Vacation Inspiration

Road trips, long weekends, family travel, food tours and more

As far as I can tell, the perks of empty nesting are as follows: There are fewer pairs of shoes crowding the foyer, the car backseat no longer resembles an archaeological dig, and, when it comes to traveling, I’m not beholden to the school calendar. And that’s pretty much it. (I MISS THEMMMMM!) But I’ll say this: We’ve been good about taking advantage of that last perk. Part of the reason is, of course, because I work for myself, which means I can work from anywhere, making it easy to visit friends over long weekends (free room and board) or piggy-back on one of my husband’s business trips (free hotel room) or hop on a round-trip Amtrak to visit my daughter, on, say, Monday morning and be home by Tuesday night. There are also my now somewhat regular work trips to Italy hosting food tours, and you would be forgiven if you are shaking your head at the word “work” in that sentence.

The point is, my idea of travel has expanded over the years. There are the Big Trips and Family Vacations, y…