My friends and I pulled into the driveway of a family friend’s condo, eager to see whether or not we could make the best of a frustrating situation. It was late summer 2020, where we saw the end of a brief lull in the pandemic before cases skyrocketed. None of us had left our homes or seen one another in months. After our graduation we were on the phone every night, trying to come up with some way to celebrate these big missed milestones together.
The solution we came to was this very trip to Naples, Florida. Thank goodness for my family friend’s condo and beach membership, because without that I am not sure any of it would have been possible. This enabled us to plan a budget trip where we could continue social distancing while still taking the time to celebrate! It certainly wasn’t a run-of-the-mill post-graduation trip, but nothing about that year had been typical anyways. It ended up teaching me a lot about the value of traveling on the whole.
Our agenda consisted of three main things: cooking in the condo, driving around in our rental car, and going to an empty beach. Most mornings, after everyone eventually made their way to the kitchen for breakfast, we would make a plan for the day. Despite what seemed like a constant back and forth on the itinerary, a comfortable routine was the end of each discussion. We went to the beach in the morning, stopped back in to shower and do lunch, then just drove around Naples before dinner.
The cooking was by far my favorite part. We all discussed different recipes we wanted to try out and vetted them before doing an online order from the nearby Publix. I am proud to say that my crepes with strawberries and chocolate ganache were such a hit I made them a second time before the trip was done. There was a lovely movie room located next to the kitchen, so whoever was cooking could overhear the laughter and screams pouring out as a reaction to whatever movie someone had put on.
The journey to the beach was quite the experience too however. There was a shuttle that could take us through a mysterious wooded area where streams of water flowed through the brush to the beautiful waterfront. This is where, every day, a couple of my friends would ask Carlos, a worker there, to help us set up our umbrellas and chairs, which we certainly could have managed on our own. From there, I heard endless speculation on Carlos and his cheerful disposition as he set things up.
Lastly, after a relaxing morning at the beach with Carlos, we would drive around Naples and see the sights. These sights included the Skyline location there, a shopping mall we did not go into, and an apartment complex my grandparents used to live in. While they weren’t anything thrilling, we always had something to say about each spot. It was so refreshing to get to see my friends in person at all, so it became so easy to appreciate any comment no matter how small.
Ultimately, I realized that a trip isn’t just about going and seeing a place; it is about the experiences you have there. Vacationing with my friends to a city on lockdown certainly isn’t something I would have considered before, but I now know that with the right people, it could be the best trip I’ll ever have.
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