Get in a Travelin’ Mood

A true Fly Brother or Sister is restless. They cannot stay put in one place for very long, lest neurosis set in. But many aspirants are not yet in the habit of stepping out the front door for anything other than work, personal errands, or picking up the mail.

With Netflix, broadband, and on-demand cable, there’s no reason to leave home. For many people, being home is comfortable, as it should be. But for many of those same people, the idea of travel, of experiencing something different, is an actual desire that they may not yet know how to turn into a reality. And it’s much easier (and cheaper) to catch an episode of FLY BROTHER with Ernest White II in Brazil than to actually get crunk in Brazil.

Well, we’re here to change all that. You’ve already ordered your passport, but while you’re waiting the six weeks for it to arrive, you can get your minds right and get out of the house!

Day trips are a great way to ease yourself into more extensive travel. There’s much of America to be explored within a couple-hours’ drive of wherever you are. And if the mood strikes and the finances are right, weekend road-trips can always be arranged. Though the more the merrier, even solo soldiers can discover their surroundings and catch the adventure bug.

For day trips, fuel is usually the primary cost factor (“costly” being an understatement these days). But to compensate, stop by a grocery store and stock up on fruit and snacks, or maybe pack a cooler with some lunchmeat and a loaf of bread. It sounds collegiate, but college is where you should have learned how to live lean but still live. You can be grand and get the deli-sliced imported turkey from France to go with your Grey Poupon, but it’s still more fun and less time consuming than wasting hours waiting for food in a restaurant when you should be enjoying the journey.

Don’t know where to go? Most large cities in coastal states, even if they aren’t located on beaches themselves, are within a two hour drive of a beach or waterfront area. National and state parks are always excellent bets for nature lovers (the National Park Foundation offers several flat-rate passes to all US national parks that require an entrance fee…more incentive to get outdoors). 

For vetted results online, websites such as Viator and Get Your Guide have the most comprehensive listing of interesting excursions that we’ve found, covering almost the entire US.

Lastly, if you still need advice on where to go for a day or quick weekend escape, ask around. Surely your friends, neighbors, co-workers, or even strangers might have an idea of something, anything to do that doesn’t involve a remote control.

What are some of your favorite day trip destinations?