I love traveling alone.
As noted in my last newsletter, I recently returned from a two-week trip to Vancouver Island. I spent the first half reconnecting with friends and loved ones in my old city, and the second half in solitude, reconnecting with myself and the coastal landscape.
I rented a cabin on Salt Spring Island, chosen for its nearly six-foot-long bathtub. I brought bath bombs and face masks and candles, books and my watercolours, and some of my favorite foods. It rained a lot, and I holed up in the cabin in-between exploring the shops in the village and taking some drives. I read poetry and personal essays and wrote—even though I had no plans to do so, since the trip was meant to be a gift to myself for finishing a book draft. I reflected on the last year and the year ahead. I took an incredible nap and too many baths. I took myself for coffee each morning and chatted with the friendly locals. I ate an amazing smoked meat sandwich. It was a perfect three days.
Afterwards, I drove further up the big island to hike and explore some beaches in and around Parksville. I was alone in Cathedral Grove at 7 a.m. as I walked beneath ancient western red cedars and Douglas firs, some of which are more than 800 years old, and it was magical.
Weeks earlier, when I told a loved one I was going to Salt Spring, she asked if I knew anyone there. I told her I didn’t, but added that I love traveling alone.
She paused for a moment and said, “You know, I’ve started to realize that if I’m ever going to do the things I want to do, I’m going to have go and do some of them on my own.” Meaning: without her husband.
In Victoria, I caught up with a friend who had recently (and unexpectedly) found herself single for the first time in her adult life. After I told her about my plans for the rest of the trip, she confessed that she had recently come across an Airbnb outside of the city that had caught her eye, but she didn’t know who she would go with.
“Do I just—do I just go by myself?” she asked. Her expression brightened as she considered the idea.
“Yes,” I told her. “You go by yourself. You buy your favorite snacks and you pack your books and your crafts and you go by yourself. You have an amazing time doing exactly what you want to do, when you want to do it.”
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to No Word for Home to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.