A few years ago, a group of girlfriends and I took a slightly impulsive trip to South Africa. We had a friend living over there for a few months so we bought plane tickets and spent a few weeks traveling around the country eating odd things, going on safari, and swimming in the Indian Ocean.
The past few years have made it tougher to take such a random trip. Most of my friends are in serious relationships and are starting to have babies. It’s harder to pick up and go with kids in tow or when you have to buy two plane tickets. So I’ve found myself doing more and more solo traveling to visit friends and family around the country. Every now and again my friends get organized to do a group trip, but they seem to be getting fewer and farther between.
I enjoy flying around the country to visit various people but I’m starting to wonder when I’ll be too old to crash on people’s couches. When do I have to take that next step to be an official solo traveler? Where I go to a place that I don’t know anyone simply because I want to go there? I fear that day is rapidly approaching. Part of my issue with this is I am super frugal. I have more money saved up in a travel account than I do in an emergency fund, but I despise having to pay a double occupancy rate at a hotel for one person. Trips get significantly cheaper when you can split some of the costs with someone.
And then there’s the part of traveling alone where I’m afraid I’ll get sick of my own company. Then I’d have to talk to strangers. I don’t mind going my separate way for a while, but I enjoy having someone to eat dinner with and recount the day’s activities with.
What I need is a travel buddy. Someone who has a disposable income, has vacation days to spare and who isn’t too pregnant to fly. I’m sure the pregnant thing is a passing phase, but I have a ridiculous number of knocked up girlfriends who can’t fly right now. Where do I find such a travel buddy? Can you take out an ad in the newspaper? Can you online date for a travel buddy? Is it weird that I think more about finding a travel buddy than I do a significant other? Perhaps I have my priorities out of whack, but a travel buddy is a very special thing.
While this is something that is frequently on my mind, it all came to a head recently when I purchased an airplane ticket to Hawaii. Because I am at a stage in my life where I can impulsively purchase plane tickets. Luckily, I happen to have a friend who will be over there while I will, but I don’t want to be in a position of imposing too much. Plus I already sleep on their couch a lot. So I am thinking about getting a hotel for a few days and attempting to go partially solo. It’s like learning to ride a bike with training wheels. I have backup should I need it, but it would probably be good for me to practice going to dinner on my own, etc.
So while I’m debating that . . . anyone want to go to Hawaii?
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