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re: Traveling Alone
Posted on 10/15/25 at 1:01 pm to notiger1997
Posted on 10/15/25 at 1:01 pm to notiger1997
LouisianaLady
This legit just made my day to read.
LemmyLives
Brilliant. I just copied that into OneNote for my kids in a few years. I can't explain the kind of debauchery I did/could have gotten into with a straight face, but I can use your experience and act as a neutral party to remind them to live.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Really, that, and selling books door to door for a summer in Indiana with Southwestern Books to raise some money when I was a Freshman were really two of the most defining "why am I doing this" events of my life that forced my out of the comfort zone.
Side note: You'll love this. I was thrown in jail in Bedford IN for selling books. Wasn't arrested really, just detained so they could get their fine. Apparently, you couldn't sell things after hours (think the ordinance was 6:30pm), but because it was daylight savings time, we'd work until 8pm often. Since this is a travel site, I won't go into that further only to say that the old jail has been turned into a B&B. Really nice one actually. AND..I took the missus (no pics) there on the way back from Michigan last year and we stayed the night! Inn keeper let me tour the old cells and actually found mine. Took some pictures of it.
LINK
The former Lawrence County Jail and Sheriff's Residence in Bedford, Indiana, is now a bed and breakfast. This unique establishment offers guests a unique stay in a historic building, with amenities like breakfast included in the stay. The jail, built in 1904, is located in Bedford and is about 30 minutes south of Bloomington, making it a convenient place for visitors.
This legit just made my day to read.
LemmyLives
Brilliant. I just copied that into OneNote for my kids in a few years. I can't explain the kind of debauchery I did/could have gotten into with a straight face, but I can use your experience and act as a neutral party to remind them to live.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Really, that, and selling books door to door for a summer in Indiana with Southwestern Books to raise some money when I was a Freshman were really two of the most defining "why am I doing this" events of my life that forced my out of the comfort zone.
Side note: You'll love this. I was thrown in jail in Bedford IN for selling books. Wasn't arrested really, just detained so they could get their fine. Apparently, you couldn't sell things after hours (think the ordinance was 6:30pm), but because it was daylight savings time, we'd work until 8pm often. Since this is a travel site, I won't go into that further only to say that the old jail has been turned into a B&B. Really nice one actually. AND..I took the missus (no pics) there on the way back from Michigan last year and we stayed the night! Inn keeper let me tour the old cells and actually found mine. Took some pictures of it.
LINK
The former Lawrence County Jail and Sheriff's Residence in Bedford, Indiana, is now a bed and breakfast. This unique establishment offers guests a unique stay in a historic building, with amenities like breakfast included in the stay. The jail, built in 1904, is located in Bedford and is about 30 minutes south of Bloomington, making it a convenient place for visitors.
1
Posted on 10/15/25 at 1:20 pm to notiger1997
Other than the freedom of setting your own schedule and getting to wander like others have said, there's also something about traveling solo where you have time to reflect, definitely different from trying to reflect at home, etc.
Also, there's beauty in not giving a frick about what anyone thinks about you or worrying about what someone is going to say. Europeans in general are very chill. If they want to ask you about where you are from, etc., the conversation is genuine. In one of my trips to Europe, the most inquisitive people (in a nosy way) were Americans and Canadians.
Also, there's beauty in not giving a frick about what anyone thinks about you or worrying about what someone is going to say. Europeans in general are very chill. If they want to ask you about where you are from, etc., the conversation is genuine. In one of my trips to Europe, the most inquisitive people (in a nosy way) were Americans and Canadians.
Posted on 10/15/25 at 5:45 pm to notiger1997
Many trips in the US solo. Mostly backpacking but always having a few days to see some towns and local life.
3 trips to Europe last 2 years solo. I learned a walking food tour is a great thing. Gives you some people to eat with and have a few cool conversations. Never make many concrete plans. Just a general direction to go. See what I wanted how I wanted.
3 trips to Europe last 2 years solo. I learned a walking food tour is a great thing. Gives you some people to eat with and have a few cool conversations. Never make many concrete plans. Just a general direction to go. See what I wanted how I wanted.
Posted on 10/15/25 at 10:39 pm to Nole Man
quote:
I was thrown in jail in Bedford IN for selling books.
FFS. I was born 30 miles from there. I can't say I'm shocked, the Bloomington crowd was like how Californians invaded Texas when Austin was temporarily a thing.
You captured my overall feeling of being in foreign countries, "why not?" I'm a little too practical in that I start computing how I'm going to get back from a festival 35 miles from the nearest Marriott brand in Finland, but F it. Keep your phone, and your passport, and you'll be fine in the end.
Posted on 10/16/25 at 7:49 am to wiltznucs
quote:
Last year I had business in Latvia. I did a week starting in Helsinki, then took the ferry to Tallinn and finally a bus trek to Riga. Joined a few walking tours; many of which are free. Honestly; I had a blast. The Baltics are way underrated.
I did the same trip solo in 2018, but in opposite order. I'd definitely go back if the opportunity presented itself.
Posted on 10/16/25 at 8:45 am to notiger1997
Work travel aside on my own (which is quite a bit), my wife and I travel together 99% of the time. However, her extended family is from Malaysia and Singapore, so there have been times where she doesn't want to go because she's been a lot. Her brother and dad like to go, though, so I've gone a couple times on my own for a few days and meet them halfway through my trip. Though I miss having my wife to talk and hang out with a cocktail bar, it's definitely nice to have the time to do things I want to do without feeling guilty for "dragging" her along.
This post was edited on 10/16/25 at 3:17 pm
Posted on 10/16/25 at 10:46 am to notiger1997
Great topic.
Just counted, since I've been married, have taken 8 travel trips alone. Two of those were work-related (taking classes) where I did some extra sight-seeing; the rest just to travel and see new stuff (always domestic, not abroad). Usually no more than 2-3 nights tops. Sometimes just driving, other times flight and rental car. Doing and seeing stuff my wife or kids were not interested in seeing or doing, and one time those three were off on a week-long vacation that I was not interested in, so at the same time I took a 3-day weekend trip to add two states to get me closer to all 50.
Wife has done the same, she likes soccer and musical theater (me not so much on the 1st and 'hell, no!' on the 2nd) and has traveled to other cities in the US to see games and to NYC to see plays on weekend trips.
We still travel together a lot as a family even as our daughters are grown; just earlier this year we all went to Norway and Switzerland, and my wife and I travel together, too (Sedona last year just the two of us).
There's just something to be said about travel on your own, just being by yourself and driving down a road, eating what you want when you want, going where you want and seeing what you want, all on your own schedule. Solitude is a nice time-- no conversations, more solo thoughts, time to reflect. Sitting outside on a cool night by the firepit at a hotel with a drink and cigar:
Having a bathroom all to your self is nice, too.
.
Heck, sometimes I have just done that for a day-- one Saturday I drove all over Louisiana getting the rest of the Parishes I didn't have; saw Poverty Point and went to the top of Mt. Driskill, etc. And a few times when no one else was available to go, I've taken my boat out to Horn/Ship/Cat Island all by myself--walking/exploring the islands; fishing, swimming; just digging the day alone. Nice experience every so often; don't have to worry about looking after family or guests.
Just counted, since I've been married, have taken 8 travel trips alone. Two of those were work-related (taking classes) where I did some extra sight-seeing; the rest just to travel and see new stuff (always domestic, not abroad). Usually no more than 2-3 nights tops. Sometimes just driving, other times flight and rental car. Doing and seeing stuff my wife or kids were not interested in seeing or doing, and one time those three were off on a week-long vacation that I was not interested in, so at the same time I took a 3-day weekend trip to add two states to get me closer to all 50.
Wife has done the same, she likes soccer and musical theater (me not so much on the 1st and 'hell, no!' on the 2nd) and has traveled to other cities in the US to see games and to NYC to see plays on weekend trips.
We still travel together a lot as a family even as our daughters are grown; just earlier this year we all went to Norway and Switzerland, and my wife and I travel together, too (Sedona last year just the two of us).
There's just something to be said about travel on your own, just being by yourself and driving down a road, eating what you want when you want, going where you want and seeing what you want, all on your own schedule. Solitude is a nice time-- no conversations, more solo thoughts, time to reflect. Sitting outside on a cool night by the firepit at a hotel with a drink and cigar:
Having a bathroom all to your self is nice, too.
. Heck, sometimes I have just done that for a day-- one Saturday I drove all over Louisiana getting the rest of the Parishes I didn't have; saw Poverty Point and went to the top of Mt. Driskill, etc. And a few times when no one else was available to go, I've taken my boat out to Horn/Ship/Cat Island all by myself--walking/exploring the islands; fishing, swimming; just digging the day alone. Nice experience every so often; don't have to worry about looking after family or guests.
This post was edited on 10/16/25 at 4:55 pm
Posted on 10/16/25 at 1:10 pm to BRich
quote:
There's just something to be said about travel on your own, just being by yourself and driving down a road, eating what you want when you want, going where you want and seeing what you want, all on your own schedule. Solitude is a nice time-- no conversations, more solo thoughts, time to reflect.
This is very true. I think alone you may be more likely to slow down and just observe more often since you're not usually on as much of a schedule. I'm in several FB travel groups and there are a ton of over 50 women who travel solo. I think a lot are either recently divorced or widowed or just single women who have never been out of their comfort zone at all.
I traveled a good bit for work for about 20 years. I went all over the country alone and usually found something to do or see. It's very freeing to not have to care what anyone else thinks or have to take their opinions into account.
Driskill Mountain? You were absolutely in the middle of nowhere. I grew up near there.
Posted on 10/16/25 at 3:04 pm to BRich
If this award existed, I would nominate your post for Travel Board post of the year!
Posted on 10/19/25 at 6:45 pm to notiger1997
I took a solo trip to Japan last year and haven’t shut up about it. Had some spiritual moments walking around in Tokyo, wandering into shrines, bouncing around Osaka and feeding the deer in Nara. Totally immersed in one of the most confusing situations I could place myself and despite having 38M other people around me in Tokyo, felt totally detached and alone in a good way. Truly mindful and serene. Proved a lot to myself that trip. Cathartic experience.
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