The new milestones: 7 travelers on the reasons behind their big trips

Birthdays, graduations, and honeymoons aren't the only compelling reasons to plan a big trip. Maybe you got that long-overdue promotion at work; maybe you retired. Maybe you paid off your student loans, or maybe your sixth grader got first place at the science fair. We say: Whatever motivates you to celebrate something—anything!—is reason enough to plan a trip. Here, seven travelers share the milestones that inspired them to finally pack their bags.

Cassie Yoshikawa, a fitness trainer and travel blogger, is visiting Japan with her husband, Ka'eo, a youth pastor and photographer. The country has been on the Fresno, CA–based couple’s “go” list for ages; in fact, they had tickets booked for April 2020—“and then 2020 happened,” Cassie said.

Mapping out the trip this year has taken on even more significance since Ka’eo’s grandfather died last November at 80 years old. “This trip will now be an exploration of the Yoshikawa heritage, a celebration of life, and a final farewell,” Cassie said.

Ka’eo’s grandfather, who lived with his family in Okinawa, often spoke about Japan’s famous sakura, or cherry blossom trees, so the Yoshikawas have once again arranged their trip for this month when everything is in bloom. They plan to visit Okinawa’s Churaumi Aquarium (Ka’eo’s grandfather loved aquariums) and Peace Memorial Park (because of the scars WWII left on the family), Nara Park to meet the bowing deer, Shirakawa-go village in the Gifu Prefecture to see the UNESCO-recognized gassho-zukuri–style farmhouses, and the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine in Kyoto, where Ka’eo wants to pay his last respects (his grandfather kept many torii gates in his backyard.)

“There are a lot of things that make Ka’eo, Ka’eo—the way he honors people and treats people—and that came from his grandfather,” Cassie said. “To be surrounded by the culture that taught his grandfather those things would mean a lot to him.”

Molly Egan, a hospitality construction manager in Denver, and her pal Beth Martin, a designer from Charleston, SC, are commemorating their 20-year “friendiversary” with a trip to Qatar and Egypt next month. The women, who are both in their late 30s, first met in architecture school and bonded when studying abroad in Krakow, Poland; they later rekindled that friendship when living in New York City.

Egan and Martin have taken numerous trips together: St. Augustine, FL, national parks, Western Canada, and all over Italy. What makes them successful travel partners, said Egan, is that they share similar likes and interests but are also happy to break away and do their own thing, then reunite later.

“We picked Qatar because the airport is accessible to the whole world and I’ve not been to the Middle East,” said Egan. “We then decided on Egypt [because of its] iconic architectural history.” Their itinerary includes shopping at Souq Waqif in Doha, driving through the Qatari desert to see Richard Serra’s “East-West/West-East,” and touring the Pyramids of Giza and Luxor Temple. Also on the must list: riding camels, seeing whale sharks, and swimming in fabulous hotel pools (like the one at Mondrian Doha).

“Our friendship strengthens with each trip,” said Egan. “Not all friends are enjoyable travel companions. We both can adapt and pivot, which has led to the most fun experiences.”

A “really tough 18 months.” That’s how Kylie Harber, a 38-year-old artist from Brisbane, Australia, and her partner describe their experience with in vitro fertilization (IVF). After one ectopic pregnancy and another unsuccessful embryo transfer, the couple is eager to put the trauma of the last two years behind them and “escape overseas to enjoy all the things you can’t do when pregnant.”

That’s why they're setting out on a two-week road trip around the South Island of New Zealand this month. Their planned route weaves through Lake Tekapo, Wanaka, and Queenstown; they look forward to sipping sparkling wine while soaking in the Onsen Hot Pools, hiking the Franz Joseph Glacier, and riding the Shotover Jet, a high-speed jet boat that races more than 50 miles an hour through narrow canyons on the Shotover River. They’re also planning to take a star-gazing tour in Tekapo, part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.

Harber and her partner are currently taking a break from IVF but hope that the trip brings them closer and gives them a renewed sense of “hope and strength” heading into the future.

In September 2021, Alex Van Mecl, a 32-year-old public relations executive, took the leap into homeownership, buying a unique home with an international backstory in Opa-Locka, FL. The one-of-a-kind city, developed in the 1920s about 40 minutes north of Miami, is filled with Moorish Revival architecture and was born out of “the dream of famous aviator Glenn Curtiss and in the theme of The Arabian Nights novel,” Van Mecl said.

To get further design inspiration for his new home—one of Opa-Locka’s few original structures from Curtiss’ vision—Van Mecl is heading to Morocco.

“I loved watching Casablanca and Aladdin and wanted to journey to the part of the world where these artistic masterpieces drew their inspiration,” said Van Mecl. He’s particularly keen to see the domes, crenelated parapets, and other features that his own property will have once its renovation is complete.

Van Mecl plans to stay at the Royal Mansour Marrakech and explore the numerous garden oases and bazaars filled with handmade goods in both Marrakech and Casablanca. He also wants to visit Ait ben Haddou, which doubled as the fictional city of Yunkai in Game of Thrones. “A handful of buildings in Opa-locka are reminiscent of the architectural details of a complex like this, which I'm sure will be thrilling to see in person,” he said.

After freelance consultant Candace Gibbs* divorced from her husband of 23 years in early 2021, she felt stuck in a rut, so her good friend Elaine Warren, the 53-year-old, Washington, D.C.–based founder of The Family Cruise Companion, suggested she hit the road. Gibbs, who also lives in D.C., was hesitant at first, but after a few weeks of nudging, she gave in and let travel-pro Warren plan a trip to destinations she'd never imagined visiting before.

With Warren’s direction, Gibbs toured five countries in 2022 and will continue traveling for another 18 months before heading home. “I’m finally free to explore the world and do all the things I’ve always dreamed of, without any limitations or restrictions,” said Gibbs. “My husband had different priorities and interests, and we often found ourselves going in [opposite] directions.”

Warren will soon be joining Gibbs for three weeks in Thailand, where they’ll bounce around Phuket, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai. Their itinerary features jungle trekking, whitewater rafting, zip-lining, Thai cooking classes, and plenty of beachside R&R.

So far, so good, said Gibbs: “I’m feeling more confident, more curious, and more alive than I have in years.”

This month, Taylor Beal—a Delaware-based 31-year-old reading specialist and author—and her family are celebrating her youngest son’s first birthday. But there’s another milestone to honor: she’s officially putting her breast pump away, for good. “Mama is done, and I can’t wait to travel breast-pump free!” said Beal.

“Finishing a year of breastfeeding is a huge milestone for me because it took so much mental and physical fortitude,” said Beal, who used lactation consultants for both of her children. Between remembering to pack the pump’s many parts to sterilizing them—let alone coordinating pumping sessions—it’s been a lot, she said, especially on vacations. Beal even pumped her way through a 12-day trip to Europe last October, just to make sure baby Kellan had enough to drink back home.

Beal and her husband are heading back to Europe this July (without the kids) and plan to visit Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. They’re excited to see a Chopin concert at the House of Music in Warsaw, the Trakai Castle near Vilnius and the Kryziu Kalnas (Hill of Crosses) in Jurgaiciai, as well as the old towns of Riga and Tallinn. Beal, who is a fellow with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. said the couple will also spend some time touring World War II and Holocaust sites such as Wolf’s Lair in Ketrzyn and the Warsaw Uprising Museum.

“It’s difficult to travel while breastfeeding,” said Beal. “I am glad to finally spend some time nurturing myself and my relationship with my husband.”

During the pandemic, Kristin Secor, a 41-year-old mental health counselor turned accessibility travel blogger from Owego, NY, set a goal for herself: visit all seven continents. She’d been to four heading into 2023, and this January, returned from her greatest adventure yet: Antarctica.

“I wanted to experience a place that I never thought possible and inspire others not to assume a destination is not available due to a lack of accessibility,” said Secor.

For Secor, a wheelchair user who was born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy that affects her mobility, balance, strength, endurance, and breathing (she’s on a ventilator full-time), a cruise provided the best and easiest way for her to visit the southernmost continent. She traveled with Holland America on a 22-day itinerary that included port stops in Argentina, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands, as well as a sail through Glacier Alley (a 150-mile stretch of the Beagle Channel in southern Chile).

Although the cruise line’s wheelchair-tender system was not exactly as described, forcing Secor to cancel some of her port excursions, she said the trip was still “epic” because she saw everything from towering glaciers to breaching humpback whales. Her favorite port, however, was Puerto Madryn in Argentine Patagonia because she had an up-close encounter with Magellanic penguins.

“I definitely never thought I’d be going to Antarctica,” said Secor. “Many of the other passengers were also impressed.” Next up: the world.

*Name has been changed upon request