You’ve decided you want to get away. Now what do you do? Where are you going to go? How are you going to get there? Where will you stay? What will you do while you are there? Where will you eat? What do you need to bring with you? Holy Moly that is A LOT of work, maybe you should just stay home! This post offers ideas on How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Trip-Spriration.
But seriously, let’s break this down into steps so that it is not so overwhelming. This is the first in a series of posts about how to plan a long weekend away – trip-spiration. Once we have mastered the short trip, we can graduate to a longer excursion. I hope you enjoy these posts and find them helpful.
First, Trip-spiration. The first step in How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Tripspiration
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What are your interests?
How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Trip-Spiration Music
My husband and I love music. We take between 4 and 6 long weekend trips each year to see bands we enjoy in other cities. So far we have been to Chicago Ravinia, LakeTahoe HarveysOutdoorArena, Memphis, Nashville Ryman, Minneapolis, Orlando HouseofBluesand New York. We have even gotten a hotel room near the venue when seeing a concert in our hometown for a nice staycation.
How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Trip-Spiration Art
If music isn’t your thing, what about a favorite artist? I love Chihuly glass
. I have seen his installations in Rochester Minnesota (my introduction), Las Vegas, St Petersburg FL, Seattle ChihulyGardenandGlassand I am headed to Asheville in a few weeks to see his installation at the Biltmore Estate. Some may say I am bordering on stalking. I prefer to think of it as an avid fan. I look for Chihuly installations when thinking about How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Trip-spiration.
How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Trip-Spiration Stories
What about a favorite author’s home? Hemingway wrote many of his most famous stories while living in Key West HemingwayHome. Robert Frost wrote his first Pulitzer Prize winning piece at his home in South Shaftesbury, Vermont. When visiting my cousin in St Paul Minnesota, I was surprised to learn F Scott Fitzgerald was born there and lived there off and on. We took a walking tour of the places he lived and frequented.FitzgeraldinSaintPaulThere is also a Southern Literary Trail that winds through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi SouthernLiteraryTrail.
This works for TV shows too. My cousin and I had a great time walking through Central Park in New York remembering Law and Order episodes from various locations. Favorite books are a good place to start when thinking about How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Trip-Spiration.
How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Trip-Spiration Festivals and Food
Still not up your alley. What about a festival of some kind? For a few years, my husband bought me tickets to the FoodNetwork, Food and Wine Festival in Miami. We also go the the Food and Wine festival at Epcot each year EpcotFoodandWine. An annual trip is an easy way to solve the problem, How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Tripspiration.
How to Plan a Long Weekend Away – Trip-Spiration Outdoor Activities
Looking for more action? How about a hike? We hiked the Grand Canyon once (and I do mean only once!) in our younger days and we head to Hawaii almost every year because my husband LOVES to snorkel. My husband isn’t a big cold weather person (read refuses to go north after September and before May) but I have been told that skiing is fun. Or maybe if being a spectator is more your speed you can go see your favorite team when they play in another city. I am sure they would appreciate having fans in the stands!
Whether you Trip-Spiration is music, art, books, food, outdoor activities or sports or just a desire to see a place, a long weekend can be a great way to travel without blowing the budget or all of your vacation days.
We are off for a long weekend in Denver over Labor Day. Our Trip-Spiration is a Jason Mraz concert at Red Rocks. Watch for my post about our weekend. Spoiler Alert: I saved almost $2000 on airline tickets and hotel rooms with my reward points. Now that I’ve got your interest! Keep watching. You may also want to check out these posts on some of our long weekends.
LongWeekendinReno
LongWeekendinNashville
WeekendintheWindyCity