Spring in the South is magical. As soon as it warms up, the calendars fill up, from Easter egg hunts to luncheons to wedding showers and baby showers. Toss in a few school fundraiser auctions and trying to get that to-do list done before summer comes and the kids are out of school ¡ª you may be ready for a break.
By Sally Anne Sessitte
Spring break shows up at just the right time to travel with family and friends. Here are a few travel tips that will be useful whether you’re headed to ski in Colorado or to lay on the beach on 30A.
1. Who are you? No, seriously. Do you know yourself? If not, take a minute, take an online quiz, text your college roommate, or your best friend from camp. Are you an organized introvert with an early morning exercise habit and no budget? Are you a free-spirited extrovert night owl who runs late for everything and is allergic to gluten? The first — and most important —part of a good trip is good communication. You have been invited to go with a few families from school or to Highlands together for Spring Break. If you’ve decided to extend dry January through June and are taking Vitamin O shots and just having hot tea for breakfast and lunch, this info needs to be dropped in the chat or to the host way up front. You might learn that not all the moms going are eating or drinking, and you can train for your half-marathon together in bliss. However, you may also learn that the other moms already have three cases of wine ordered and are making a list of casseroles to bring. These early-disclosure text messages can save you — and others — a long week of mismatched expectations.
2. What are you wearing? Traveling with families or staying at friends’ homes means you need things that work for coffee with all ages. There are entire pajama brands built around making sure you aren’t showing anything extra to your host or her husband at breakfast. Make sure you’ve got a few options to account for temperature changes. You may want more than a tank top in the morning if you arrive and learn your host keeps the air conditioner set to 50 and running all night. You may also want to pack a little fan with your things in case the opposite happens.
3. No, seriously, what are you wearing specifically? Southern women are using any and all opportunities to work the wardrobe. Do not be afraid to ask for and really require specifics in that group text. Maybe even pictures. Don’t worry — Southern women will absolutely have the outfits planned. If someone says “weekend in the mountains,” and you think “Patagonia fleece and fuzzy leggings,” you will absolutely not be prepared for the High Hampton dress code, which may say something like “smart and elegant,” but which will be interpreted by Southern women as requiring all new everything to include matching and coordinating all new everything for the kids and husbands. There are beach trips with soft, worn T-shirts and cutoffs. There are beach trips with suit jackets and sundresses and bingo. We just need to make sure we know which type of beach trip we are packing for.
4. Pick one. Are you a planner or a glider? You have to pick one, and once you pick, that’s your personality for the trip. Period. You may not be hosting — that’s fine — you can still be a planner. If you’re a foodie with a connection to an amazing dinner reservation, and you’ve heard of an invite-only estate sale and have a friend of a friend opening a new boutique in your destination … go for it. Plan it all, put it all in the chat. If you’ve got no time to respond to the trip texts and no idea which flight you booked, that’s fine, too. You just show up and glide along for the ride. Here’s where the problems can happen. You can’t be a glider and then, on day three of the trip, decide you have opinions and start changing things up. That window closed, and you were already committed to gliding. Your friends will give you endless grace for not doing any planning and loan you whatever you forgot to pack, and you’ll give them endless grace when plans take a turn.
Just remember, no matter how much you plan or guide, something will go sideways. Someone will have an allergic reaction. Someone will forget pajamas. Someone will overpack shoes. Someone’s child will wake up at 5:12 a.m. ready to “seize the day.” Flights will be delayed, and dinner reservations will mysteriously disappear. Take pictures, lower expectations, laugh early and often, and remind yourself that the goal is not perfection — it’s coming home with memories, inside jokes, and at least one story that starts with,
“So this year at Spring Break …”
If you would like to share ideas with SASS,
email SallyAnne@magnoliaandmoonshine.com.
