Holy Moly! I just spent the weekend here for a dear friend’s wedding. Door-to-door, it took about 10 hours to get from the DC-burbs to the mountains of Telluride – and it was well worth it.
I also found myself feeling a bit, well, unsettled, while preparing for the trip. A fancy dress? Heels? No fanny pack? No portable speaker system? What was this way of life?
And because the wedding was on a Sunday night, my husband and kids stayed behind. No travel snacks for the small people? No huge pack of iPad chargers to pacify the Little Levners on long stretches?
Insert mind being blown meme here.
Once I got over the magnitude of a SOLO weekend trip for FUN, I learned a few things:
- It’s harder than I thought to watch a movie. I’m desperately trying to catch up on my shows and I learned the hard way that you cannot watch TV or movies using airplane WiFi. Determined to fix this, I tried downloading episodes to my iPhone (even paying for them!), but alas, not nearly enough storage. Then I tried on my iPad. Also not enough storage for even ONE measly episode. Time to fork out the big bucks for more space on my devices?
- You (sometimes) learn interesting things from other people. On flights, I’m normally all this, or I’m focused on a PowerPoint presentation. Outside of feeling fairly certain the USA Olympic men’s cycling team was on the DC-to-Denver leg of my flight, I also saw a group of 6 women a bit older than me who looked happy and ready for fun. I finally peeked over their shoulders, and saw this itinerary. I never would have known things like this existed. (Yes, it looks super pricey, but maybe they have summer discounts for my 40th birthday next summer or my 10th wedding anniversary in 2018!)
- It’s a lot easier to travel with ONE laptop. I think you all know I usually travel with TWO laptops, for insurance in case one fails (#selfemployedworries). For this trip, I knew I would be working some on the plane, but I wasn’t giving any presentations when I arrived. It was remarkably easier on my back to carry just one computer. PS I think I need a new cord solution and I’m thinking of trying this.
- It’s nice to not have a plan. I woke up Saturday morning with no plan except to meet some friends for a hike. We rolled into Starbucks, asked about trails, and just followed the green path up into the mountains (sort of). We chatted about women in business, women as CEOs, and the state of education…all on our four-mile trek. And afterwards, we treated ourselves to a big brunch.
- It’s helpful to take time to step back from life. I made my October Priority Plan on the plane, and I also read this, this and this. Designing Your Life got me thinking all about how to incorporate the four dimensions of work, home, community, and self into my planning.
I wish I could travel for fun more often. While I did miss my family over the weekend, it was a wonderful chance to refresh. A retreat of one, if you will.
What about you? Any travelling solo secrets to share?
