my eyes the biggest con on the road, but don’t fret! We’ve found a solution that gets us to reduce that spending down to around $25-50 a day. With some tough budget conversations and discipline we have found that “grocery shopping” on the road helps! Some of our go-tos are things like individual yogurts for breakfast, or oatmeal packets that are easily warmed in your hotel room microwave. A gallon of the Stok cold brew and a milk of your choice to keep in the mini fridge. PRO TIP: I always travel with stevia packets, metal straws and a tumbler to put my coffee in. Lunch is what we decided we would go eat out for before he had to go in. Then for dinner, I tried out a company called Factor, that sends you meals that have never been frozen. I went with their 6 meal option which came out to around $12/meal. It is easy to heat up and helps keep me on track with my protein goals. Jordan typically takes the post game spread and we just have extra snacks should he still be hungry.

Overall 

I would love to hear what your thoughts are with life during away series, what the struggles and successes are for you and your man. But regardless of the differences between homestands and away series, I’ll tell you that I found myself sitting at a baseball game in awe that this is the life we get to live. That I get to watch these guys fight every night for their career. I get to watch my husband live out his dream. I know this phase of our life will not last forever, but I am SO grateful for all of it, challenges, annoyances and all the things. I am excited to see what the next three months of this life on the road bring and what more we will learn as we go. My husband said it best, “We live a super unconventional life, a life people who don’t live it or haven’t lived it do not understand and that’s okay, we do it anyway.”

• Instagram