For many of us, this year has thrown a serious curveball in our plans for vacations. With lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and not much travel outside of the US, moving around has become a strategic game of, "Where is it safe to visit today?" Honestly, no matter where you travel, you can't really outrun what is going on, so you must continue to be vigilant about your safety and health no matter where you go. So the question now is, is all hope lost to get out, change your scenery, and explore somewhere new? I don't believe so.
In an article by Travel Agent Central, "A survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) found that only 44 percent of Americans are planning overnight vacation or leisure travel in 2020, with high interest in road trips, family events and long weekends over the summer months."
Now is the time to get creative with your trips. The beautiful thing about traveling is that you can turn any trip into an adventure. We often like to go big and place heavy emphasis on traveling abroad. We literally forget that there are hidden gems right in our own backyard.
One way to get creative is with road trips. Yes, road trips are a thing, and if you are itching to get out during lockdown there is no better way to travel right now than hitting the open road. Domestic travel doesn't have to always be by airplane; it can be by car or even a camper if you are feeling really in the spirit.
Road tripping has so much to offer that a plane ride cannot: up-close views of landscapes and scenery, unplanned pit stops in small towns for quirky adventures, and hours of conversations with road partners that include singing off-key to a dope curated playlist. The bonding time with friends or a significant other alone is enough to push road trips to the tops of your list this summer. The most important key to planning any trip is the route.
The Overseas Highway: Miami to Key West
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Distance: 168 miles/3 hours and 20 minutes
Route: The Overseas Highway (US1)
Considered one of the greatest American road adventures, the route between Miami and Key West boasts over 100 miles of road that stretches over 42 bridges and connects 34 islands. So essentially this is island-hopping road trip-style. The views are as tropical as they can get, with miles and miles of blue turquoise water as far as the eye can see.
A major tip about this route is that most of the attractions on a Miami to Key West road trip are easily found by knowing what mile marker they are located near. For example, at Mile Marker 118 you are officially in the Florida Keys. It's here that you are just over 100 miles from Key West with lots of quirky pit stops and experiences that lie ahead.
As you make your way to Key West, you will pass through hundreds of small islands that make up the Florida Keys. The islands you'll pass are all connected by Highway 1 which is also known as the "The Overseas Highway". This route can best be described as "A visit to the Florida Keys is a road trip in the grand American tradition: it's not just about where you are headed, it's also about what happens along the way."
Suggested Stops: Cruise on the African Queen (Mile Marker 100), Islamorada Sandbar Island Party (near Mile Marker 84), Seven Mile Bridge (Mile Marker 47-40), Duval Street at Night, Hemingway House, and Mile Marker Zero.
Pacific Coast Highway: San Francisco to Los Angeles
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Distance: 460 miles/9 hours
Route: Pacific Coast Highway and Highway 101
In all honesty, this is probably one of my favorite road trips and routes. In 2013, I took an extended vacation that included a road trip through California for my first visit to the Golden State. It was the best decision I could have made to see a lot of California and Nevada. Our route went from Reno, NV to San Francisco, CA, to Los Angeles, CA, and ended 10 days later in Las Vegas, NV.
For a portion of that trip we took Highway 101 after a brief stay in Solvang, CA. Highway 101 is basically the same thing as Pacific Coast Highway except for part of it goes inland for a few miles between Salinas and San Luis Obispo. The scenery on this route is unmatched, around every corner there are enormous mountainscapes with the Pacific Ocean pushed right up against each edge.
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway is the equivalent of driving along a thin divider that separates two vast and picturesque worlds. The coastal route is about 150 miles and will take about 3 hours, as it's a slower route. The winding roads and beautiful beaches give you plenty of places to stop along with California's stretches of coastline for off the beaten path adventures as well as many places to get a lobster roll or any other food of your choice.
One quick note, if you can keep your eyes on the ocean, it is not uncommon to see whales and dolphins pop up every now and again. Tip: the best way to travel this one is with the top down.
Suggested Stops: Half Moon Bay, Big Sur, Point Bonita Lighthouse, Monterey Aquarium, Morro Rock, Madonna Inn, Hearst Castle, Solvang, and Santa Monica Pier. This trip is long so take your time with this one.
Blue Ridge Parkway: Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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Distance: 468 miles
Route: Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Let's switch up the scenery just a bit and take a trip through the Blue Ridge Parkway. This route winds through the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range, starting at its most southern point Shenandoah National Park and going all the way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Blue Ridge Parkway is considered one of the country's greatest scenic drives.
"Spanning the southern and central Appalachians, the Blue Ridge Parkway offers an exceptional glimpse of the regional flora and fauna. It is world-renowned for its biodiversity. The Parkway covers a wide range of habitats along the Appalachian Mountains, and some of these habitats are exceptionally rare. Visitors encounter unsurpassed diversity of climate, vegetation, wildlife, and geological features," says Blue Ridge Parkway website.
When planning your trip, it is suggested to plane it over the four districts of the parkway: the Ridge Region, the Plateau Region, the Highlands Region, and the Pisgah Region. This road trip can be taken at any time of the year but the most spectacular time is during autumn when all the leaves are changing for miles on end.
Suggested Stops: On this trip, the suggested stops are more about what is out in the natural setting of the mountain range. For instance, the many hiking trails, swing bridges, overlooks, and waterfalls. There are many small cities that you can stop in to grab some souvenirs and also many wineries, such as the Biltmore Estates, where you can pick up the local flavors. However, your focus will be on the vast landscape of the mountain ranges.
The Blues Highway: Memphis, TN to New Orleans, LA
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Distance: 400 miles
Route: US 61/US 278/US49/US 61
Everyone knows the key component to a dope road trip is the music. Amazing track after track to get you down the road is the best way to pass time. But what if you made the road trip about the music? This route is the perfect route to make this happen. Memphis TN, to New Orleans, LA, also known as The Blues Highway, and is laced with culture, music, and great southern food. It is recommended to start in Memphis and make your way south to New Orleans but be warned in the summer the heat can be intense.
"Separated by about 400 miles of road, Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, are both hubs for music, food, and Southern culture. The six-hour drive between them can be expanded to an epic, 10-hour road trip through the Mississippi Delta, featuring notable music clubs and venues, Civil War landmarks, and more along the way," according to Trip Savvy.
(Recommendation from the writer: Skip all Civil War landmarks as they do not represent an accurate depiction of our history or they no longer exist. #BLM). This route is packed full of places to see and visit so it is best to plan ahead so you can see everything, get some delicious food along the way, and maybe do a little gambling if you are feeling lucky.
Suggested Stops: Blues Hall of Fame, Beale Street, Ground Zero Blues Club, The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, and The Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture to name a few.
BONUS ROUTE: Road to Hana: Kahului to Hana, Hawaii
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Distance: 64.4. Miles
Route: Hawaii Routes 36 and 360
Since we are in the pandemic, this one might be a stretch but this will be a bonus route for when things find some balance and we can feel safer about traveling. However, this list would not be a truly complete road trip list without the Road to Hana. This scenic drive is located on the northeast coastline of Maui and is officially named the Hana Highway on maps. It will also be listed as Hwy. 36 and Hwy. 360.
A lot of people consider the Hana Highway to continue beyond Hana to the Oheo Gulch, and even further to the Upcountry Maui via Hwy. 31. Hawaii.com says, "With its 600-plus turns, 50 (or so) one-lane bridges and breathtaking views that alternate between mountain streams and soaring sea cliffs, the Hana Highway is less a roadway than an event in itself."
It is recommended to get out early to avoid traffic on this route. Also, there is a lot to see on the drive so you want to keep your eyes on the road. If you want to take in the full experience, definitely consider getting a driver to get you from start to finish. It is impossible to see all the sights along the route in one trip, so you may want to plan out two to three days to travel and hit the highlights.
Suggested Stops: Ho'Okipa Beach Park, Twin Falls, Huelo Lookout, Maui Garden of Eden, Keanae Pennisula, Pua'a Ka'a Falls, Hanawi Falls, Nahiku Marketplace, Wai'anapanapa State Park, Hana Town, Hamoa Beach, Wailua Falls, 'Ohe'o Gulch aka "Seven Sacred Pools", and Kings Garden Maui.
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Yet, if you give me a little bit of your time today, my plan is to show you that quickies are, by no means, a consolation prize or something to roll your eyes about. If you choose to take in all of what I’m about to say, you could up and realize that one of the best things about your day could be making sure that you either don’t start or end one without checking a quickie off of your to-do list.
I’m dead serious, too. Check out 12 reasons why the wife was right — quickies are indeed the ultimate short-yet-potent activity.
1. Quickies Can Help You to Get Out of the RIGHT Side of the Bed
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I recently read an article that said sleep deprivation can take a real toll on romantic relationships. The method behind the madness is, when you’re not getting enough rest, it can put you in a bad mood, and that can alter how you engage with your significant other (hey, makes perfect sense to me). So, it would seem that being intentional about getting 6-8 hours of sleep would help to alleviate this problem. Okay, but what do you do on the days when you were tossing and turning all night, you had some bad dreams, and/or you’re just not in the best of moods when your alarm clock goes off (even if you don’t know why)? Have a quickie.
Dopamine, endorphins (which are neurotransmitters), oxytocin, and vasopressin (a hormone that helps with your emotional stability and with your circadian rhythms) are all natural chemicals that are released during sex, especially when you climax. Since all of these can help to put you in a better mood, that’s just one reason why a brief romp before rolling out of bed could get your day off to a great start (no matter how you initially felt when you first woke up).
2. Quickies Can Make Waking Up (and Falling Asleep) a Quicker Process
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It’s kind of wild that the same act that can wake you up is the same one that can totally knock you out. Sex does have that super innate ability, though. If you want something better than your alarm, a quickie can get you up and going pretty fast; that’s because, when sex gets your heart racing and your blood pumping, it can get your adrenaline going to — especially if you’re say, riding cowgirl instead of just lying in the missionary position (yes, the more active, the better!).
As far as sleep goes, whenever you have an orgasm from sex, your body releases the hormones oxytocin and prolactin — both of these will help you to feel happy and satisfied. If you add to that the fact that cortisol (your stress hormone) level drops after having an orgasm too…yeah, there’s no cup of warm milk that will put you to sleep faster than a quickie will, chile.
3. Quickie Sex Is More Energizing (and Enjoyable) than a Cup of Coffee
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If you always assumed that coffee gives you extra energy, the reality is…it doesn’t. What it does do is stimulate what is known as your adenosine (a system that regulates sleepiness and alertness); that’s the good news. The bad news is, just as quickly as the caffeine in coffee can give you a charge, it can also tank, leaving you to feel exhausted (which is a part of the reason why some people endlessly drink coffee throughout the day).
What’s more reliable than that? Yep — you guessed it. Since sex does everything from de-stressing you, stretching out your muscles and tendons, and increasing your heart rate — it’s an all-natural way to get your body going…without all of the side effects that can sometimes come with coffee consumption.
4. Quickies Give You the Same Health Benefits As Longer Sessions Do
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Earlier this year, Men’s Health published an article entitled, “How Long Should Sex Last, Really? Experts Say Longer Isn't Always Better.” It actually said that when it comes to penetrative sex between heterosexual couples, the average was (you ready?) 5.4 minutes — yep, basically a quickie. And here’s the thing: whether you go that short or much longer, you’re gonna basically get the same health benefits either way.
Sex is gonna lower your blood pressure. Sex is gonna boost your immunity. Sex is gonna reduce any anxiety you may be feeling. Sex is gonna make you feel better about yourself (yep, it literally helps to boost your self-esteem). Sex is gonna reduce your pain levels. Sex is gonna improve your quality of sleep. The list goes on and on.
In fact, the only health benefit that longer sex probably provides is how many calories you can potentially burn. The reason why I say that is because you need to “engage” for about 30 minutes in order for you to lose 69 calories (“69” — the irony) and your partner (if he’s a man) to lose 101 of ‘em. In every other way? Even quickie sex can do your body a whole lot of good.
5. A Quickie Can Actually Make Sex More Adventurous
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Especially as we age, it’s easier to automatically retreat to the bed when we plan on having longer sexual sessions; that’s because the bed is a comfortable place to have it. Okay, but what if you’ve been with your partner for a while, things kind of seem boring and routine, and you’re not really sure what to do about it? In walks the power of a quickie. ‘Cause let’s be real: there is some stuff that you’d probably never do for an hour that you’d be willing to try for 10 minutes.
For instance, if the thought of public sex has always intrigued you while also freaking you out, you might be down if it’s only gonna take five minutes — and the more spontaneous and creative sex is, the more it can breathe new life into any two people’s sex life!
6. Quickie Sex Significantly Reduces Stress Levels
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Stress can kill you — yes, quite literally. I make sure to say that as often as I can because it’s the truth. Heart disease. Asthma. Obesity. Depression. Accelerated aging — these are just a few things that are oftentimes directly related to stress. Since it’s been scientifically proven that sex will trigger the neurotransmitters (dopamine) that help to make you feel good as it also decreases your cortisol (your stress hormone) levels — you are helping your mind, body, and spirit out by having sex…even if they are quickies.
7. Quickies Make Prioritizing Sex Way Easier
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I’m gonna be honest — since more and more articles are coming out that sex doesn’t really “need” to be more than 7-13 minutes, I’m not sure the whole “we have no time for sex” thing flies (anymore). If you’ve got time to be on Instagram or TikTok for two hours a day, you’ve got a fraction of that time to get busy with your partner. At the end of the day, it’s all about prioritizing what’s important to you (now, if sex isn’t important, we’ll have to tackle that at another time).
However, if the issue is that one of you likes to “make love all night long” like 90s R&B songs talk about (chile) and the other is cool with sex that is less than half of a 30-minute sitcom, try to schedule “the 90s” in for once a week (or once every other week) while mutually committing to getting some quickies in a couple of times a week. If you haven’t already, I think that by the time this article is over, you’ll see all of the reasons why this can be the greatest — and most fulfilling — compromise that you and your partner have made in a really long time.
8. Having Quickies Can Take the Pressure of Sexual Performance Off
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A platform that I used to write for, once upon a time, is Marriage. I kind of chuckled when I read an article that they published earlier this year entitled, “15 Signs You’re Bad in Bed and What to Do About It” because boy…I used to deal with a couple who both believed they were the absolute bomb in bed, even though neither of them agreed. Listen, just because someone from your past may have thought you were “the ultimate” — when it comes to great sex, truly one size DOES NOT fit all. Anyway, some of the reasons that the article listed was poor communication regarding needs and expectations, not having a good emotional connection, and (basically) sucking at foreplay.
That last one? If you and your partner are currently trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t, please don’t forego sex altogether until you figure it out. HAVE. QUICKIES. It can help you both to get the physical release that you need as you work towards achieving the type of sex that you both desire. It’s a practical solution to a layered situation.
9. Quickies Bond You to Your Partner
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Every time I see a TikTok post or read someone on Twitter (it’s always gonna be Twitter to me, chile) talk about sex is nothing more than a physical release, the first two things that come to mind are one, we are not animals; we have sex for more reasons than “being in heat” or even to procreate and two, how many people actually never learned about oxytocin in high school-level science class (like really…what in the world?). To be honest, there’s one more thought: don’t you want to see yourself as more than just “casual”? I say it often: casual means things like careless, apathetic, and unintentional. Regardless of what your personal feelings about sex (and who you should have sex with) are, I hope that we all can at least get on the same page that we should see ourselves as more than just…casual.
Back to the oxytocin thing, though — science is never gonna change. There is a hormone (that I’ve already mentioned) that is released during sexual activity (shoot, even just affectionate activities) that literally makes you feel closer to your partner. Oxytocin is its name, and that’s why it has “the love hormone” moniker.
Am I saying that quickies will prevent cheating? There are layers to why people are unfaithful, so to give a blanket “yes” or “no” would be irresponsible. What I will say is something that a husband of over 30 years once said to me, “When I’m having consistent sex at home, it’s the difference between seeing an attractive woman and saying, ‘She’s pretty’ vs. not having much sex at home and thinking, ‘I wonder what she’s like.’ Full people typically aren’t hungry…unless they’re just greedy.” All of that will preach. On a billion different levels too.
10. A Quickie Is a Great Sex Compromise (for When You’re Not in the Mood)
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Relationships are all about compromise. And when you’re in a long-term committed relationship, it can’t be said enough that sex isn’t just a “perk”; it’s a responsibility (when it comes to marriage, even the Good Book cosigns on that in I Corinthians 7:5). Unfortunately because not enough people give quickies any type of real consideration, they don’t realize that it can be the ultimate “meet in the middle” move when their partner may be in the mood and they’re not totally…there (or vice versa). Yes, quickies are a solid way to “scratch the itch” without there being a need for an all-out performance.
Listen, I tell my married clients often that when it comes to being faithful to your vows, it’s pretty ridiculous to expect your partner to only be with you if you are rarely with them. After all, no one signs up for a sexless marriage. Bottom line, quickies can be a happy medium when you want to make sure that your partner is good without you having to…do the most (so to speak).
11. Quickies Can Make Sex…Later…Better
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If you want to intensify your orgasms (or your sexual experiences overall), one way to do that is by edging. The best way to explain edging is you and your partner sexually stimulate each other to the brink of climaxing, stop for 30-45 seconds, and then start all over again. Why would anyone want to send themselves through that kind of sexually-induced torture? One reason I already mentioned (it makes the quality of your orgasm better); another is it can actually help your partner to last longer (if that’s something you’re ultimately after).
To me, quickies are a next-level form of edging. The way I see it is, it’s like having an appetizer or snack to hold you over until you can enjoy the meal that you’ve been waiting for all day long. For instance, if your quickie consists of morning sex or an afternoon delight during your lunch break, just think of how much that will consume your mind and build anticipation until you and your partner can get together again (especially if you throw some sexting into the mix!). Five-minute previews now can lead to a full-on main attraction later. Amen?
12. Quickies Can Teach Both of You How to “Push the Right Buttons”
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Almost every couple, who’ve been together for over a decade, that I know personally, tells me that sex has only gotten better with time. There are a myriad of reasons why. One of them is because they have really learned each other’s bodies, which means they know what works and…what doesn’t. And when it comes to mastering a quickie, that’s the ultimate cheat code because there are going to be times when your mind wants to, your energy levels or your schedules are on the fence, and so you’ll want to “get what you need” without it taking forever.
And listen, if you let quickies teach you how to know just what to do in record time, this point alone can be a solid reason for why you’ll want to engage in one or more quickies a day — a guaranteed orgasm. DAILY? C’mon now.
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Welp. On behalf of quickies, I’ve pleaded my case. If I’ve convinced even a handful of you to at least try to have one a day, I’ve done my part. Again, under seven minutes (give or take a couple of minutes) of pleasure that will give you all of what I just said? WHY NOT HAVE A QUICKIE? Damn.
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