I’m not interested in needing a vacation from our vacation.
Hi, my name is Tiffany, and I’m an obsessive-compulsive, Type-A perfectionist who covets control of every single detail of everything. Especially vacation preparations. And I’m the problem.
The first step is admitting it, right? Or is that strictly for drug addicts and alcoholics? Whatever, I’m admitting it. Spring has sprung, and that means it’s time for Spring Break for the kids, which is always a fun travel week for us.
What I love most about spring break is that our travel plans for the kids’ school holiday are strictly child-chosen. The kids pick what they want to do, where they want to go, and how we are going to spend the week, and we are fine with that. Over the years, we’ve run the gamut from spending the week in Orlando doing theme parks to beautiful luxury resorts soaking up the sun to freezing to death in New York City because the kids wanted to shop and eat at our favorite restaurants in the city.
This year, they’ve chosen one of our very favorite places to go. It’s top two in terms of our favorite places, I should clarify, and the reason is that we go there, relax, unwind, and truly feel at peace.
Spring is a very, very busy season for us in terms of the kids’ lives with sports and school events, so when the kids said they want to spend Spring Break in 30A despite the fact that we will turn around two months later and head back to 30A for our first official vacation of summer break…we were on board.
And I’ll tell you why.
I don’t need a vacation from a 30A vacation.
Why 30A is one of our favorite places
I should preface this by saying I don’t do road trips. I won’t even drive to Miami when I can run down to Tampa and catch a 30-minute flight. Road trips are the worst. And, 30A is five hours away.
But…it’s the one drive I don’t mind. It’s all empty roads and easy, fast driving. No traffic, no frustration, and it’s so laid-back. That’s not the only reason we love 30A, though. Once we arrive at our beach house, we park my car, and we never use it again. The entirety of our trip is spent getting around on a golf cart. We take it to the beach, shopping, to every meal…it’s how you get around on 30A, and it makes life so easy.
It’s also one of the most aesthetic, most beautiful places around, and the restaurants are amazing. It’s upscale but also so casual, and it’s just so easy to spend time there. Our family loves it.
And, this year, I’m making our easy trip so much easier. Travel as a family of six is a lot of planning, executing, and doing, and this year, I’m doing as little as possible. Here’s how I’m making our spring break trip the easiest yet.
I hired someone else to stock our house with groceries
Truth be told, we don’t eat meals in our beach house while we’re in 30A. But we do need essentials. Coffee, champagne, wine, bourbon, water, snacks, stuff to pack for the beach…and I don’t have any desire to take care of that myself. I don’t want to stop by Publix when we arrive. I don’t want to pre-shop and pack those things, either.
So, what I do is hire a company – there are so many good ones on 30A – that takes my grocery list and shops for me. It’s so easy. I choose what we need, and they do all the shopping. They even go into our house before we arrive, put all the groceries away, organize the fridge, etc. They’ll buy all of the beach toys, special gifts for the kids, sunscreen…all of it. And it’s all set up, ready, and done when we walk into the house. Totally worth the cost.
I’m no longer stressing about what the kids pack
Everyone is at the age where they can pack for themselves, but I’m not worrying about what they pack. No longer do I bother with matching ensembles and specific outfits. I text the family chat a packing list that gives them an idea of what to pack, with a list of places we have dinner reservations, so they know the vibe, and I let them go for it. They can handle it, and it’s so much less for me to worry about.
I keep toiletries pre-packed
Here’s where life is so much easier for me when it comes to packing and travel. I keep all of our toiletries pre-packed in our luggage. All of our shower items, such as shampoo and conditioners, body washes, new loofahs, toothbrushes and toothpaste, lotions, face wash, soaps, etc., are always packed. I make a little list as we travel of what might need to be restocked when we get home, order it, restock it, and I never even have to think about it when it’s time to travel. It saves me so much time. Contact solution, contact cases, glasses, sunscreen, aloe, moisturizers, night creams, makeup, all of it…restocked and pre-packed after every trip to make packing easier for the next trip.
I no longer worry about forgotten items
Anything anyone forgot to pack can be easily purchased anywhere we go. Someone forgot underpants? No problem…we can buy more. We forgot to bring cigars for Craig to enjoy on the balcony? No worries…we can stop. Nothing is worth stressing over when it can simply be purchased once we arrive. This mindset has made travel that much more relaxing.
I make sure packing is organized
Everyone in our house has their own set of luggage. Everyone in our house has their own unique packing cubes, and everyone in our house has their own travel laundry bag. When we get home, everyone empties their luggage, puts all their clean clothes away, stores their packing cubes in their luggage for next time, and empties their travel laundry bags into their laundry room laundry baskets. It takes less than 20 minutes for us to unload the car, unpack, get organized, and begin the process of relaxing.
My car is still spotless because we don’t use it in 30A. Nothing has to be done other than starting the laundry when we get home. We are relaxed, happily refreshed, and in a good mood. It’s the best.
Tiffany Raiford 