I’m a people person, so people are sometimes surprised at my favorite travel companion: myself.
When I travel in groups, I often find myself as the group’s Vacation Mom, a term coined by Anne Helen Petersen. She defines the Vacation Mom as, “the person entrusted with achieving Peak Vacation Value.” She’s the person who sets an alarm to get that impossible-to-book AirBNB and makes sure everyone brings closed toe shoes for your hike. She organizes activity options and divides up the cost at the end of the trip. She makes sure everyone has fun.
Being the Vacation Mom feels great when you nail it! You find that charming little restaurant with amazing brunch options and perfect Instagram photo ops, and everyone talks about how great it was for weeks. But when the highs are high, the lows are low. You worry so much the whole trip about whether or not everyone else is having a great time, that sometimes you forget to have a great time yourself.
I’m incapable of shirking my Vacation Mom duties. I genuinely like planning trips and finding cool activities! Still, at least once a year, I try to take a trip where I am the only one that has to have a great time. I’ll still set an alarm to get that great reservation, but if I oversleep, I don’t feel the guilt of disappointing anyone else.
On my last trip, I took the anti-Vacation Mom to a new level. I didn’t plan anything. Instead, I entrusted my whole trip to Pack Up + Go, a surprise travel agency. As a traveler, you set a budget, then fill out a pre-trip survey with information on what you like to do and places you’ve been (so they don’t send you anywhere you just got back from). They book your flights, your hotels, and usually one or two fun things to do in town with whatever is leftover from your budget. They email you some weather information ahead of time, so you can pack, and then when you get to the airport, you open an envelope and find out where you’re going.
With the heads up that wherever I was going was going to be hot and rainy, I gamely packed my umbrella and headed to the airport for an early flight. It took everything in my power not to open the envelope that revealed my mystery destination ahead of time, but I managed to hold off until I was waiting for the airport parking shuttle. I tore it open and found out I was heading to Philadelphia! It checked the top two boxes I had shared with Pack Up + Go: good food and great museums.
The envelope they sent contained a lot of information: a list of fun facts -- so now I can tell you that Philadelphia is home to America’s first hospital, library, art museum, and art school -- as well as recommendations from a local, a proposed itinerary, and a list of great spots for photo-ops (very millennial). They also used the extra money in my budget to book me two museum tours and get me a gift card for a great restaurant and for Uber.
I had a total blast! I spent my first evening wandering around the Old City, checking out the Betsy Ross House museum, and visiting Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest continuously inhabited street on record in the US. Pack Up + Go made me a reservation at Talula’s Garden for dinner, which was absolutely fantastic, and then I spent some time in my hotel looking over their suggested stops and trying to plan the rest of my trip.
The next morning I got up early to grab a ticket to tour Independence Hall, then headed down to Reading Terminal Market for breakfast. I spent some time strolling around the market, then stopped by the Liberty Bell before heading off to my first planned museum tour of Eastern State Penitentiary. It wasn’t something I would have booked for myself -- I have ethical concerns about touring prisons -- but I found the exhibit to be really respectful and educational, so I was glad that I did it! After my tour, I headed back to the Old City so I’d be on time to see Independence Hall. I had a few minutes to grab lunch before I went to the only thing I tried that wasn’t recommended by Pack Up + Go. Hey, you can take the girl out of the Vacation Mom, but you can’t take the Vacation Mom out of the girl.
I booked myself a walking tour that covered the history of Philadelphia. I love taking walking tours -- the local guides usually have great recommendations, and it’s an awesome way to get to see the neighborhood, especially one as packed full of history as the Old City! I highly recommend Founding Footsteps Walking Tours -- Tim was an awesome guide and I learned so much.
After that, I headed to another restaurant recommended by Pack Up + Go, then to their choice for evening entertainment, Helium Comedy Club! I had some laughs, then went back to crash in bed for the night.
My last day in Philadelphia was what I called art day. I grabbed some breakfast near my hotel and headed over to the second museum tour that Pack Up + Go booked for me, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. It was a beautiful building full of mosaics, and this was one time I wished I was traveling with a group, because it was such a good photo spot!
After spending plenty of time wandering around the Magic Gardens, I headed out to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After a run up the steps (and the obligatory dance after), I went inside to check out as much of the enormous collection as I could in the few hours I had left. I love impressionist art, and Philadelphia has more impressionist paintings than any other city besides Paris. I could have easily spent days at the museum, but I had to leave to hit up one last great restaurant before I left for the airport.
I had the best time on this trip! It was a lot to try and see during just a few short days, but I really feel like I got to see the major sites in Philadelphia, and Pack Up + Go’s recommendations were so helpful. I know that for many of my friends (and myself), I’ll continue to be the Vacation Mom. But if you’re looking for a trip where all you have to do is, well, pack up and go, I’d highly recommend checking them out!