It’s the beginning of 2019, and perhaps your travel plans for the year have not yet been solidified. If you work a nine-to-five job, there’s a halfway decent chance you just got your vacation bank refilled at the beginning of the year, and if not filled, perhaps increased a bit. And if Christmas didn’t break you, we’ve got some of things reasons to move around the country and beyond, call them excuses to GTFOH.
Here are a few options:

1. Okay, admittedly, these two are the low-hanging fruit because of the high profile nature of the entities putting them on, BUT… NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte (February 15-17) and the Super Bowl in Atlanta (February 1-3) are going on. These will be weekends for those looking to party, looking spend way more on things that are usually way cheaper any other weekend and for those looking to snag a ball player. There will also be family-friendly events going on because these leagues aren’t promoting the debauchery that the promoters will be.

2. Fashion Week runs all February, so if your interests lie in all of the latest trends from the big designers, this may be the move. Depending on how adventurous you are and if your passport is up to date, you may even try one of the international options:
-New York City (February 8-16)

-London (February 15-19)
-Milan (February 19-25)
-Paris (February 25-March 5)

3. Chinese New Year (February 5) could send you to California or New York, OR, you could hop on a plane to China for it. The three largest Chinese communities in the U.S. are below, so these celebrations should be your best bets domestically, and then according to chinahighlisghts.com, these are four biggest celebrations in China. Do your Googles though, as the U.S. celebrations run throughout the month and the Chinese public holiday for New Year is February 4-10, so plan accordingly.

In the United States:
-New York City
-Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area
-Los Angeles
In China:
-Beijing
-Guangzhou
-Hong Kong
-Harbin

4. The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Food and Wine Festival (February 20-24) is a great excuse to go to Miami, as if getting away from winter weather wasn’t. If you don’t mind spending some money to eat meals prepared by famous chefs and drink expensive wines, this is for you. According to the festival’s website, https://sobewff.org/events/, the weekend is mostly a la carte events but there are packages as well. Worst case scenario, I hear there’s a really nice beach out there.

We’ll let this be your starting point for 2019, and even if a few weeks is to short of notice, one of these excuses will be the one. Stay tuned.