2024 included a lot of travel! I definitely took advantage of my "funemployment" & added three hiking trips to my plans (Sedona, Moab & Zion). No regrets & I hope to do more hiking in 2025!
Here's what we are thinking for travel so far in 2025:
- February - ski trip with Nick (his last ever ski week!)
- Feb/March - A trip to Corvallis to see Sam
- March - girls trip to Sedona + likely a ski weekend to celebrate Nick's 18th birthday
- April - me + M - trip to Spain! We need to use the last of our United credits before they expire. So far, we're planning to see: Madrid, Seville & Granada.
- April - squeeze in any last college tours, if needed
- June - graduation trip with Nick. TBD
- June - likely a trip to Bend for my dad's 75th birthday
- August - likely college move in for Nick
- September - college move in for Sam
- October - 20th anniversary in Italy! We haven't even started planning, but i'm excited! We want to wait & see when the boys colleges have family weekends.
- Thanksgiving - TBD based on Nick's college location
- Christmas - we will head to Portland
- December - we will also try to squeeze in a ski trip between Christmas and New Years.
With two teens in college, a few themes are emerging:
- M & I can travel more easily, without needing anyone to supervise Nick & Sam.
- But, a lot of our budget* will be tied up getting the boys to/from college for various events. Logistics not captured above, but will definitely add up to a meaningful part of our travel budget, as we learned from Sam. Depending on where Nick goes to college, we will have to assess our budget based on transportation costs.
- Other than a few "known" trips, much of our travel plans will be anchored on the boys dates & timelines, & we will need to be flexible. However, we can also do more impromptu weekends & the like, for non family travel.
- *I haven't started working on the budget for 2025 yet, but travel, I'm sure, will once again play a meaningful role in our overall spend for the year.
What about you? Are you planning to do any travel in 2025? Anyone have any fun locales in mind? I'm getting very excited to plan Spain & Italy!
Gosh does this bring back memories of our daughters' college years! But as much as we loved and missed them, it was also exciting to be fledgling empty nesters.
ReplyDeleteOne thing we did during the years college for both daughters overlapped, was to meet somewhere fun for Thanksgiving rather than simply flying them home. We met and celebrated together in NYC, Chicago, and Las Vegas (that last the the year our younger daughter turned 21). Some really great memories came out of those trips.
Over here, in 2025 we're planning a luxury cruise to the Caribbean in the spring, and a trip to Iceland and Greenland in the summer. Trips to Tennessee to visit our granddaughters as well. We'll fill in with lots of coastal trips to the central coast and adjacent wine regions.
Tamara R
I fly 4,000 miles round trip to see grandchildren in January bc it is much less hectic than the holidays. I also plan for a beach trip, probably in June, and then perhaps another 4,000 miles round trip to see grandchildren in the summer if their parents cannot get off work to go on beach trip with me. Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI love this for you. Enjoy every moment with your husband, children, and family that you can.
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