THE WEEKEND EDIT IN CHARLESTON

HAPPY WEEKENDING.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hello, we are in Charleston this weekend with our friends affectionately referred to as our college- kids’ travel squad. This is our fourth trip together in as many years.

We started this tradition when our youngest kids started college. It was a boo-hoo to-woo-hoo vacation. Laughter is the best therapy.

Instead of focusing on the drop-off of our youngest kids, we looked forward to a fun vacation with friends. We held quarterly dinners to plan destination/lodging/excursions.

We have worked around work commitments, weddings, first grandchild and family events.

Last summer, with only two two kids still in college, we skipped move-in day so we could get our travel dates booked!

What we will do for an Airbnb upgrade and direct flights. !

I am the second from the left in this photo!

Our first trip together was an eight-day trip, with a rental van, to the Northeast for a Leaf Peeper self-guided tour. Which meant we had to learn how to drive ( and park) a ten-passenger van. We upgraded in size to accommodate our luggage and our Costco haul.

This was my view in the van. We did a good job of rotating the driver and navigator.

We had a cone of silence when any of us had to make a work call from the van.

.Our first trip took us to Boston, Maine, Boston, Rhode Island, and Vermont and New Hampshire.

What started as a rite of passage when each of our youngest kids left for college has become a tradition filled with laughs, antics, game nights, Beach Boy concerts, and tours of the Gilded Age estates (The Breakers).

Over four years, we navigated college drop-offs, sorority and fraternity Rush Weeks, internship news, and job offers. We have celebrated weddings, birthdays, and a first grandchild ( not ours).

And the tradition stuck with the youngest set to graduate in December. Our trips included Boston, then a return trip to Chatham where we rented an Airbnb and spent a night with the Beach Boys in Hyannis.

Our third trip took us to New Orleans. With a piano player with interesting “players” around the baby grand piano. We signed up for a haunted city tour where the guide who reminded us of Moira from Schitt’s Creek. We learned to confirm the furniture in the photos is the same furniture at check-in.

Waiting for an early moring coffee in the coffee shop of our Airbnb I had a front row seat to a funny exchange bewtween an older sister and her younger brother. when her younger brother rushed into the coffee bar in a suit and informed her he forgot where he parked his car the night before.

As a mom with a daughter and two younger brothers it was a classic exchange between two siblings. Her response and eye roll suggested he was the younger brother.

And it was not the first time this had happened.

People-watching was most of the fun in NOLA.

TRIP PLANNING

We always start with budgets based on if one of us has other trips on the calendar or a wedding. We had a wedding last year followed by my husband’s birthday gift to Ireland and Scotland.

Our friend’s youngest son got married this summer so we plan our destinations based on availability and budgets.

We all fight for the mileage points by covering the big ticket expenses like Airbnb.

HOW WE MANAGE EXPENSES

We use the SplitWise app.

In a sentence (from their website) : Splitwise is an app for splitting expenses with other people in the same group.

We scroll through our credit card charges and add them to our Splitwise accounts- one for each couple/pair.

With this app we never have to worry about who paid what or who had three glasses of wine. We use this app which is a way for each couple to record their credit card expenses and the app does the calculations for three couples.

Splitwise adjusts the differences between bar tabs and dinners. So if we grabbed lunch and another couple grabbed dinner it adjusts what we owe each other.

The person who snags the Airbnb expense rarely owes anything at the end of the trip because they covered the biggest expense.

Does this make make sense?

My (our) daughter and her bridesmaids could describe this app in one sentence. It has been a year since her wedding.

CHATHAM

Moving on…

QUESTION What is on your bucket list to travel? My husband has traveled to all states but one …

Check out the Been app on your phone. It is a fun one!

Moving on …

READING, WATCHING + LOVING

Did you see this week’s Tuesday Tip?
I ordered this book to listen to on the plane. It is being made into a series.
I packed this skort for the trip.
This everywhere belt bag is perfect for travel.
This is a popular treat on Pinterest.