Vacation With Bestie
It’s no secret that best friends are irreplaceable and invaluable. Over the years, I’ve seen many friends go through relationships and breakups. I’m not going to say they all handled it well, but the ones who obviously learned from their mistakes came out on top. Of course, you may have never broken up with your best friend before and aren’t sure how to handle that situation. In this blog, I’ll be sharing tips I’ve gathered over my lifetime on how to make it through a breakup with your best friend without losing them forever.
Being alone with your partner or even your own friend is not always a good idea. It might be fun for first few days but the monotony will set in, and then there would be fights of who had to take on what responsibility. There was really no alternative for getting rid of this situation other than asking our best friends to play the third wheel.
Arriving at the airport, you wave goodbye to your parents and watch them walk through the door signifying the end of another school year. The tears fall as you are met by your best friend, who is equally sad to leave her family behind (but mostly just excited to be on vacation)…
We found ourselves straying due. Our relationship no longer had a spark, it was time for something new. Obviously, if you two were meant to be you’d still be together; but, as fate would have it, I was about to meet the man of my dreams! We both know that had this horrific event never occurred you’d likely still be with your now ex. Life teaches us valuable lessons through stressful times — and this was definitely one of them!
Vacation With Bestie
The beauty of vacationing with your best friend is that you’re effortlessly on the same wavelength; after all, so much of what makes for an easy trip is that baseline of compatibility. And now that more arms are getting shots and travel restrictions are beginning to ease, it’s a perfect time for the two of you to start plotting your next escape.
Where to? We’ve rounded up six spots around the country that offer culture, adventure, and spectacular sites or scenery—basically, a foolproof formula for any twosome. (Bonus: If you sign up for the brand-new United Quest(opens in new tab) card from Chase, you can earn up to 100,000 bonus miles. Plus, get a $125 annual United purchase credit and two free checked bags for each of you, saving up to $280 right out of the gate.)
Palm Springs, California
Why go: Everywhere you turn in this desert town, there’s something interesting to look at. Charming boutiques and galleries, pastel mid-century modern architecture, palm trees swaying in the breeze—it’s no wonder aesthetes flock to the Coachella Valley for celebrated art and design festivals like Modernism Week and Desert X. And with Joshua Tree National Park less than an hour away, you can balance the urban cool with some off-grid adventure.
Where to stay: Les Cactus, which opened in February, may be a newcomer to Palm Springs, but the Airbnb-hotel hybrid is a total throwback—a revamped 1930s property renamed for a 1960s song by French rocker Jacques Dutronc. There are 27 airy, bungalow-style guest rooms, a hammock garden, an outdoor fire pit, and a cool pink exterior, all of which scream California eclectic.
What to do: Hit the Palm Springs Art Museum to admire works by Louise Bourgeois and Anish Kapoor, and book a day spa package at the newly opened Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort in Desert Hot Springs, where the geothermal mineral springs are naturally heated to 174 degrees and there’s a Himalayan salt room for relaxing and detoxifying.
Later on, enjoy Hemingway daiquiris at the Cecil Beaton-inspired Bar Cecil, which opens in mid-April. Sacred Tahquitz Canyon has 60 miles of trails; one of the two-mile loops rewards hikers with ancient rock art and a 60-foot seasonal waterfall at its summit. And in 2022, be on the lookout for the opening of Agua Caliente Cultural Museum from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. When the 5.8-acre center debuts, it’ll be the largest Native American museum west of the Mississippi.
Austin, Texas
Why go: For pals who have cemented their sisterhood through food—tracking the latest restaurant openings, veering off the beaten path to hunt down delicious street eats—Austin is the buffet that just won’t quit. There’s famous Franklin Barbecue, of course, but also stellar breakfast tacos at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, matzo ball caldo at June’s All Day, brisket bentos at Texan izakaya Kemuri Tatsu-ya, and the sunny wine patio at LºLº, where the only thing more hip than the bottles are the (masked) servers.
center’]For pals who have cemented their friendship through food, Austin is the buffet that just won’t quit.
Where to stay: Even ATX hotels pride themselves on next-level fare. Carpenter Hotel, a stylish haunt in an old union hall, serves fresh-baked kolaches (pastry) in its café and innovative dishes like Tex Mez, a white bean hummus with pecan baba ganoush, golden beets, and feta, at its restaurant, Carpenters Hall. The 93-room inn, founded by alums of the Ace Hotel, hosts creative activities like sound bath meditations and textile marbling—though you and your better half may prefer to just decompress by the pool, Oaxacan Old Fashioneds in hand.
What to do: Dance up a storm at the tropical-themed Coconut Club; go for a splash at Barton Springs, a spring-fed emerald swimming pool in Zilker Park; catch a drive-in movie at The Blue Starlite; or browse the wild collection of rare motorcycles, souped-up hot rods, and movie cars (including one of three original Ghostbusters Ectomobiles!) at the Austin Rock & Roll Car Museum.
For a cool souvenir, book a portrait session with Lumiere Tintype, a photo studio pitched in the backyard of Justine’s Brasserie. Photographer Adrian Whipp is a master of the wet plate collodion process and will capture your grinning mugs in a tintype as timeless as your friendship.