Post Grad Weekend Trips Home

By Allison Sass

In college, we had breaks planned for us every month or so that would give us a chance to go home to or enjoy an extra long weekend at school with no homework. In post grad life, you have limited paid vacation time (at least at first!) and must focus all of your traveling into the weekend timeframe.

I just traveled home for labor day weekend, my first trip home since I started my job in July, and have a few tips for post grads that are now forced to plan their own weekend getaways.

1. Make sure you have lots of water, caffeine, and snacks on hand if you plan on driving home right after your workday on Friday. I thought this would be no problem for me, but about 3 hours into my 5 hour drive home, I was thankful I caved in and drank that energy drink.

2. Watch the weather! If you are driving home on a Friday night and the weather forecast calls for torrential rain the entire evening, consider waking up early the next day and leaving then instead.  Driving in the rain is no fun, but driving in the dark in intense rain is just plain dangerous.

3. Plan ahead! Make plans for the time you will spend at home. Since you'll only be there for about 48 hours, you'll want to pack as much fun into your weekend trip home as possible. Don't waste time there just sitting around and figuring out what to do.

4. Leave your work at work. As someone who stresses about work while outside of the office, I know that it's especially important to leave you work behind when traveling home for the weekend, especially if you have a long drive! Make the most of your time at home. Don't worry, your work will be there waiting for you after the weekend!

1 comment:

  1. Your first trip home post grad was definitely action packed. I enjoyed every bit of our visit. Surprising Dad with his new laptop (and splitting the cost with me.....thanks to your newfound job and income). A quick stop at Bop-to-Tottems to check out the jewelry and accessories (a must see for every girl who knows where the 'good buys' are), checking out the goodies at the farmer's market in K-town (we ponder which goat's milk soaps smell the best) Splitting a black and white cookie from Deisings (funny, it looked much bigger under the glass). Having a picnic at Clermont State Park (and getting rained on with berries falling from the sky that messed up your cute new shorts). Sipping Bully Hill (thanks for introducing me to it) with our KFC (you swear you never had it before). Heading out to a late night movie to see the latest Drew Barrymore flick... and that was just Saturday.

    Sunday brought a continuation of more activity. Reconnecting with an old friend for breakfast and yet another farmer's market in R-dale. Off to New Paltz for a look see at the people and places......Groovy Blueberry, mood rings and silly putty. Back home for a quick change and off to have dinner with the family and see what all the fuss was about this 'bubble tea'. Back home for a little more Bully Hill, pico, chips, and chit-chat to ease into the end of the weekend.

    Yes, it was a wonderful visit from start to finish and I am amazed to see how well you have adjusted from being a college student to a purely perpetual palatial post grad!

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