Solo Beach Trip – Traveling Alone Can Be Good For The Soul
Spring and Summer are usually the time of year when a lot of people start planning some travel. There are spring break trips and summer vacations for families. And while traveling with friends and family is usually the way to go, have you ever considered traveling alone?
Going Solo – Traveling Alone
I know traveling alone isn’t a new concept. There are plenty of people that do this on a daily basis. But I am not one of those people. In fact, one of the only trips I remember doing solo was a work trip to Nashville years ago. While I did travel solo, I did meet people within the company at the seminar. Other than that, I don’t typically venture out too much on my own.
Honestly, I rarely go anywhere alone. I do go to the gym alone, but I have friends there. And I will venture to the grocery store or shopping solo on the rare occasion. Maybe it’s the fact that I listen to and watch way too many true crime shows and podcasts. I don’t always feel safe when I’m by myself. But when I am alone, I do try to be a bit more vigilant than I normally am. Overall, I guess I just find comfort in being with other people.
It sounds crazy that I sound codependent… when I typically pride myself on being very independent. But on Monday, I decided to shake things up and try traveling solo. It was actually a recommendation from my fiancé, David. When he’s off work due to weather, he will often ride the motorcycle around the area. And we do travel together some when we both put in for vacation time.
Unfortunately, the past few years, I haven’t used all of my vacation days. (I know, I know… I’m working on being better about this). This year, I decided I needed to start taking a day here and there instead of waiting til too late in the year and then not being able to use all of my days.
Since we had a pretty busy weekend, I figured it might be nice to take Monday off to relax. David mentioned me taking a little day trip to the beach with the pups. While I had some hesitation, I finally just decided to go for it. So, Monday morning I packed a few snacks, some water, and the pups into the Jeep and headed to Beaufort, South Carolina.
Beaufort, South Carolina
I’ve been to Beaufort a few times now. We’ve made a few day trips, and stayed overnight a couple of times too with friends. This was my first time even making the drive, because David typically drives. I had to make sure I knew what route to take. It’s about a 2 and a half hour drive from North Augusta, which isn’t too bad for a day trip as long as you leave early enough.
I left home around 5:30 a.m. and stopped to fill up then hit the road. I turned on some music and off we went. The drive is a pretty easy one without a lot of turns and such. The worst part was I discovered Waylon (my almost 2 year old pup) can’t eat right before he rides… Yeah, he got carsick, TWICE!
Also, I wound up getting pulled over in one of those small towns along the way where the speed limit had dropped all the way to 30 mph. Thankfully, the cop was nice enough to let me off with a warning. Needless to say, I was paying way more attention to those speed limit signs the rest of the way!
I made it to Beaufort around 8:45 a.m. My friend has a little place on St. Helena Island, and I knew there was a small lot I could park in right near the beach. That’s where we headed. As soon as I pulled in, I saw a woman with a dog that wasn’t on a leash, so I was a little anxious about that. We waited a few minutes and finally got out to make our way to the beach.
It was high tide, so there wasn’t a huge area of sand to walk on, but we made the most of it. Then we walked through Fort Fremont and through some of the surrounding neighborhood. After walking for a while, we headed back to the Jeep to get some water. I wound up getting back in the Jeep and driving through the area to do a little more exploring. Then I headed to the closest place I knew of to get some food. I just grabbed some chicken tenders and mac and cheese from Parker’s and headed back to Fort Fremont to eat at the picnic tables.
After lunch, we just walked the beach some more and then sat and enjoyed the breeze, salt air, and waves. It was a little bit chilly that day, but I still managed to get my feet in the water. I can’t visit a beach without doing that!
Traveling Alone – What I Learned
While I did have some anxiety about traveling alone, I did thoroughly enjoy my day. We wound up leaving around 1 p.m. or so. Initially I was going to just drive and park near the water somewhere and read while the pups rested. They had started to get restless, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to continue sitting on the beach.
I will say it’s empowering to travel alone. While I knew I could, I just never made it a point to do it. I don’t know that I would travel solo for an overnight stay. But for a day trip, it was great.
Honestly, there were moments of… “What do I do with myself?” It was a little difficult with the pups, just because they had their own agenda. They weren’t wanting to just settle down and rest. Also, with the dogs, I was limited on where I could go.
I headed out on my trip with no agenda. The whole point was just to go and get away without any demands or responsibility. In some ways I wish I had planned out a few things to do when I got there. But at the same time, it was nice to have nothing at all to do. I had my phone with me, but only used it to take some pictures. A few calls came in (more than likely spam calls), but I simply ignored them. And I even let my emails pile up all day!
Overall, traveling alone can be a great experience. For me, it was a nice change of pace. It showed me that I am capable of doing things solo and that it’s really nice to just let go and enjoy a day without a schedule to follow.
Will I do it again? Absolutely. Although next time I may go without the pups. As much as I love having them with me, I think I want to go into downtown Beaufort a bit more and check out the shops and the local restaurants. And since I have vacation days to use, I have no excuse not to. The only thing I’ll do is wait until it’s a bit warmer, so maybe I can put on my swimsuit, get in the water, and work on my tan!
And I know, some may say I wasn’t traveling alone since I had the pups with me… but it was a whole lot of one-sided conversations. They didn’t have any input on where we went or what we did!
Here are some photos I captured while traveling alone for our day trip!
