Yes, it’s true – single people can travel and not die from embarrassment.  Honest.

When I was growing up, we rarely went on a true family vacation.  We did some day trips in the summer time but only rarely went out of state for an overnight trip.  Maybe that’s why my brother and I turned into travel-holics of a sort.  Many of the things on my bucket list are places to visit.

As a matter of fact, when I feel the urge to “go somewhere”, I check the bucket list to see if the time is right for a trip to a place on the list.   Last year, I crossed Rocky Mountain National Park off the list and the year before that it was Acadia National Park.  Visiting both places was a thrill because I had been wanting to go for years and finally figured out a way to get there within the budget.

Anyway, well over twenty years ago I decided travel would be something I would do.  No.Matter.What.  My friends were all getting married or claimed they didn’t have the funds to go anywhere, so I just went.  The first couple of trips, I went with a singles group.  Odd experience.   While it was nice to have a “group” for a safety in numbers thing, it was not all that much fun to be stuck doing what the group wanted to do.

A few years ago, I booked a trip out west through AAA.  After buying the plane ticket, the trip was cancelled because not enough people signed up to go.  The travel lady tried to convince me to rebook on a different trip but, to be honest, it was too much of a pain to rebook everything, change vacation days, and go places I really didn’t want to go.  No thanks, I’ll do my own thing.  The travel lady said “you’re brave”.  Yeah.  Sure am.

So I went and, have to say, it was sort of an epiphany.  I planned the entire route which took me through three states and to three different National Parks.  I did a bunch of hiking and photography and it was all on my own terms.

Someone recently asked me “what do you DO when you go by yourself?”.  Um, the same things people do in pairs or groups?  I hike.  I eat.  I relax.  I take pictures.  In fact, I’d venture a guess that I observe more WITHOUT someone else around than people do when they are in groups.  I see people “hiking” on trails with fabulous scenery while chattering away like they are walking in the mall.  How sad is that?

When traveling solo (I hate the word “alone”), I also don’t have the dreaded “what do you want to do” or “where do you want to eat” discussion.  I do what I want to do – sometimes a spur of the moment decision – and eat where I want to eat.  That, my blog friends, is what you call freedom.

So go.  Book a trip where you have always wanted to go.  Maybe start small with an overnight trip or long weekend.  Get used to being on your own.  Talk to people you meet along the way.  Just enjoy yourself and quit waiting for “someone else” to go with you.