A Solo Day Trip Might be Just What the Doctor Ordered

If you’ve been paying attention, you know I love a good day trip. From the choosing of a location, to the planning and timing and mapping out of desired stops, to discovering something surprising, I love everything about it. One of the best things is grabbing a spouse, daughter, son, sibling, friend or group of friends to share the adventure. But sometimes no one is available to join you. This happened to me recently. It was Father’s Day weekend and my kids were spending time with their dad, my boyfriend was hanging out with his son, and a quick text to my friend group returned similar responses of plans already made for that day.

Cut to me excitedly rubbing my hands together, thoughts already swimming in my head. What? I can go wherever I want? So yes, I decided to venture out on my own. Since it was early spring, I immediately knew I wanted to include some flower viewing on my agenda, so I checked my lists for places that might fit this requirement. After pinpointing a neighborhood famous for its tulip gardens, and a nearby farm boasting of its beautiful flowers, I decided on an area, about 40 minutes from my house. From there I filled in some more gaps with a hike, a local spot with beautiful trees, and a lunch stop. The only thing left was to map out my stops, fill my coffee mug, and hit the road.

Although I often like to start my day trips with a hike, today my first stop was in the center of my hometown, where there are beautiful trees and flowers that were currently in bloom. I parked on a street and took a walk around the common, snapping pictures as I went. It was a beautiful sunny day with lots of blue skies and everything looked amazing. I spent quite a bit of time here taking photos at different angles and aiming to get some beautiful historical buildings in the background (see photo above). Already I am enjoying the fact that no one is sitting in the car, impatiently waiting for me to finish. When I was ready I hopped back in my car and drove a little further down where there is a fountain and a nice circle of tulips surrounding it. I continued to meander, taking my time and snapping pictures. Today, I only had myself to please.

Next, I headed for my hike, ensuring I get in my exercise, and also a little quiet time. This was particularly true on this day. I had selected a spot on the water but as I headed that way, I passed several additional, unplanned spring trees in full bloom so I did something I never would have done had I not been alone: I stopped randomly to take pictures of the trees lining the roads and even stopped to take a picture (discreetly) of someone’s yard! I was consciously aware of how nice it was to not answer any questions like “where are we going?” or “why are we stopping here?”

Although well behind schedule–with no one to care–I did finally make it to my planned hike, a Mass Audubon property. I had read that the main trail, which was about 2 miles long, was a loop, which I tend to prefer as it means I don’t generally have to worry too much about watching for turns and trail markers. The path should start and stop in the same spot. I set out and was immediately slowed down by the beautiful scenery and my need to take pictures. The trail started off in a large field where I saw many different kinds of birds, before disappearing into a wooded area, that I soon realized took me on a path that ran along the ocean. It was gorgeous. I’m continuing to get behind schedule but no worries, guess why? It’s just me! There’s no one else I have to please. No one groaning that I’m stopping again, or hinting that they’re hungry and its time for lunch, or that they’re tired of walking.

I continued on the path, which eventually led through an area where the water became a stream and there were several times when I crossed a brook via a rock bridge or wooden bridge. In a particularly muddy section, a boardwalk had been constructed to making passing easier. One spot even had a bench for pausing to appreciate the view. I passed an osprey nest with two birds in it, and a farm area complete with sheep. Around the time I thought I should be coming to the end I started to see the trail opening up and as I looked around, I realized I was not in the same spot where I had parked. It was indeed the end of the road, however, so , I had obviously missed a turn somewhere and needed to turn around. I was a little frustrated at this development as it probably meant a significant amount of time would be required to retrace my steps. However, I was once again glad that I only had to deal with my own disappointment, and not someone elses. I headed back at a brisk pace, and soon discovered where I had gone wrong, arriving back at my starting point in record time.

The next decision about where to go was, again, mine alone, and since I was hungry, lunch seemed a good option. I had selected a well-reviewed bar pizza restaurant as bar pizza is not only one of my favorites, but also is not a a favorite among my family and therefore, a good option for a day on my own. I thoroughly enjoyed my pizza–at the bar of course– and was ready to move on with renewed energy. I think if I’d had a travelling companion, this might have been the final stop for the day, having made several stops already, but I did not have a travelling companion and I still had things to see!

My last stops were the tulip neighborhood and farm. While the neighborhood was not as easy to locate as I had hoped, it was still a beautiful location and on my way I passed a couple of other signs for parks that looked like they might be interesting to visit. I was starting to run out of time so I made a note of them to investigate on another day. I made a quick stop at the farmstand, picking up some beautiful cut flowers and vegetables, before jumping back into my car for the ride home.

The day was a very enjoyable for me for many reasons: beautiful scenery, picture opportunites, good food and a relaxing flow. The main benefit was the ability to stop, change, alter, and enjoy the scenery and schedule. I enjoyed being alone, and forging my path, adjusting, altering, never worrying about what someone else would want, if someone else was bored, tired, hungry. As I look back, it was heaven. I often keep track of places I’d like to visit, and as I’m making notes of those, I’m thinking that some of these are only interesting to me, and therefore best explored alone. In fact, I’m already planning the next one. All I need now is a day to myself!