5 masks up for four night mini vacations. this is related to a recent four night trip we took which I had so much to say about that it spun a multi-part series answering various questions about the trip including this one. click here to see the other posts. today’s question is
why is four the perfect number of nights for a driving vacation in short range?
now that i go to populate this post, it just seems dumb or obvious or both, but i’ll answer the question i posed anyway. the short answer is: it just is.
the reason is this: the classic two night weekend you work all day friday, madly cram the car with stuff, arriving 10pm. saturday you sleep in, because you can, but then you’re too late for a day trip plus you had a longish drive the night before. you end up staying close to the place, which is relaxing or trying to cram in a day trip, which is exhausting. sunday you have to check out by noon, everything becomes about leaving, you don’t really have a day at all. plus you may have to fight the traffic.
three night weekends (known as “mini breaks” in british parlance) are definitely better than 2 night weekends. at least with three nights you get one day to stay close to the place and another day to explore.
four nights, my husband and concur, are the best because there’s a real chance to unwind (but it doesn’t entail taking a whole week off). plus, if you’re lucky like we are to be able to work by internet and you have high speed internet at your destination, you can choose to drive there thursday night, work friday all day and then have a real full weekend at your destination with two days with no packing or travel. monday you head back and then you’ve got a four day work week ahead of you.
i guess that last bit is the only part that qualifies this post for the covid road trip series. that and when we went to lassen and lake almanor it was a four night trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it. as i write this, we are blissfully on our fourth evening in a row in yosemite.
well, here’s another way it relates to covid. i’m guessing some households had more ambitious summer plans where they set aside one or two weeks for a trip further afield. chances are something about that plan was derailed by the pandemic. maybe, like us, you were going to fly elsewhere for your vacation and now you’re not because its one of the easiest ways to come in contact with the disease. maybe, like us, you were going to visit a relative who no longer feels comfortable having guests. maybe the very facility/event/whatever you planned it all around has been cancelled. whatever it is, perhaps you now have 10 days of vacation that you aren’t using. the four night trip is perfect for this. if you could swing it, you could even take five four night close by trips with the same amount of vacation you were going to burn on your two weeks!
of course, i am mindful that a) many do not have the luxury of taking that many days off b) paid vacation c) a car d) disposal income for vacations. i bless everyone who is in this position. i would like you to be able to enjoy what we’re enjoying, and more.
