“Why on earth would you do that to yourself?!” my mother wisely mused when I informed her of my somewhat impromptu plans to fly with my best friend Kelsie to San Francisco for 24 hours.
“There’s no way that will be fun, honey. Trust me, not enough time and way too much stress.”
But it was too late. Our plane tickets were booked (thanks to Kelsie’s inexplicably large sum of Delta SkyMiles that seemed to have materialized out of thin air) and we had already reserved our hotel room, so there was no going back. We were going on that trip, damnit, whether we liked it or not.
You see, the de Young Museum (located within the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco) was housing an exhibition of the British painter J.M.W. Turner’s later work that beckoned our attention. Kelsie, head-over-heels obsessed with Turner, had nagged me to fly out with her to see it all summer long. Due to whatever scheduling conflicts we had, the two of us never found a weekend that would work before the tsunami of school came crashing down on us, leaving us with no choice but to shirk our school-related responsibilities for a weekend and head west in the middle of Fall Semester.
This micro-vacation, as I have come to refer to it, felt surprisingly complete despite its laughably tiny duration. Part of its appeal actually came from how short it was, believe it or not. There was just enough time in 24 hours to put a spring back into my step after a rough first few weeks back at school without totally breaking the bank.
The 24-hour trip is highly worth it to blow off some steam, so here are some tips to consider when you plan your own:
Pick a city you know. I was fortunate enough to have already visited San Francisco a few times for school and with family. Thanks to this, I basically knew my way around the city. San Francisco is known for its top-notch public transportation, but can be a mess if you are not familiar with it. Visiting a city you are familiar with takes off the stress of scrambling to get to wherever you are headed.
Have a specific purpose because micro-vacations are basically pointless without one. Kelsie and I had the Turner Exhibit at the de Young we needed to visit, but it can be anything as long as it is substantial. Having a purpose and keeping it specific will ensure the trip doesn’t feel frivolous or wasteful. We were lucky enough to fly free, but if you’re going to be spending your dollars on ridiculously overpriced plane tickets, the trip should really be special.
Don’t worry about hitting all the landmarks. If you’re visiting a city you already know and love, revisiting landmarks can be a waste of time. Due to their landmark status, these places are more often than not packed with tourists, causing more stress than is necessary for such a short trip. While in San Francisco, we wouldn’t let ourselves come close to places like the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz or the Coit Tower because we didn’t want to fight the dreadfully sheep-like crowds, and that was probably the best decision we made the entire trip. We did, however, make a trip to Fisherman’s Wharf for some seafood — apparently that’s a tourist trap even we can’t escape.
Learn to chill like the locals. Aside from our little blip at the Wharf, Kelsie and I made a point to enjoy San Francisco like locals. This meant local restaurants and shops and even a trip to the city’s local Saturday Farmers Market, where we picked up some mouth-watering, locally grown grapes and some cool local art. Also, after our trip to the de Young we wandered around the Golden Gate Park for a bit and came across the Conservatory of Flowers, a gorgeous cathedral-like greenhouse with a dazzling array of tropical plants and flowers that nearly killed us with its charm.
If you’re struggling to grasp some down-time during this stressful semester of school, consider booking a 24-hour micro-vacation. Though it will be short, it can recharge you and breathe just a little bit of life back into you.
@AdditakOfficial