How We’re Choosing Our Next Reds Road Trip (And What We’re Doing Differently This Time)

There’s something about planning a trip that starts long before anything is booked.

It usually begins with a feeling.

For us right now…
it’s simple:

We need something to look forward to.

Not a big, complicated vacation.
Not something that takes weeks to recover from.

Just a trip that feels easy…
fun…
and a little like us again.

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We’ve done a few Reds trips now — different cities, different stadiums, and different versions of how we travel. Some of our favorites have been the ones where we slowed down enough to actually take it in, like when we spent time exploring the city beyond just the game.

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We haven’t planned everything yet.

We haven’t mapped every stop or booked every detail.

But we have decided something more important:

how we want the trip to feel.

Walkable.

Simple.

Walkable. Simple. Room to wander.

That’s become one of the biggest priorities for us, especially after realizing how much more we enjoy trips where everything is close and easy to explore on foot.

Time to sit somewhere with a drink and just take it all in.

A game in the middle of it all…
not the only thing.

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That’s the shift for us.

We used to plan around the game.

Now we’re planning around the experience…
and letting the game be part of it.

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We’re starting with the basics.

Looking at schedules.
Picking a city that makes sense.
Finding a place we can stay where we don’t have to drive everywhere.

Because we’ve learned…
how a trip flows matters more than how much you fit into it.

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There’s something else we’re doing differently too.

We’re not trying to get it perfect before we go.

We’re letting some of it stay open.

Because some of our favorite moments on past trips…
weren’t planned at all.

They were the in-between moments.

The walk to nowhere in particular.
The random conversation.
The place we almost didn’t stop.

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So this trip?

It’s still coming together.

We’ll choose the game.
We’ll lock in the stay.
We’ll sketch out a loose plan.

But we’re leaving space.

For fun.
For connection.
For whatever the trip turns into once we’re actually there.

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And honestly… that’s part of what I love most about this.

The planning isn’t just logistics.

It’s a reminder that we get to choose how we spend our time.

That we can build something to look forward to…
even in the middle of regular life.

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If you’re thinking about taking a trip this year…
especially something simple like a weekend away…

you don’t have to have it all figured out.

Start with how you want it to feel.

Then build from there.

💛

What We’re Prioritizing This Time

• Walkable location

• One anchor event (the game)

• Open time built in

• Simple plans over packed schedules