Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
In their July/August issue, AAA World explores the topic of sisterly excursions in "Getting Away With 'the Girls" a growing tourist trend.
My own recent girlfriend getaway was with my sister Sheri and friend Helen to visit Stirling, who is in college in Asheville, North Carolina. We stayed at the Biltmore Inn on the grounds of the magnificent Biltmore Estates. Even though the trip was in mid-January and snow flurries had apparently followed us from New Jersey, it was still a terrific bonding, chicks-only experience.
And that is what is turning the occasion girls' outing 
into a true trend.
The chance to be with your friends and family and really let your hair down, away from the mundane day-to-day stuff that life (and boys, bosses and nosy neighbors) throws our way. The chance in an increasingly frantic, non-stop world just to GET AWAY and breathe. Having young adult children and a cooperative husband no doubt make it easier to enjoy and participate in these types of trips (a fact I do not take for granted and very much appreciate).
In addition to touring the Biltmore Estate (truly amazing), we watched bad movies, talked about our individual passions and lifelong ambitions, and disclosed family antecdotes (good and bad).
After this, it is official: I will be planning an annual girlfriends getaway club with assorted BFFs from Virginia, Georgia, New Jersey and Alabama, beginning in 2007. The only question is, with all the wonderful places in the world, where to start . . .
If you don't want to plan your own trip, don't despair. Gutsy Women Travel, Women's Travel Club, and Women Traveling Together are but a few of the companies that specialize in providing opportunities for women to travel together.
BRCTalkback: Tell us about your girlfriend getaway. Where was it? Who joined you? What made it special? You may respond in the Comments section below or send your answers to BRCTip@backroadscharmingtowns.com and put GIRLFRIEND in the subject line.
