Necessity drove my decision to swim across the Hawaiian ‘Au‘au Channel. Six months into the pandemic, I craved a sanity break from hunker-in-the-bunker mode. The prolonged isolation had induced an existential quandary: was the enormous time spent on my writing worth the effort?
For years, I traveled with my kids and family vacations were the name of the game. But now that they are pretty much grown, I am once more traveling on my own.
At first, I was a bit nervous. Was it going to be any fun traveling on my own? Would I meet new people? What if anything went wrong? I felt quite anxious by the time I went on my trip.
But I am glad I went ahead as I had an amazing time on my first solo vacation. Yes, there are aspects of solo traveling that are challenging or less fun than going with friends or family. But solo travel also offers many benefits and chances to grow as a person.