ReTRo HouSeWiFe

WEEKEND GETAWAY - TRAVELING WITH HUSBANDS

Tips for Getting Your Hubby "On Board"

1. Plan trips that will interest him too. Make sure you think about what he likes to do and incorporate some activities that cater to his interests. Want to do a shopping trip in the city? Fun for you, not for him. Get some tickets to a ball game, car show or whatever tickles his fancy. Then get excited about going yourself. He'll feel much better about the shopping part.
2. Plan trips centered around common interests. You both like to golf? Plan golfing trips. If you are sneaky, book a Putt and Pamper trip at a Golf and Spa Resort! Both of you are couch potatoes? Find a week-end deal at a local hotel that has room service and let them do all the work while you slouch around in bed.
3. Buy your husband a Tom Tom. Refrain from going ballistic when he uses his Tom Tom everywhere you go; even to the local grocery store. Believe me, those GPS devices will keep them fascinated for months. He will want to go places just so he can get you there with his TomTom.
4. Be a good travel buddy. Have you ever traveled with somebody who whines and complains about everything? Or gets angry when things don't go the way you want them to? Did you not want to drive off without them when they were using the restroom? Don't be one of those. Get one thing straight before you go...things are going to be different than they are at home. That's the point. You want a little adventure, not 6 new reasons to be pissed off about something. If something goes wrong, accept it and move on. You will laugh about it later.

   Here's an example of what I mean:

   My husband and I were on a trip to Las Vegas over a long weekend. On our last day, we decided to rent a car and go see the Hoover Dam. We strolled into the car rental agency around 1:00 in the afternoon, got our car and drove the 30 minutes out to the Dam. We looked at it for 20 minutes or so, and then decided to drive into Arizona, to see what it was all about. I was reading the map, and I mentioned that the Grand Canyon was only about an inch away. As neither of us had ever been there, we decided to go take a look, and we sped off towards our destination, full of anticipation.

   About 3 hours of driving later, it became clear that we were not going to make it before dark. Nevertheless, we raced on, trying to beat the setting sun. When we reached the park entrance, it was twilight, but we still paid the $20 and went in. Here is what the Grand Canyon looked like:

   

   We still laugh about that trip and how we managed to visit the Grand Canyon and not see it. (We have since been back to see it during the day.)