Group Travel’s Woes: Limeade With a Hint of Bourbon

Group Travel: The Lioness and the Queen

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Jen is a petite, introverted Leo who’s quite feisty once you get to know her.

We met when studying for our health insurance licenses.

This led to us working together and it didn’t take long to become friends.

We chose Essence Fest as our first trip together. She was unnamed in my Travel Scams blog.

I guess you could call this group travel done mostly right!

Plan B

We had planned a plantation tour. Her school’s schedule delayed her arrival.

I ended up doing the tour alone and she was able to hold the ticket for future use. We used Experience New Orleans to book the Laura and Oakley combination plantation tour.

The trip happened 2 years ago.

Jen called a few weeks ago to tell me about an upcoming road trip. It would be her and three girlfriends taking a road trip to California.

Group Travel: Girls (Road) Trip 

They would be stopping in Louisiana and she would be able to finally redeem her voucher. I was rubbing off on her because she was willing to do that part alone.

The tour included pick-up and drop-off. She would only be away from the group for the few hours required.

I love road trips and was excited for Jen. I was more relieved that the company would still honor the ticket.

Jen just finished nursing school. The trip was a nice reprieve from studying and clinicals.

I was proud of her accomplishment and she knew she deserved the time away.

I did have a word of caution because I know how group trips can go.

Hear me Roar

Jen assured me that this was a sound bunch. She was confident in the strength of her relationships and had no doubts their cross country trip would be drama-free.

A week before her trip, Jen calls again. The first words out of her mouth alluded to my prophetic ability.

That could not be good! It could only mean one thing!  

She had gotten into an argument with one of the road trip friends and was promptly uninvited. A second one called to smooth things over, but it was too late.

Jen knew it would a huge risk to travel with someone whose mood swings could be unpredictable. This was the person she knew best out of everyone.

She wasn’t about to chance it with the rest.

My Barefoot in Paris blog was probably running through her head at this point!

The Maiden Voyage

Time was running out to redeem the plantation tour ticket and she already had the time off. The average person (who doesn’t have a solo traveling friend) may have given up the whole trip at this point.

But she called me!

Jen was about to embark on her first solo travel journey. I was proud to be a part of the initiation.

She now had to look into rescheduling her return flight into a round-trip.

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Thank you for being a friend

She followed my tips as it relates to airport transfers. Spirit Airlines had the best price and itinerary at the last minute.

Spirit, in my opinion, is not as bad as people make it. They have a lot of legroom just don’t expect free refreshments.

Jen is a little ‘bougie-er’ than I am so it took a while to convince her to stay at The Pelham Hotel. It was $70 per night and she would only be there two.

The reviews were mostly positive. She wanted a location close to everything (the Central Business District) and the price was right.

After the stay, Jen does recommend the hotel if you just need a clean place to lay your head. The accommodations were basic and “some of the furniture looked dusty”.

Southern Delights

A perk of the hotel is The Ruby Slipper is next door. This is one of my favorite brunch spots in New Orleans.

We had only visited the Canal Street location.

Each time I go to The Ruby Slipper, I must have the shrimp and grits. The banana foster is my second choice and the portion size is enough for two.

New Orleans is my all-time beloved city. I wished desperately that I could accompany Jen but it was so last minute.

It’s hard to plan around future group travel arguments!

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New Orleans Eateries

Jen and I began to cross off all of the ‘must visit’ spots for her brief time in the Crescent City.

Beignets: Cafe du Monde

Charbroiled Oysters: Drago’s

I felt like a mommy eagle throwing her baby off the ledge for the first time.

Despite the short time, the trip was a success.

Creole Roots

Jen enjoyed the plantation tours and even made new friends along the way. She also agreed Laura was the better experience out of the two.

My parents are from Haiti and many Haitians immigrated to Louisiana with Creole traditions in tow.

I fondly remember Laura Plantation. It was amazing to see all of the French influences that reflected my childhood.

The plantation’s interior had cherry oak furnishings, lace overlays, and tassels hanging from window furnishings. The outside was a sea of greenery and plantain trees galore.

The biggest surprise was the lime trees.

Limeade

Lemons were not part of my Haitian upbringing. Limes, on the other hand, were used on a daily basis especially in the process of cleaning meat.

Even when we called it ‘lemonade’, we were still using limes.

Jen also has a Haitian background and I’m sure she made similar connections.

This situation dealt her some limes and she made limeade in one of the best cities ever!

Explore Your Options

Lesson 1: When traveling with others, you should always have a plan B until the day of the trip.

Lesson 2: Sometimes you may need a plan C, D, and more for during.

This is why I love solo travel.

I know that I can always depend on myself to have a great time.

Now that Jen has tasted the freedom involved in solo travel, I fully expect her to do it more often.

This is a very possible scenario for a group trip. What will you do if it happens to you?

Solo travel awaits you…

~Poof…Bee Gone

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