Breaking a Travel Pattern

Do you ever get in a rut?  A travel pattern that becomes habit either through intentional repetition or accidental momentum?  Do you catch yourself saying “I always stay at this hotel” or “we cruise to the Caribbean every April” or “this is what I do every time I arrive at the airport”?

It could be a routine.

Or it could be a rut.

It may be hard to tell.  I’ve been back on Delta again over the last two weeks.  And I still like it.  It feels strange and different, but also new and exciting.

But I broke another pattern too, one that feels weird to break.  Normally I’d be on a plane right now headed somewhere for my birthday weekend.  Paris, Istanbul, London, Tokyo, Dublin, Las Vegas – those are just a few of the places where I’ve spent this mid-February weekend in the past.

This year?  I’ll be sleeping in my own bed.  Enjoying time with local friends, having dinner with my family, treating myself to a long massage, and catching up on routine things before starting another marathon month of travel.

It feels unusual.  And yet it’s what I need.  The first quarter is always one of my most intense months.  And I’ve been away from home at least part of the last six weekends.

I need to be home.  It feels odd for a wanderer, but it’s the right thing to do.

My word for the year is “change”.  And that means sometimes breaking out of ruts.  Or changing a travel pattern.

For me, that means spending some time on Delta (alongside my time on American).  Shaking up my hotel habits a little bit.  Changing traditions (times and destinations).  And perhaps learning to enjoy some time on my sofa.