Couples who travel together, stay together

Last week you may have noticed I was a little MIA from the blog. I apologize for not writing, I was taking a much needed R&R trip with the beau in the very sunny, very scantly-clad, Miami Beach. And while I wasn’t physically working on Job Offers & Bad Boyfriends, you can bet the hours baking in the hot sun (Note: don’t be stingy with the SPF on the cheeks, Brazilian bikinis are no joke) were spent brainstorming. It’s safe to assume any consistent length of time spent with this man always provides solid writing material.

Remember when I’m not blogging I’m always grammin’ and tweetin’ so be sure to keep up with me there! 

Which leads me to today’s post. After spending the week in Miami with the boyfriend and our travels still fresh in my mind, I felt there was no better time to share some thoughts on traveling with your significant other.

Because I’m the first one to tell you traveling together can be a very big deal.

When a relationship starts to get serious (like beyond “luv” status) the natural next step is to plan a trip. My girlfriends and I have discussed this at length. We’ve sat across the brunch table and said to one another, “I mean, if you can travel well together – that’s a good sign!”

But what does it mean to travel well together? Does it mean we have the same tastes in hotels or vacation activities? That we can put up with delayed plane rides or snooty hotel staff without missing a beat? That we never get annoyed with one another after spending seven consecutive days in the same 12×12 hotel room?  If so, I think we’re missing the point.

And then I realized, we’ve been watching too much of The Bachelor. On the show they basically take a 3-month vacation across the world, fall madly in love, realize they’re perfect for each other, and stay together forever, right?

Insert sarcastic emoji. 

For some reason we’re programmed to think traveling well together indicates you’re more compatible. That if you can tolerate each other on a trip, then you can DEFINITELY put up with each other for life.

As someone who’s actually believed and played out this piece of logic, I want to take this opportunity to retract it. Because the more I thought about it, the less sense it made.

I believe traveling together is a big deal, but for an entirely different reason. I don’t care if one of us lost our temper in the airport and annoyed the hell out the other on the plane ride. Believe me you’ll encounter a lot more conflicts throughout the course of a relationship that deem more attention.

I care more about the feeling of experiencing something new together and creating a memory unique to us and our relationship.

Here’s looking at you kid. 

When I was in Miami this past week, there was a moment walking on the beach when I looked up at this man that I was with, and thought how I literally couldn’t imagine being here with anyone else. And more importantly, how I didn’t want to.

I’ve spent a large chunk of my life traveling. Most of the time it was with my family, and a good portion was actually all by myself. I love it, and I’m really good at it. But since being in a relationship, everywhere I go I want him to be there.

To go from being single and traveling a lot by myself or with friends, to a gal in a relationship who never wants to travel alone, is a BIG DEAL.

So he likes to eat out of a street cart and you prefer a five-course meal at the city’s top-rated restaurant. So what? Maybe on vacation you like to sleep in and take your time in the morning, and he wants to get outside right away and start his day. Who cares? Traveling “well” together for me is not about agreeing on a restaurant. It’s about not wanting to experience something new and very special with anyone else.

What’s your take on couples who travel together? Is it a “big deal” to you?