Rainy Travel | Thoughts on Solo Travel

I recently went on my very first trip where I traveled out of state by myself and knew no one else that I was meeting up with (for work) on my trip. Now, I know people do this all the time, but in all my time traveling, I haven't really traveled by myself, much-less spent the night in a whole different state by myself. Many moons ago, I would take the bus, and once the Amtrack, from my hometown to my now husband, then boyfriend's city. That was really the only time I traveled alone. So I kind of wanted to talk about my thoughts on solo traveling here. 

 

Driving vs. Flying

 Last year, I went on my first solo-drives to cities about an hour and a half away. Going to concerts in another city used to be easy for my husband and I, but now that we have a little one, it can be a little hard for both of us to go. Last year, Big Thief was coming to a city near me and I absolutely wanted to go. With encouragement, and a little bit of extra cash, my husband told me I should go and have fun. I took his offer, with all the mom guilt of course, but my mind was also occupied with other things. I hate driving long distance. And driving alone long-distance is the worst (in my opinion, of course). But I stacked my podcasts, added a few new songs to my playlist, and I was ready to go. 

With flying, I still felt nervous. The whole process of getting through to your destination is not hard, but when going alone, there was just more things I had to be in charge of, like my luggage when going to the bathroom. I never realized how small some airport bathrooms really are! I could barely fit my carry-on luggage, my backpack, and myself in one stall! Why don't the people in charge of planning these places think about these things? But luckily for me, it's not something I always have to think about, because when you travel with someone else, they stay behind with everything while you use the bathroom and then you switch. Same goes for walking around the airport. My husband and I usually find our terminal, grab a spot, and then one of us goes and walks around, maybe grabs a thing or two, then comes back and we switch. Being a solo-traveler means you have to lug everything with you. So for my first flight out, I opted to grab a glass of wine at one of the airport bars and stay put with my book until fifteen minutes before boarding time. 

Doing Activities By Yourself 

 The first thing I did on this trip was eat by myself. I read a little article from First Jerk Class Jerk that said, "A seat at the bar always beats a table for one." Thus, I ate at the bar my entire trip (except for the morning when I ate with the people at my work event during the free hotel breakfast hours). While eating at the bar, I noticed people were nicer, more attentive. Not sure if they felt sorry for me, or if people were skeptical, because without my husband and child in tow, I still get mistaken for an intern (as someone asked me on this trip).

While on this trip, I had to do a hike (one of the activities I love to do), and the hike I wanted to do wasn’t what the big group that I had met up with were doing that day. They were going to a different trail. After bidding farewell to them after breakfast and promising that I would meet up with them for the evening events, I heading for my hike. Hiking alone is something I haven’t done. Walking alone in my neighborhood? Yes. Hiking in a state park with nobody I know? No, but it wasn’t terribly bad. The park was very open and there was another run going on their at the same time, along with other people from our group walking to view the tunnels and the views nearby. I also had to be makeshift my camera if I wanted a photo with myself in it. 

 

Hiking, eating, going to a concert, exploring a town and it’s cute antique stores by yourself is something I didn’t mind doing by myself. It’s not something I always get to do, though I do take myself out on coffee dates and shopping stops here and there, there’s something different about doing bigger things by yourself in a whole different town.

Downside of Traveling by Yourself

The downside of solo travel? Well, I’ll say it again, the navigation. It didn’t matter that I was tired and starving from traveling all day, I still had to get my butt to the car rental place and navigate my through picking up a rental, which turned out to throw me for a small loop because I didn’t realize I needed a card with my name on it and the only card I had was not working for some reason. Thankfully, on the 20th try, things went through and then I had to drive 25 minutes out to an unfamiliar town. After finding the hotel, parking in the very back, checking in, showering, and getting cozy in my pajamas, I was ready for a good night’s sleep. I scrambled through my backpack and realized, I left my damn charger plug in the car because I needed it to navigate my way there! So there I go, throwing on a sweater and a beanie on my still damp hair, opening my door to 30 degree temps, and moving fast through the hotel. This is an outside hotel, so all the doors are located outside and I’m walking through and of course there is a bunch of teenagers, or college kids, squealing and laughing at whatever, as I’m trying to avoid them with all my might. If I had, had my husband with me, I would have just asked him to get my charger so he could walk in the cold at night, through the scary teenagers, to the very back of the parking lot, and run back. But alas, I couldn’t. I had to do it myself. But the experience makes for a great story!

 

Overall, solo traveling gives you this sense of independence that I can only describe as the first time your parents let you go by yourself somewhere with your friends or the first time you drive solo to the CD exchange. It’s a feeling of accomplishment and confidence that you can get through life when put to the test and that with the right precautions, you’ll be just fine. Will I be traveling solo again? Maybe just for work. I love exploring the world with my travel partner and I like having someone else’s eyes on the navigation from time to time. 

 

Let me know your thoughts on solo-traveling below and let me know if it's something you do often!

 

Until next time, Happy Travels!