How I Travel: Tracee Ellis Ross Does Not Want Adventure on Vacation

How she makes herself at home while traveling:

Wherever I go, I very much create [a sense of] home by completely unpacking. Most of my friends don’t unpack their bags, they live out of the bag. I unpack, even if it’s just what I need for that time there. I also do wipe downs in hotels the same way I do airplanes. I’m one of those people.

Her most memorable road trip:
My brother Ross was getting married somewhere deep in California. It was maybe a four-hour drive, and my dad and I got in my convertible Mercedes. Between him packing his food and me packing my things, you would’ve thought we were going away for a year, or moving out of Los Angeles. We had the top down for a bit. I had a bandana tied across my forehead so it wouldn’t get too [sun-exposed]. We made one pit stop. It was a really fun, fantastic road trip. It was almost like a weird reality show. Anyone faint of heart should not have been sitting in the backseat.

Her travel pet peeves:

I’m very confused by people who travel without socks. I don’t want to see people’s feet. I don’t want you even walking through TSA with your bare feet on the floor. It makes me want to barf. And that’s not to say I’m afraid of feet. I think feet are wonderful things! But I had a really bad scenario with a guy sitting next to me once who took his shoe off and I thought I was going to die of the odor. I’ve never been more grossed out in my life. I’ve seen people walk into the bathroom on the airplane without shoes, and it’s more than I can handle. It’s more than my nervous system can handle.

Oh, and people who don’t cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough. You can put your face in your shirt! The other thing that cracks me up is when people are wearing a mask and they take the mask down to sneeze. What is that about?! That’s what the mask is actually for!

What makes for a great vacation pool:

The truth is, I don’t love a hotel pool, because there’s usually lots of people. What makes for a great hotel pool is that there’s no people around it. A warm pool drives me crazy. I grew up with a warm pool, because warm pools are the most ideal situations for kids; they’ll stay in them for hours on end. I love a proper, nice, cold pool; I’m not a big swimmer, but I love to go in for a dip. The ideal pool scenario for me is two chairs next to each other, where one chair’s in the sun and the other one’s in the shade, so that I can switch off without having to negotiate.

My least favorite thing about hotel pools is when you have to go and get there early and put your magazine on the pool chair. You’ll not even get me at that pool. I would prefer to open the door of my room and lay on my floor on a towel in a puddle of sun than go out to that pool!

Where she wants to go next:
I’m dying to go to Japan. I had a trip scheduled; it was all planned out, and I mean all planned out. The movie I was doing ran three weeks over and it was very upsetting. The movie, Candy Cane Lane, was worth it, but nonetheless, I’m dying to go to Japan, and I’m dying to go to Spain. Those are two places I’ve just always really wanted to go.