Go Away for the Weekend, by Yourself!
If you're vaccinated and you feel safe traveling, it may be time for an adventure.
Yes sweetie, maybe the time has come to go on a little road trip for two or three days somewhere nearby you’ve always wanted to explore — alone! You’ll thank me for this little nugget. If you can get a cheap flight somewhere not too far then do that. But I’ve always been partial to road trips, having lived out West for so many years. I’ve always loved the freedom of getting in my car and just driving. But that’s just me. There are certainly other modes of transportation, like trains!
The point is to go on a little mini-adventure by yourself. You don’t need a boyfriend/girlfriend, or anyone else to do this. For some reason, when we’re in our 20s, we feel like we should have loads of friends anytime we want to do something or go somewhere, or that everything we do should be some magical romantic outing with our significant other. That’s the media filling your head with beer commercials, romantic comedies, and other annoying images of what your life is supposed to look like. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need anyone in order to sneak off and have a little adventure.
It’s quite liberating to do what you want to do, when you want to do it. Female solo travel is a big thing these days, which you may already know if you follow all the female solo travelers on social media, which I do. Most travel destinations are perfectly safe (just make sure your car is running well and you have Triple A and jumper cables).
At first the idea may feel a little scary or weird if you’ve never travelled anywhere alone before, but do it anyway. It’s very liberating to realize you don’t need a romantic partner or even a friend to take a small trip. Once you actually start on your journey, you’ll go from feeling scared to feeling exhilarated! Maybe you don’t even need a big adventure but just a change of scenery or a little rest and relaxation. The importance of a change of scenery can not be underestimated, darling. It does the soul good. Furthermore, solo travel is extremely empowering.
So start planning your mini-adventure! Part of the fun is planning your little trip and having something to look forward to. You don’t need to do anything too extravagant or go anywhere exotic, just get out of town for a day or two and explore somewhere nearby.
Like I said, a change of scenery can really lift your spirits. I feel most alive when I’m traveling and exploring a new place or visiting a national park and taking in beautiful scenery. If you live in a big city, it’s always refreshing and relaxing to go somewhere with plenty of open space and very few people. When I lived in Los Angeles I loved going to Death Valley National Park or Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park. I found the emptiness of the desert so peaceful and relaxing. There’s nothing quite like exploring a new town or national park for the first time, whether it’s the Grand Canyon, the coast of Maine, Palm Springs, or Savannah, Georgia.
Come up with a few fun activities to do on your little trip, like photography, Instagram, starting that novel, or hitting the thrift stores or other boutiques. If the town is touristy then take a trolley tour, a ghost tour, or visit the local art museum, galleries or history museum (even tiny towns have history museums). If you have a little more money to spend, treat yourself to a spa treatment, go skiing, or listen to live music at a local pub. You can also do a bike ride. Many towns rent bikes and have nice biking trails. You can kayak if it’s a coastal town or if there’s a river, or just relax and wander around downtown and have a few good meals. You don’t need to have an agenda, do anything extravagant, or even spend much money. The main point is to just go away by yourself for a few days.
For inspiration, I suggest reading the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I’m not suggesting anyone hike alone in the mountains for months (or hitchhiking — please don’t do that, dear), but her courage and her story is truly inspiring. Another great book for solo travel inspiration is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Now start planning your little adventure, which I hope will be the first of many!
#travel #solotravel #adventure #roadtrip
Rebecca Pavlik is the author of Time to Break Some Rules, Sweetie! a humorous advice book for young women. For more details and to view on Amazon click here.