There is a relatively new travel trend apparently of taking vacations alone.
Solo travel.
I suppose it's always been inviting for young people. Think of all the students back-packing across Europe.
According to some travel sites, it is especially popular among women. They suggest it's very big with professional women.
I am really of two minds with this.
It makes total sense in one way. If you want to travel and nobody you know enjoys the same things, it is amazing we can go it alone and still enjoy.
Hopefully travel agents and hotels soon give discounts for solo trips instead of doubling the price for singles as is the case now.
However, I got to thinking how we are all so self-serving now. There is no desire for compromise. It's a society of 'I want it how I want it, when I want it and I want to be in control.'
If you vacation with one person or a group, there is going to have to be compromise.
You will have to make group decisions on destinations, dates, tours, restaurants and hotels.
I wonder if maybe sometimes we are just too wrapped up in ourselves to make some concessions.
Personally, I would not enjoy a trip nearly as much if other people weren't with me.
It's usually not so much about the place as it is getting to the place.
It's the mishaps on the journey that make the best memories.
It's the GPS that sends you right to an empty cow pasture and declares, "YOU HAVE REACHED YOUR DESTINATION."
My favourite Hawaii moment was when our group capsized in the canal at the Polynesian Cultural Centre. It didn't hurt that the rescuer was a six-foot-five hunky Hawaiian named Leon.
Or the time my girlfriends (all going through menopause) froze out a complete air-conditioning unit at a Memphis hotel. We turned it into a literal block of ice that needed to be replaced at 10 p.m. Apparently, it was a first!
When these moments occur, I want someone to remember them with me and giggle.
Also, I've never thought eating alone was fun. I don't mind in a coffee shop, but in a regular restaurant I can't get past the feeling that the staff thinks I have no friends. It just seems more fun to share the wealth.
Don't get me wrong – I have never believed alone and lonely are remotely the same thing. A person can be alone in a crowd or the exact opposite.
I want to be with friends. I want to take a million pictures.
Sometimes, a selfie just isn't enough.
