Travel Tips

Window Seat or Aisle Seat: Time-Off Travel for Busy Moms

Locations in this article:  Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA Santa Barbara, CA

Happy women’s day today. I bet you know a few women  who can already use a break. Window Seat or Aisle Seat blogger, family travel expert and single mom Kerri Zane shares six mom escapes throughout sunny California.

We’ve all heard of spring cleaning but what about a spring clearing? Clearing of the mind, body and soul that is! Stress Awareness Month is coming up in April, and the pressure of parenthood can really take a toll on one’s body. As a single mom I am always looking for ways to escape the hubbub of my day in and day out. Often that might be an hour in a warm bubble bath with a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door, but then there are times when you just need an out-of-the-ordinary escape. For those occasions, I have found some of the best California all-girl getaways.

Campowerment in Malibu, California

This January I was fortunate enough to experience the first-ever West Coast Campowerment. Organized by Tammi Leader Fuller, also a single mom, and powered by her close friends and family: mom, sisters, cousins, and daughters who all pitch in to help and make you feel like you’re at home, it is a weekend of ultimate transformation.

At the session I attended, 55 women gathered up in the hills of Malibu, California, at an old-school camp, with a 180-degree view of the crystal blue Pacific Ocean. When I say old school, I mean old school. All the ladies brought sleeping bags, doubled up in bunks, donned their comfiest sweats and participated in a multitude of activities, workshops, and back to basics, good old-fashioned female bonding.

There were fashion lessons (I now know 12 different ways to wrap a scarf) yoga, lessons in joy from an inspirational cancer survivor, zip lining, hiking, tasty food, fireside chats, journaling, and most extraordinary of all, an opportunity for all of the women to step out of their comfort zones and take a leaps of faith. The ladies climbed up a telephone like beam stood on top and leaped off the beam onto a trapeze swing and tethered to the ground. Yes, they had helmets and climbing ties, so no one was in any danger, but it was the most awe-inspiring spectacle to watch woman after woman step off the beam into the air with complete trust.

Everyone I spoke to felt they could go back home a little more chill and grateful for their lives. They also recognized the importance of connecting and bonding with other women who, like them, are struggling to juggle over-scheduled lives.

Right now, Tammi and her team are planning two more West Coast Campowerments. The first will be April 25-28 and the second November 14-17, both in Malibu. For the April session, you can still score the early bird discount until March 15. Then on October 11-14, Campowerment moves to north Florida. Go to campowerment.com for registration.

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Campowerment photos credit: Catherine Sullivan