A Trip a Month?

One trip a month. Twelve trips in a year. Is that doable for a retired person, even if the traveler is a homebody like me? January is almost over and I’m tripless so far. But not to worry, I’m leaving on a road trip to Kalaloch on the Washington Coast tomorrow morning.

Before contemplating a goal like this, I should define—for me anyway—what a trip is. My definition is simple. For a trip to take place, I need to be gone at least one night to a location that’s at least 50 miles from home. That leaves out my vacation place on Treasure Island, 23 miles from Bremerton. One more rule: If a trip starts at the end of one month and finishes in the next, it meets the requirement for either month (my choice) but not both.

That’s it. I don’t need to necessarily get on a plane or leave the state or arrange for a catsitter for a trip to count. For cat lovers out there, the final requirement applies to overnight trips only. The trip’s destination doesn’t have to be new—in fact, many of the trips I take this year will be to previously visited places.

Under my low-bar definition, I took eight trips in 2018—five plane trips and three road trips. I flew to California four times and Texas once and drove to Bend and Seaside, Oregon (separate trips) and Kalaloch, Washington. A driving trip to Puget Island in the Columbia River near Cathlamet more than met the distance requirement but failed the overnight rule.

People in the media, sports, business world, politics, and, yes, travel industry easily take, or at least average, a trip a month. I wonder how many times Rick Steves flies to Europe in a year. I’m sure millions of others take at least a dozen pleasure trips. My sister’s neighbors seem to spend about a quarter of their lives traveling. I read a blog post by a young working woman from New Jersey who shared how she met her trip-per-month goal in 2017, offering tips on everything from dealing with your boss to getting the cheapest air fare. The post included photos from Mexico, Cuba, Spain, and several fun locations in the United States.

If others can do it, why not me? The biggest reason: overcoming inertia. Once I’m on a trip, I always enjoy it and usually wish it could be extended. I can’t remember a “trip from hell.”

Like writing, traveling won’t happen unless you make it happen.

What are some possibilities for 2019? I haven’t owned a passport since the 1980’s so these ideas are all in the United States. There’s southern California (lots of family there), Texas (to see the classic MGA my brother bought last year), Alaska (the only state I’ve never visited), the Oregon Coast, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Vancouver (both B.C. and Washington), Maine, the Fall Hershey (Pennsylvania) car show, Cooperstown (the MLB Hall of Fame), the list goes on.

Pretty tame stuff I know, but any trip is likely to be a good one. I’m not ready to commit to a trip-per-month goal, but I’m wondering where I should go in February.