Who We Are As Travelers
My husband Tom and I are in our mid- to late-50’s, and our two girls are now young adults in their early 20’s. It’s a relief to be past the years of having to travel during school vacations, when everything costs more and is extra-crowded. When the four of us travel together now, we are still working around one college schedule, but also the limited vacation time of a young professional. Tom and I are also gearing up to figure out how to make travel a big piece of our retirement plans, balancing family vacations with trips for just the two of us.
Knowing how we approach travel may help you determine how similar our decisions may be to yours, should you be planning a similar trip:
- Where to stay: we are new to the world of Airbnbs, but have had some good experiences so we look at both hotels and Airbnbs for the best option for the money in each city. I have strong pet allergies, and hotels are becoming increasingly pet friendly, which is not good for our family. A clean, safe room with no pets and a comfortable bed at a reasonable cost is our ultimate criteria. We also might splurge for a couple days, but rarely for an entire trip.
- Food: We are definitely not “foodies,” and I don’t typically discuss restaurants unless I found them to be excellent. We are probably best described as meat-and-potato types who enjoy comfort foods, and we don’t worry about eating healthy on vacation.
- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: I dislike most everything about airports and air travel, except how fast it gets you to your destination. We are at a stage in life where I consider direct flights a must, but not at a point that I will pay to upgrade out of coach. We got better at road trips in 2021, and rental cars is definitely a challenge, especially this year. We figured out that we are ok with driving up to 3 hours a day; we can do 4-5 hours or more when necessary, but we try to avoid, especially when the girls are with us. As a whole, we do ok with the logistics part of getting to and from our destinations, but I know there is more for us to learn.
- Adventures: Our itineraries are planned around the coolest things we can find to do in each place we visit. This is where we are most likely to splurge for a unique adventure, but not every day. I also try to make sure everyone will love some activities, and you’re expected to play along nicely with the things that are someone else’s favorites. Finally, I am aware that I tend to over-plan for a day, so we prioritize the most important activities, but I need to regularly read the room to recognize when people are tired and need an early night or a break for a nap.
Which Trips to Post about Next
My next priority is to post about the two additional road trips we took in 2021: all 4 of us in May to North Carolina-Georgia-South Carolina, and just Tom and I in October from Massachusetts to Delaware-Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia-West Virginia-New Jersey and back to Massachusetts. Then we have so many other past trips that I think would be fun to go back and write about including:
- Why Aruba has become our relaxation vacation over the years
- Our 25th anniversary trip to Fiji
- Our whirlwind week in Italy
- How the NY Finger Lakes, and Keuka Lake in particular, became so special to our family
- Tacking vacation travels onto work trips
If you find this fun (and even helpful), I hope you check back in to see what’s been added.
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