Summary

The article "Girls Trip" discusses the importance of planning and enjoying a local weekend getaway with friends, focusing on creating priceless memories through shared experiences.

Abstract

"Girls Trip" emphasizes the value of maintaining friendships as life evolves, suggesting that an annual get-together can strengthen bonds. It provides five key recommendations for planning a successful trip: stay within a reasonable driving distance, choose a date based on local events or festivals, rent a charming house instead of a hotel, plan minimal activities to allow for spontaneity, and engage with locals and other travelers. The author reflects on personal experiences, such as attending a Bluebonnet festival and staying in a uniquely hosted home, to illustrate how these elements contribute to an enriching and memorable weekend.

Opinions

The author values the deepening of friendships through regular, planned gatherings, despite the challenges of busy lives.
Traveling far is seen as unnecessary for a fulfilling weekend trip; local exploration is encouraged.
Renting a house with character is preferred over staying in a standard hotel, offering a more authentic and comfortable experience.
The article suggests that the best memories are made when the itinerary is flexible, allowing for discovery and serendipitous encounters.
Engaging with strangers is viewed as an opportunity to learn and gain new perspectives, enhancing the overall trip experience.

Girls Trip

5 things to consider the next time you plan

As you get older the friend groups you always spent your time with, begin to change. People you hung out with get busier, life gets in the way, and well you start to talk less and less. Well, I met a group of women in my twenties by accident. Maybe not too much of an accident since I did apply to work there but that story is for another entry.

These ladies and I formed a bond, friends & sisters. As we all grew older and life took turns we always checked in on one another. So every year we plan a get-together, a girl's trip weekend. It never ends up being the entire group of us because again life gets busy. The idea is no &matter who is able to make it the weekend is guaranteed to be filled with laughter, shopping, and some damn good memories.

Leaving on a Friday to attend a Bluebonnet festival in a small town you can barely find on your Google maps is not something I would have planned for my weekend. However, when you are in good company why would it matter where you are, memories are priceless. So the next time you want to get away for a weekend with your friends consider these must-haves.

Don’t travel far

Weekend trips do not always have to involve flights out of town. Learn more about your region. Google maps your area and sees which big cities or small towns are 2–4 hours away. Let’s be honest no one wants to drive longer than four hours on a Friday afternoon and then have to do it again on a Sunday.

The most important part to remember when choosing the place to go, go somewhere you normally wouldn’t choose.

Choosing the date

So once you find the city or town, research any events or festivals happening in the next few months. This will be how you choose the date of your next trip. You may be surprised how many activities are going on in a city or town within any given time. Heck, you may find so many you plan more than a one-weekend getaway.

Remember to choose an activity you normally would not attend, within the scope of what you may enjoy of course. A Bluebonnet Festival was not on my bucket list, but I do not mind live music, food and drinks, and shopping over 100 vendors.

Rent a house

Stop confining yourself to those fancy hotels that change your bedsheets every day like clockwork, and rent a house with character and charm. Brian Chesky could not have come up with a better idea when launching his billion-dollar company. Stay in a home where someone has put attention into being a really good host. Advil in the bathroom drawer and cereal and coffee bar in the kitchen, you won't find that in your inclusive price at the hotel.

Also, most of the homes you will find keep you within walking distance of where you are going for your event. No need to look for parking or pay additional for parking, it's included. The best part of where you stay should be the story behind the home. A local purchased an old abandoned building and transformed it into a cute 1 bedroom 1 bath home with sleep space for up to 4 people. Did I mention the Pac Man arcade machine sitting in the dining area next to the foosball table? Okay, you get the idea.

Plan very little

It is a weekend trip so pick one event to enjoy and then plan around that. Whatever time the event will start get up then and head out from there and let the day take you where ever it can. Select your eating places based on your event or choose a place near your rental.

We had 7 different restaurants and bars within walking distance from the house we stayed at. Each restaurant was rated from 4 stars luxury to mom-and-pop start-ups and the stories were amazing.

Talk to strangers

Okay so even if you consider yourself an introvert then travel with an extrovert because they are going to have the most random conversations with strangers and are so entertaining. The most amazing lessons are learned when you converse with new people. This doesn't mean you are trying to be their best friend or ask for their life stories, but a simple what brought you here opens up so many doors to other people's journeys.

We met a couple celebrating their 40 year anniversary and they decided to spend it doing something they had never done before and it brought them to the same festival. They shared some amazing points on putting in the work to make your marriage last. Standing outside a bathroom we met someone from a nearby town whose wife had gone to school in the same town as I did. We shared a drink and laughed about how getting out of a small town was the first thing we did but ended up right back in one.

Girls' trips or any friend trips do not have to be very complex and they do not always have to involve flights and hotels. If you and your group want to shake things up and get to know more about the state you live in well I recommend these 5 things to plan your next adventure. Come back here when you do and leave a comment, I would love to hear where the roads take you.