It might actually be true that I travel more with my best friend than I do with my husband or kids… I can neither confirm or deny this, but I can tell you that traveling with my best friend of 20 years really is an experience I’m thankful for. Kelly B is back on the podcast chatting with me (Rob Taylor) about our friendship, our relationship as non-spousal adults, and the benefits we both gain from taking these trips together.
Yes, people think it’s weird that we travel so much together, but I’ll tell you this: there’s something very life-affirming about having an adventure with somebody you know deeply that ISN’T your spouse and who doesn’t look at you as the other parent or as someone who holds a great deal of daily responsibility in their life.
Give a listen and consider what sort of travel you can plan with somebody you’re not married to. The benefits are many, and the adventures awesome.
Check out just a few of the trips my best friend and I have conquered together and you’ll understand some of our stories and interactions a bit better:
- Big Island of Hawaii
- Carson City and Lake Tahoe
- Door County, Wisconsin
- Maine Road Trip
- Florida Keys Wildlife Adventures and more
Best Friends Travel Podcast Episode
I enjoy getting to spend time with my best friend, traveling or recording podcast episodes. Kelly and I share our insights on why we travel so well together and why our time apart from our families actually is beneficial to ALL of us.
Below you’ll find links to our show notes, options for downloading podcast episodes from your favorite hub, and even information for being a part of the 2TravelDads podcast.
If you’d like to visit our podcast host page, feel free! There are lots of options to subscribe to the 2TravelDads Podcast.
SUBSCRIBE VIA ITUNES — LISTEN ON PANDORA
GET IT ON GOOGLE PODCASTS — SUBSCRIBE VIA STITCHER
Stronger Relationships Through Travel
So what is it about traveling together that keeps us doing it again and again? I think the answer is multi-layered, but ultimately, when we’re talking about best friends travel, we’re talking about two people who know each other and individuals before anything else. Traveling with your immediate family or spouse is amazing and very special, but with that comes everything from your life at home. Traveling with a close friend means that you are experiencing the world together as people vs parents or mortgage payers.
Over our many trips together, Kelly and I have learned a lot about how each of us functions when we are only our adult selves and NOT living the role of parent or spouse. We have learned how we communicate, what our hot-button items are, and how to ensure that we each have a special experience wherever we may be. And we each know how to let the other person just BE.
I think one of the best experiences Kelly and I have had together was getting to be in Key West for Pride. Celebrating LGBTQ Pride is so important for many reasons, and being in a place like Key West reminded me why. While there, we enjoyed all the fun and rainbows together, but then we also gave each other the space to celebrate as we each needed. For me that was just being present with my community and soaking it up, and for Kelly it meant getting to hug others and dance and exude joy. We’re very different and we’re great traveling together because of times like this.
Favorite Best Friend Travel Trips
Oh gosh, where to begin. We’ve always made time for traveling together because we know how valuable it is for one another. It’s difficult to pick a favorite best friends trip, so we’ll just highlight what was so special about each.
Carson City and Lake Tahoe – when COVID hit and the world shut down, working with Carson City was the first travel job I’d gotten since February 2020. Kelly was ready to support the project, seeking out outdoors activities and the new concept of social distancing. We got to reconnect while the world was so apart.
Palm Beach County and Miami – OMG. I had a work trip get cancelled at the last minute and Kelly already had arrived in Florida. We made the most of it, exploring Palm Beach County and then enjoying Miami’s South Beach together. No plans, just haphazardly wandering around South Florida.
Cross Country Road Trip – I haven’t written about this yet (2023), but when Kelly and her family moved from Lyle, Washington to Rockland, Maine, I got to be a part of it. We drove from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine in five days. We made stops in Yellowstone National Park, Niagara Falls and more.
Walt Disney World – One of the busiest work trips I’ve ever had, Kelly was the perfect best friend for this travel experience. We visited 17 resort hotels in five days, did all four theme parks, and still had the energy to laugh the whole time. Experiencing Disney World with somebody for the first time was a great reminder to me of how magical it can be.
Door County, Wisconsin – Neither one of us knew what to expect when we landed in Green Bay, WI but we had an amazing time. We spent four days on this beautiful peninsula seeking out lighthouses and art galleries, drinking cider and eating cheese. It was the best fall trip! Ooh, my favorite moment was when we did a traditional Wisconsin fish boil and we were not at all ready for what happened (read the article).
There are so many more adventures together, but these are some of the best. Best friend travel is a unique experience that is very much worth the time and effort to put together. I hope you enjoyed the podcast episode and will keep on listening.
Below you’ll find links to our show notes, options for downloading podcast episodes from your favorite hub, and even information for being a part of the 2TravelDads podcast.
If you’d like to visit our podcast host page, feel free! There are lots of options to subscribe to the 2TravelDads Podcast.
SUBSCRIBE VIA ITUNES — LISTEN ON PANDORA
GET IT ON GOOGLE PODCASTS — SUBSCRIBE VIA STITCHER