When you introduce yourself as a travel blogger, people instantly assume your days are filled with jetting off to exotic locales, snapping a few pictures and then posting them on Instagram. But in reality there is a lot more behind the scenes work that goes into the well-curated life we showcase online.

First of all, there is a lot more planning involved than you would think. Planning trips, collaborations and photo shoots take hours each day and most things are mapped out weeks if not months in advance.

Second of all, being prepared also means having the right gear. The type of trip or activity we’re doing will determine what gear we need: if I am doing a food shoot at a restaurant or going on a hike in the Alps will determine what camera, tripod, lights, etc, that we’ll bring with us. However, our go to gear all fits in our Lowepro backpack and our lightweight travel tripod from Manfrotto tends to go everywhere with us!

And finally, us bloggers do not do these things alone. The people who contribute to and work on our blogs mean the world and we could not do it without them. My boyfriend Drew helps me with everything from planning, photography, to website maintenance. Relationships with people who care can make all the difference when you are working on something as time consuming and involved as a travel blog.

And I look for vendors, partners and service providers that take that same approach to their customers that I do in my own life. Helping the people around you is so important and treating your customers with respect and personalize service makes all the difference. That’s why I like Rockland Trust, they care about their customers and make each relationship meaningful. For more information on Rockland Trust me sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

This post is part of a paid partnership with Rockland Trust.