Girlfriend Getaway

Recharge, Relax and Renew

By Tracy McGinnis

After being sick for most of her pregnancy, at 8 1/2 months, Sara Mellander was just starting to feel better. She decided that before her baby arrived she needed a little "me time." At 5 p.m. on a Friday, she left work, got in her car and instead of driving home, drove a few hours outside of the city and got a hotel for the weekend.

"That first night I took my time with dinner," she says. "I got up the next morning and had a great breakfast followed by an afternoon of shopping. I came back to my room to a big steak dinner and a movie in my room. Sunday morning came and I went back home a new woman."

According to the Travel Institute of America, an increasing number of U.S. travelers are planning solo vacations. Women, who dedicate so much of their time to children, work and family, seek both quick weekend escapes and elaborately planned excursions with friends to re-discover themselves.

Everyone remembers the adventures of Thelma and Louise – two girlfriends who just wanted to get away for the weekend and ended up on an adventurous road trip that took them across the country.

"It's the best thing a woman can do to get away and re-charge with her women friends, get back to her roots and remember who she is," says Carole Latimer, founder of Call of the Wild, the longest-running adventure travel company in the world for women.

According to the Travel Institute of America, 98 million Americans have taken such an adventure travel trip in the last five years. "Being with women reminds us of who we are, who we were and where we're going," Latimer says. "It gives us the energy to forge ahead. Women are incredibly supportive of other women; we love making that connection."

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