Episode 7: Girls Trips

Lead. Travel. Pray.

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/ltppodcast/7_girlsTrip.mp3

Show Notes:

1. What are positive benefits of Girls Trips?

• rest & relaxation
• catching up with friends
• time for self (escaping daily work and parenthood demands)
• Elizabeth Lombardo lists more benefits in her book “A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness“

2. Why do we feel guilty about taking Girls Trips? What are other obstacles?

• Mom guilt is hard to overcome but it is worth it for the whole family for Mom to get a quick recharge
• Money and time are other challenges
• Prioritizing self vs family or home expenses and spending money on self vs family//home

3. How to overcome obstacles?

• Start small – consider a driving trip that is only a few hours from home and not as costly
• Divide and conquer on the tasks
• Make a goal to get away and budget ahead for the trip
• Decide how you want to split costs and track spending

4. How are Girls Trips different than other trips?

• Sometimes I don’t do much planning at all…it’s so rare to just “show up” as many people share the burden of planning.
• Less stress only worrying only about myself (and cheaper than taking the whole family!!)

5. Girls Trip Favorites:

Best trips for large groups?

• Rebecca – somewhere near home so more people can afford to go
• Michelle – a retreat hotel with a lot of variety in options
• Sandy – consider vacation home rental with a lot of bedrooms and common shared space

Budget-friendly?

• Rebecca – Vegas (#sorrynotsorry) – recommend Priceline for good hotel deals
• Michelle – Driving trips with nearby free festivals or museums
• Sandy – Visit friends and take advantage of some nights with no hotel; Pagosa Springs was a recent favorite near a friend’s house in Colorado Springs

Most relaxing?

• Rebecca – Napa
• Michelle – Any beach
• Sandy – Lake Austin near Austin, TX

Best city?

• Rebecca – Chicago – recommend the architecture boat tour
• Michelle – Austin, Napa/San Fran, Nashville, Austin
• Sandy – San Francisco and wine country

Quick and impactful?

• Rebecca – French Lick, Indiana & Downtown Indy (where we get to mention riding elephants again…oh, and a biofreeze massage)
• Michelle – Sarasota & Epcot Food and Wine Festival (Orlando)
• Sandy – short cruise from Florida to Bahamas

Spiritual rejuvenation?

• Rebecca – Memphis – Graceland but more seriously the Civil Rights Museum
• Michelle – Trips to a faith-based conference with sightseeing on the side
• Sandy- Lake Austin

All time favorite?

• Rebecca – Maui
• Michelle – Maui; Lake Austin gets honorable mention
• Sandy- French Polynesia island cruise including Bora Bora

Next up?

• Rebecca – Lisbon, Portugal & the Canary Islands
• Michelle – Palm Beach, Florida
• Sandy – Asheville, North Carolina

6. Parting advice on taking a fabulous girls trip?

• Save a date and book well in advance; unless you pay upfront for a hotel, you can usually cancel very close to your travel dates without penalty
• Create a schedule of events with variety; make plans that suit nearly everyone’s needs and then just go with the flow – not everyone may want to do everything and that’s ok
• Agree on a budget and secure some of the costs so you have real commitment
• Don’t sweat the details – you’ll have a blast even if some small things go wrong