Travel After Divorce

I was with my kids late in the afternoon on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Being up early that day, I felt exhausted by the afternoon and it was about Eight at night when I finally dropped them off to their mother. Most people would go to bed and start their holiday in the morning, but for me, I needed to get out east on Long Island to start what would be the best holiday I’ve had in years.

DRIVING TO RELAXATION

It’s a little more than an hour drive from where I live to wine country out east. In the past, this seemed like a lot of time, but with my new jobs sometimes forcing me to drive 8 hours a day, a quick drive out east means nothing to me. That evening I flipped on the radio and was listening to Howard Stern and calling family members to pass the time. It wasn’t long before I could see the glistening Christmas lights of my Fiancé’s home. From the minute I stepped through the door I could already feel relaxation. This is my happy place.

THE PERFECT LIVING ROOM

Much like a Norman Rockwell painting, her living room is the coziest place you could imagine. The dark curtains were drawn setting the beautifully lit Christmas tree silhouetting against it. I made sure to turn on the fireplace which gives off so much heat it could make you sweat. We cuddled up on the couch with a glass of wine while we watched Christmas movies together. When we talk about traveling after divorce it doesn’t always mean on vacation. Sometimes your vacation is being together in an environment like I am describing!

TURKEY DAY!

In the morning we woke up completely rested after I learned there is a heated mattress cover and weighted blanket on my Fiancé’s bed. The day started perfectly as we made our way to the liquor store for some extra holiday wine and booze. Once home, I was planted at the kitchen table while helping as much as I could to get ready for our holiday feast. Getting ingredients and peeling potatoes was my main contribution, but I can actually say I helped to prepare for the occasion.

The day flew by and before we knew it, we were surrounded by family and friends in the afternoon. I was on bottle of wine number 2 and enjoying the conversation while the final touches were being put in place. I was the lucky first person to pile his plate high, and I think I had chipped away at most of my meal by the time I was once again enlisted to say “grace”. I never really had holidays since the passing of my mom at a young age, so these moments really mean a lot to me.

In the past, we would all sit around the table until early the next morning and drinking beer and jello shots. Something is different in our lives as of recently where we all find ourselves calling it a night earlier. I enjoyed the feeling of the night ending and getting ourselves back on the couch to cuddle by the fireplace for movie time once again. The next few days would lead us to even more travel and fun!

THE TOWN TREE LIGHTING!

A tradition that my fiancé has created is attending the annual lighting of the town Christmas Tree. The night after thanksgiving we were dressed in warm clothes and made out way to a local restaurant to have a few drinks as we waited. The environment is cozy and after a few rounds it was time to go outside to see the lights come on. The feeling of community out there and the cute warmth of music and local makes for an adorable scene. To top it off, we even waited in the cold line for a picture with none other than Santa Himself! These pictures have me smiling every year we post them and after a cold night outside we cozied up once again for the next days events to come.

CASINOS AND CONCERT!

The next morning at 7am the message that my future mother in law was in the driveway hit our cell phones. We were showered and packed for the next adventure to another state. After a 15 minute drive down the road we were looking at our favorite transportation methods, the Cross Island Ferry. I’ve described this boat in a bunch of other posts, but unfortunately this time we were stuck with one of the older boats in their fleet. The environment wasn’t as nice, but we still had plenty of room to sit down and have a few cocktails as we made our way to Connecticut. The plan was to drop our bags at the casino hotel and spend the day gambling and having fun before checking into the hotel down the road.

The day was filled once again with picking random slots and poker machines to take our money. We honestly dont really gamble that much anymore, and usually stop once we are close or we actually break even. The morning was fun as ever, and of course we ended up going out to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the world. The Irish Pub at Mohegan Sun has an amazing menu. Sharing the Shepherds pie had us full and ready for the rest of our days adventure. The other thing we did that was a good call was to get ourselves a giant “Jersey Mikes” sandwich for after our concert. This decision proved to be clutch.

STAY AT A CHEAPER HOTEL

Staying on the property at Mohegan Sun without a comp would cost between $3-500. A trick we learned a while back is to search the hotels in the area for a better price and years ago we found our perfect spot. There is a Fairfield Marriott we like to stay at that is literally a five minute Uber drive away and costs about a hundred bucks if booked in advance. My fiancé and grabbed our bags from the Mohegan closet and checked into our hotel down the road with plenty of time to spare until the concert later that night.

Anyone who knows me will tell you how much I love hotels, and how my job has me staying in them for probably fifty to a hundred nights a year. After we dropped out stuff, I cracked open a few of the alcohol cans of Iced Tea and had my bathing suit on in a flash. Luckily, even though she didn’t want to go into the water, I had my beautiful Fiance by my side while I decided to take the plunge. There was nobody downstairs at the pool, and after I jumped into the water, I was pleasantly surprised that it was a heated salt water pool!

We got back up to the room and I showered to warm myself up. We put on the Game Show Network, cuddled up under the covers, and took a nice nap before it was time to go to the show. After waking up that afternoon we both agreed that staying in the room would be more of a vacation than anything else we would want. Still, after getting dressed we went downstairs to catch the free shuttle to Mohegan for the concert.

THE CONCERT

The month prior we booked this concert to see the Trans-syberian Orchestra. I honestly had zero ambition to want to see this show, and knew absolutely nothing about the band. After we grabbed a few drinks and some burgers for our family, we walked into the show which was already in progress. The moment I sat down and experienced the first wave of sound, smoke, lasers, and fire I was hooked. I leaned to my right and yelled out the words “holy fuck, this is totally amazing”. The show lasted about 2 hours and there was never a time where the senses were not being triggered with the chaos of this amazing act. I would highly recommend.

HEADED HOME

Going home after this weekend included the fact that we needed to find a ride back from the boat. Since her parents left the day prior, we were on our own but luckily my Fiancé’s father was more than happy to get us for the 15 minute drive back home. I grabbed my stuff, started my car, and just like that the 4 days of holiday fun and adventure were over. The only times when I can say I feel actual sadness is when my kids leave after a visit, and when I am driving home after weekends like the one we just had.

It’s important to take the time to think about the places we’ve been since going through our divorces years ago. My dream has always been to be on a laptop in an airport and traveling for a living, and here I am doing just that. I get annoyed at times and complain, but the honest thing is I am the luckiest man in the world….. And in a few days, My fiancé will make me the luckiest man in the world. Viva Las Vegas!