It’s been a brutal year+ of adulting. We were jonesing for a road trip – literally going anywhere that would include looking at something else besides our house and give us respite from the constant chorus of, “I’m bored” from our teenagers. I thought I was up for planning a month-long road trip until I wasn’t. We’d done much of the heavy lifting – deciding the major destinations and booking the first few stops. Then I hit a wall. I needed someone to help me adult this thing because I was just tapped out from getting two kids through a crazy year of online learning, one to graduate, and starting our own business after losing our previous jobs thanks to the pandemic. I was just done.
Then I remembered... I know this magical being
I remembered I KNOW someone full of expertise about the exact thing I needed help with – a travel agent. She saved our trip and my mental health. I was actually able to enjoy the trip instead of constantly worrying about what we were going to do the whole time. Sure, there were still a few nights when we played the ever popular, ‘Where do you want to eat / I don’t know… where do you want to eat’ game. But when we needed solid advice on activities that everyone would enjoy and where to stay on our last few stops, our travel advisor, Lisa, really saved the day.
Courage in the form of knowledge
Lisa encouraged us to take a three hour bicycle tour of Washington, D.C. I would NEVER have done that otherwise because I haven’t owned a bike in years and don’t consider myself someone who’d do well riding a bike for three hours. Because she’d done it with her family she knew it was totally doable for any fitness level (there were lots of stops and plenty of guidance). We got to see all the monuments lit up at night and we were so proud of ourselves for taking on the challenge. It was one of the most memorable parts of our trip.
Travel Agent saves the day
Our travel agent (who prefers the more accurate title of travel advisor) came to the rescue again with great information about how to easily take the train from Philly to New York City for a day trip. She advised about what was doable in a day – and more importantly, what wasn’t. And for all the stops on our trip Lisa was a great source of information about the current status of COVID restrictions, closures and what was opening up. That came in incredibly handy.
Because our travel advisor had been to Raleigh several times, she knew the perfect hotel to fit our budget from which to navigate the city. Plus she let us know about their Food Halls (which were a fabulous way to try a lot of different foods at once – everything from empanadas to raw oysters – highly recommend) and a great escape room. Both were life savers on blazing hot days when we just needed some indoor activities.
Give yourself a REAL vacation
And it was so easy. All I did was send an email, have a phone call, fill out a little bit of paperwork and got SO much value in return. The small fee I paid for her services paid for itself many times over in the time and headache saved that would’ve no doubt ruined what was supposed to be a positive, relaxing experience.
Yes, it’s fun to plan vacations. But there comes a point in every vacation cycle (planning to executing) that the person doing all the planning gets too far into the weeds and it becomes more chore than delight. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m betting I’m not the only one needing a real break from emotional labor, actual labor and adulting. So do yourself a favor and call that travel agent you know. Give yourself a true vacation.
Note: This article is not a paid endorsement. But I do highly recommend Lisa Taub, of True Direction Travel – she was the one who made our vacation awesome.
