It’s mid November, cold, and now thanks to Daylight Savings Time, it is ironically dark even earlier than it was a week ago, which has never made any sense to me. I’m sitting with my feet propped up on the ottoman wishing I had built a fire, laptop on my knees, and I’m thinking of booking a small getaway for my four-year-old’s birthday, not only because it is his birthday but because his birthday is on Christmas Eve.
That day he was born, as snow floated outside the rectangular hospital window, I observed his perfect little nose and anticipated getting to know this little human with his dad’s eyes and my baby brother’s spirit. At that moment, I promised to always make his birthday special, that he wouldn’t be like other people who hated their holiday birthdays.
Since then, we have celebrated his birthday at a cabin where he pretended to be a great explorer in the woods among dying leaves of the southeastern Oklahoma floor. We have celebrated his half birthday at the zoo and let him feed the giraffes, their long, surprisingly black tongues curling around the super bright green leaves, his six month old hand held out in fear and simultaneous excitement. In other words, we have kept our promise to make his birthday unique and something he will be excited about each year, despite the fact that his little brother came 16 months after that Christmas Eve, and life has been hectic in a way only moms who have 2 under 2 truly understand.
I look back down at my laptop to see a set of numbers that catches my eye. On the great Wolf Lodge website, there is a 40% discount for those who plan their trip 60 days ahead of time. I start doing the math in my head and realize I’m long past that due date.
How do busy families do it? How do they get the deep discounts for booking early when I often don’t even know what we’re having for dinner tonight? I smile to myself when I think about my future though, a future that involves partnering with one of my best friends and best people I know. As Amy and I start this company, Next Trip, we want to be the ones doing the heavy lifting, the ones taking care of you, the ones scouring the website for those deep discounts, the ones who give you the insider tips on the best hotels, restaurants, and experiences.
We want for you to climb in a car, catch a plane, board a train, steer a boat, or take advantage of any other mode of transportation you’ve ever dreamed of and not think about anything except how much fun you’re having.
Whether you are a single mom who has not traveled since your child was born, a family of 10 that needs to be particularly budget conscious, or a couple that needs some time away from busy jobs to create memories, Next Trip wants to be your first thought in planning your getaway.
Let us take you places you never knew you wanted to go.
Next Trip 