March 1 is Plan a Solo Vacation Day

“Wanderlust stirrings? Tired of waiting for friends’ timetables to coincide with yours? This is the day to follow the lead of 34.8 million U.S. adults who have taken a vacation by themselves in the past three years. Spend the day checking out all the opportunities for Solo Travel.”

When I ran across this day in Chase’s Book of Days I knew I had to share this idea with as many people as possible and to wholeheartedly endorse the idea of solo travel.

My first solo trip was neither because of wanderlust, although I’ve had this yearning for as long as I can remember, nor was it because I got tired of waiting for friends’ timetables to coincide with mine, although a couple of my later solo trips were for this reason. My first solo trip was a weekend away in a nearby state simply because I desperately needed a break from the strain of work, school and family responsibilities. So, leaving my husband in charge of the house and kids, I impulsively gave myself the gift of some much needed R&R. This was the just the beginning of an amazing adventure over the past thirty years.

Some of my solo trips have been to far-off places and others right in my own home state. The latest, a year and a half ago, was a drive through ten western states visiting ten national parks, and the experiences on this trip have prompted me to write my second book which will be published next year. But, the place isn’t important.

Neither is the reason. There are probably as many reasons to go solo as there are places to go. Go solo for the luxury of having complete control over your vacation, planning the exact trip that will rejuvenate and refresh your body and your spirit, for the opportunity of taking on an exciting new challenge, of doing something entirely different and even slightly out-of-character. Go to tune into your deepest desires and to find another side of your wonderful self.

The benefits will be to expand your world and to arrive home feeling strong and renewed, full of confidence and self-empowerment and with the satisfaction of having a deeper connection with everything and everyone around you.

So, use this day to start planning that solo trip you’ve been thinking about taking, or merely to think about the possibilities. Then check out the sponsors of Plan a Solo Vacation Day. Their website is a “clearinghouse of information” in all areas of single travel with many resources for you to start thinking about and planning either your first or your 15th solo vacation. www.solotravelportal.com

Still feeling hesitant about taking that first step? Pick up a copy of Gina Greenlee’s book, Postcards and Pearls, Life Lessons for Solo Moments on the Road where you will find inspiration and ideas for how to begin an amazing journey, both in the world and within the most important person in the world, YOU! www.ginagreenlee.com