Summertime Sadness

Slow travel? Never heard of her...

Summer is my favorite season in NYC, hands down. Nothing compares. Fall is nice, spring is bipolar (weather-wise), and don’t even get me started on winter. I love summer because summer and beaches go hand in hand, along with BBQs, sidewalk cafés, and sunsets stretching across the skyline at 9 p.m.

Another thing I love about summer is the action - and by action, I mean trips. I maximize summer each year by always having something planned to look forward to. Typically, I’ll do about three trips each summer: two small ones and one larger one. This year I’m only doing one larger one, and I know this sounds spoiled, but I’m kind of sad about it.

The three trips that usually come in my summer rotation are Miami, North Fork/South Fork, and Maui. For Miami, I like to go in early summer because there are good deals on hotels right before hurricane season. But I have to time it just right, and that would mean going in June. Miami is great because I view it as New York by the water.

My fiancé and I always stay at the Loews in South Beach. We like going there because it’s a great location right on the main walkway and a quick ride to other Miami neighborhoods. The hotel doesn’t try too hard. Yes, it reads more ‘corporate offsite’ hotel for Miami standards, but the service is great and their beds are comfortable. When the whole town is a scene, I am ok with the hotel being less sceeny. The trip is usually no more than three or four days total, just the perfect last-minute beach escape from NYC.

call me cheesy but i love south beach

Unfortunately, June is already halfway over, and the next two weeks are really adding up in our household and work-wise. As much as I want to go enjoy Miami, I’m not sure if I have it in me.

North Fork and South Fork are also weekend trips I love. You don’t know how badly I am craving a stellar lobster roll (there are a lot of bad ones). The con is that you need a car, and I do not like driving. Driving from the city out east is a mission in itself. The traffic from Thursday through Sunday is a nightmare, and car rentals, even on Turo, are so pricey during the summer.

Yes, I could leave at 5am to beat the traffic like some people actually do, but I am not that person. I could take the train, but it wouldn’t be as fun being reliant on Ubers to get from point A to point B. Ubers combined with the horrible cell service out east sounds like personal hell. So sadly I will not be saying hi to my favorite farm stands and boutique grocery stores and Atlantic Ave Beach this summer. I’ve been coming to terms with it.

Last is Maui. My desperation to go back to the island I frequented so much as a kid has reached such a peak that I almost fell for an Instagram scam where I answered a few questions and nearly got a “free” trip to a some random three-star resort in Waikiki. Don’t worry, I stopped myself before I entered any personal information.

I’m not sure what it is, but starting in May, I woke up with this wild urge to go anywhere in Hawaii. Maui on a long weekend is insane from NYC, but in my delusional state, I was trying to make it possible. Who knows what I was thinking? I keep telling myself that I am saving a huge chunk of change by not acting on my impulses. Not to mention I really do need to save since I dropped some major money on my reception look - it’s vintage Ralph Lauren, 1 of 1, so I absolutely had to…

doesn't look like much but this meal on my parent's timeshare balcony is everything

In a weird way, I’m not as upset as I would’ve been many years ago about not going on these trips. I’m attempting at allowing myself to slow down, take some time to rest, and get prioritized with all things home, work, wellness and travel. I have a lot on my plate this year, especially with my wedding on the horizon.

I’ve been really concentrated on bridal prep this year, and it has been weighing on me a lot - the pressure that we now have on brides to look their absolute best. (Olivia has a great article about this bridal pressure phenomenon, and it was such a comforting read.) In truth, I was hoping these trips would be a distraction from all of that.

I was gearing up for these trips in March (this is when my summer planning kicks in), but then a back and shoulder injury plopped me on my ass and told me to lie back down and not move. It was a nightmare. I visited an orthopedist and physical therapists to try to hack my way out of an injury that I did nothing to cause, but the answer was simple: no working out, no go-go-go lifestyle, minimal stress - just rest until I felt better.

In a way, I’m thankful because the boredom from my injury led me to start this Substack. I knew about a week into my injury rest period I couldn’t plan out a crazy summer, especially since I’m now so far behind on my wellness goals. I knew deep inside I needed this summer to be a slower one.

I also know myself: I’m a chronic planner. I love it. It’s how I pass my time. But I want to show up on these trips as my best self, not because they’re something I need to check off a list.

I’m hoping that as the summer goes on, I can flip the script and realize that I do have a lot of good things going for me, and that I’m not missing out by any means. It may not be the same summer as years past, but it will still be one of warmth, growth, and intentional experiences.

Summer is my season, so bring it on.

fun summer memories of years past. it's a blessing to have these memories, because I was there, and did experience these moments 🤍