This is my kid passed out in a McLaren pulling up to valet in front of a 5-star hotel.
Few years ago I started doing what I call “day trips” for myself. San Diego is my most frequent go-to. I go with just my laptop, and no bags. Land, and head straight to the boardwalk.
I usually head to either Coronado, or Mission Beach and work at a little coffee and sandwich shop named Woody’s. It’s great weather with an ocean view office for the day.
I call them day trips because I’ll catch a 6 am flight out, and get some quiet focused time for they day. But I don’t want to be away from my wife and kids, so I catch a 6 pm flight back the same day.
After doing this for a year or so I realized, “Why not do this with my kids, too?” So I started letting them pick a place of their choice for a one-on-one dad trip that was within an hour or two flight so it was reasonable to do in and out in a day.
- We’ve swam with leopard sharks in La Jolla
- explored water parks in Arizona
- and got lost in Omega Mart and raced super cars in Las Vegas
- Next up we’re going to bike and skateboard at Woodward in Colorado
Day trips have expanded to weekend-long travels, but we still call them day trips. One of our longer in-and-out was we packed in everything we could in just 2.5 days in New York for my son that loves Home Alone. He wanted to see what Kevin saw in Home Alone 2, so we:
- stayed at the Plaza hotel
- had a table of ice cream in bed
- booked a “Home Alone” package where they give you a full day in a limo
- pick you up with a cheese pizza
- take you to everywhere Kevin went, including:
- Central Park
- Empire State Building
- Duncan’s Toy Shop (FAO Schwarz)
- and squeezed in the American Museum of Natural History to see Dumb Dumb from another movie he likes, Night at the Museum.
We also rent a fancy car to cruise around in. Then I do as many cool things with them as I can until they pass out.
I’m not a big materialistic person. But I’ll spend all my money on experiences, memories and legacy for my wife and kids.
