Some of my best “mini” trips have been 1-2 days quick stops, prior to taking a big trip – especially if they are to new destinations for me. The excitement of going on a big trip funnels into the mini trip and these short trips often remain etched into the memory – versus taking a short trip in and of itself.

A couple I can remember are to Seattle in December – I’ve been to Seattle a number of times – cold weather and me mix like oil and water…but in this case it was neat to wander around Chinatown, visit Pikes Place Market (not like the first time I’ve ever done that!) and pop into the first Starbucks for some appealing odors.

Then another transitory mini-trip was to Miami in advance of a trip to Peru – here I rediscovered that Spanish is the “first” language of this city. A perfect place to be, before a trip to Peru!

Anyone else with similar experiences – stopping over somewhere before your main trip?