At Greenhorn Ranch in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, my best friend of 15-plus years resembled a stranger.
Armed with a disproportionately large rifle, Ellie took aim and nailed three clay pigeons in perfect succession — her first time ever wielding a gun.
As our skeet shooting instructor clapped, I stared at Ellie incredulously. “Who are you?” I joked. “And where did that skill come from?”
Although Ellie and I grew up together in rural New Jersey, new places continue to reveal new facets of ourselves. When we turned 18, we started, and have since maintained, annual trips that have brought us all over the world.
Whether we’re traipsing through the streets of Europe or roasting marshmallows at campgrounds, our travels over the last 10 years have kept us connected even as our lives deviate.
Travel deepens our friendship despite our varied livelihoods
Ellie and I took our first trip together the summer after high school when we visited a mutual friend in England. That experience marked my first time abroad, and we bonded over pre-college nerves with the backdrop of Big Ben.
In the years since, we’ve graduated from different universities, moved to different places, and established different careers; Ellie now works in healthcare in Boston, while I’m a freelance writer in a smaller city.
On paper, we’ve had every reason to drift apart and outgrow our friendship. Although we text constantly — updating one another about everything from work drama to pop-culture opinions — our busy schedules make reunions few and far between, and we often miss out on the little details of each other’s lives.
But traveling to new places together has sustained us with endless opportunities for common ground.
Take our 2021 trip to Olympic National Park, where we marveled at nurse logs in the Hoh Rainforest and reignited our “Twilight” obsession in Forks, the town in which the series takes place.
But I’ve found we don’t need to be doing something elaborate to get to know each other in new ways. Of course, it’s easy to bond outside Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia or on Iceland’s Ring Road, but my favorite memories with Ellie materialize in the in-between moments.
As both my childhood and long-distance best friend, Ellie remains imprinted in my psyche as her preteen self.
Traveling, therefore, spotlights the minutiae of her adult life, so activities as simple as grabbing Malaysian food in Seattle — a cuisine our hometown most definitely never had — or sipping Cava at a Spanish bar feel just as unprecedented as visiting any world-class monument.
Sure, at Greenhorn Ranch, we reveled in the excitement of skeet shooting, but what’s stuck with me most was what happened next: Ellie and I ordered spicy margaritas at the ranch bar and giggled over a cocktail we’d never once had together.
With each trip, we’ve created consistent routines and new traditions
Now that our trips have entered their next decade, Ellie and I have not only uncovered each other’s adult selves but also perfected how we like to travel together. Among our most crucial travel compatibilities, we’re equally avid breakfast people, willing to set an alarm if it means fueling up for the day.
Likewise, we’d both rather destroy our feet on a 10-mile walk than navigate public transit or call an Uber — a distinction that may seem inconsequential but actually dictates the structure of our days.
With anyone else, these minor logistics would gradually materialize over the course of a trip, but Ellie and I have had enough practice to establish a mutually ideal groove from the moment we’re reunited.
We’ve also learned how and where to compromise. When we first started traveling together, we had drastically different food preferences, and would order separate entrées rather than sharing dishes that let us experience the breadth of a place’s flavors.
Over time, we’ve both gotten less picky and have found some of our favorite bites in entrées the other person chose.
Traditions also connect our trips. Toward the end of every adventure, we dine at a Thai restaurant, and, if there’s any swimmable water, we must — weather-permitting — take a dip. Ending our nights with ice cream is another non-negotiable.
No matter what a trip brings, we’re guaranteed a good giggle
My favorite part about traveling with someone I’ve known forever? The inevitable jokes, whether we’re rehashing embarrassing moments from adolescence or adding new personalities to our lore.
Even now, we still tease each other about our flirtatious Iceland tour guide, and recount the weekend we got stuck in a Canadian snowstorm.
Back at Greenhorn Ranch, the morning of our departure, Ellie and I hoisted ourselves onto our assigned horses for a morning trail ride. Neither of us had much experience riding, and as we became comfortable, our wrangler suggested a trot.
As my horse took off, I gripped his mane, equal parts terrified and exhilarated. From behind me, I could hear Ellie, who undoubtedly felt the same way, laughing hysterically — the theme song of a trip well done.
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