Why I’m Already Planning the Next Trip

Coming home from vacation always feels like a crash. My family—me, my husband, our 12-year-old—does a week away every spring, chasing warm water and a break from New Jersey gray. We’ve made the rounds: St. Thomas, St. John, Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman set the bar high: perfect beaches, easy drives, food that actually made us linger at the table. But the price tag? Brutal. Now I’m deep in the research spiral, weighing Curaçao, side-eyeing Aruba for being too polished. I want beaches you can actually swim at, hotels where sand is the lobby carpet, places safe enough to get lost in a rental car, food that’s more than an afterthought. Maybe I’m just trying to outpace the letdown of coming home. Or maybe the next trip is the only cure I know. #Travel #PostTripReality #FamilyTravelTruth