Over 112 million Americans traveled during the Christmas holiday last year, according to AAA Travel, a number that’s expected to be matched or surpassed this year. The first day of December is a popular air travel date for people who take extended, even month-long holiday vacations as airlines often offer discounted rates at that time of year. These hotels and resorts offer travelers all the bells and whistles one could desire from a vacation along with festive holiday activities.
I leave my husband and kids at home to travel the world with my parents
13.10.2023 - 13:31 / insider.com
"Are you guys sure you don't want to ride the roller coaster with me?" I asked my parents, my heart skipping a beat as the screams from the mega drop faded into the background.
"We'll pass," my dad said. "But we'll wait for you by the exit."
As I made my way to the back of the line at Universal Studios Florida during our trip in June last year, I looked over my shoulder to wave at my mom and dad and watched as a teenager next to me did the same. We were both traveling on our own with our parents; the fact that I was in my 40s and married with children while he looked like he was about 16 years old was the only difference.
For the past 10 years, I've taken every chance possible to travel sans my husband and kids with my mother and father. It started with a chance opportunity in Hong Kong. It was 2013, and I was less than a year into my life as a working mother.
I had always traveled for business — first in my job as a philanthropy advisor to global foundations and nonprofits and afterward as an author — but after having my twins, the trips became less frequent but also more precious: a bit of time to travel solo and just be me, not mom, my purse blissfully lighter without the added weight of diapers and bottles and crayons.
My parents had also become big travelers in their retirement, willing to go almost anywhere in the world, especially if a cruise ship was involved. My dad messaged me to ask for advice about places to stay in Hong Kong, where their latest voyage would set sail from. Instead, I wrote back: "What if I meet you there and we stay together?"
I needed to be in Hong Kong for work anyway, so I added a few extra days to my trip and booked the same hotel as them. My dad knew I was coming, but my mother had no clue. When they arrived, I approached her in the lobby, asking if she needed help with her bags; the video of her shocked reaction to seeing me is still one of my most treasured pieces of digital content.
We explored the city together, boarding the ferry to Kowloon and taking the tram to the top of the Kowloon Peak, eating dim sum at the train station, and wandering through the street markets by night. In the moments with little to do but enjoy ourselves, I got to know my parents better — not as Mom and Dad, but as adults.
After that first trip, I was hooked on traveling together; I started trying to arrange for my parents to join me in as many places as they could. We've seen Broadway shows followed by having cocktails on rooftops in New York and seen West End Shows after having afternoon tea in London.
For that meeting in Orlando last year, they drove up from their home in Miami to meet me. We stayed in the same hotel room and ate dinner at a themed restaurant where the waiters wore
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