Wilson Rae / 24 / Philadelphia, PA
“I took my first real, adult, paid vacation this summer, with my favorite people in the world. It was a much needed break from a job that made me miserable. I was hired for a new job just a couple weeks before this vacation, which made relaxing while we were gone so much easier, and getting to leave my old job when we got back was amazing. We had a great time seeing a bunch of museums, eating good food, and getting a little lost (other wise it wouldn’t be an adventure). A great start to what’s been an amazing summer.”
Molly Rangiwai-McHale and Luisa Tora / Wainadoi in Fiji
Eddy / 22 / Badlands National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park
“I drove cross-country with my family this summer and stopped at a bunch of national parks. It was super fun and interesting for my geologist self.”
Emily / 30 / Edinburgh, Scotland
“This was taken at the top of Arthur’s Seat. I’m not even remotely outdoorsy, so I spent most of the climb whining…but it was very pretty and very worth it. Post-hike pub crawl didn’t hurt either.”
Emma / 29 / Austin, TX
“Ive struggled with my identity and sexuality since I was a preteen. I’ve finally, at 29, started coming out as queer and feeling so much more honest and free. This summer, I spent a lot of time recovering from a hard year of grad school and visited Austin for the first time. I went to the graffiti park and had a blast!”
Laurie / 28 / Smithers, BC, Canada
“I went to visit my bestie Carly and her friend (now MY friend!) Maya up in northern BC. We went to Hyder Alaska for the 4th of July which was quite an interesting experience. Here’s a pic of us in Hyder, I’m in the middle, Carly is on the left, and Maya is on the right.”
Vanessa / 28 / Autostraddle Community Editor
“So, full disclosure, I had set aside six months of this year to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and then I…didn’t finish hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. More details on that as soon as I get my brain together to write a feelings-filled essay – soon, I promise. But I’ve been trying to make the most of the time I took off work to go on as many mini vacations and adventures as possible, and it’s been working out really well! Here are a few of my favorites so far.”
Battleground Lake, Washington “My girlfriend, Alley, loves bike camping, and I’d never done it before, so we decided to try it out together for her birthday. We invited some friends along and it turned into a very cute queer weekend. There were six of us total, and four of us biked and two of us drove, THANK GODDESS, because biking 30 miles to the campground was VERY HARD and I absolutely could not do it on the way home so luckily we were able to fit all our bikes on bike racks/in the cars and drive home luxuriously. Also thanks to the two babes who drove we were able to have a very fancy camping experience with cheese and champagne and fire wood and a rug as opposed to a rugged typical bike camping experience with like, hot dogs and a mini stove, ya know? Anyway it turns out I do not love bike camping but I do love lakes, queers, champagne, and my girlfriend, so all’s well that ends well!”
“One of my best friends works at Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington (because she’s a total fucking badass nature diva) and as such, she is able to reserve any of the structures in the park to camp in. Last weekend she reserved a fire lookout and we camped there for two nights! It was so incredible – the hike to get to the lookout was steep and I found it a bit difficult, but ultimately it was so, so worth it. We had a perfect view of Mt. Rainier for the whole weekend and on our last morning there we woke up above a blanket of clouds. It was magical.”
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado “Every year my mom and I pick a place neither of us have visited and then we go there together and explore! It’s very cute and very fun and I love it a lot. This year we picked Colorado, and even though my mom is not outdoorsy in the least, she humored me and agreed to spend a day at Rocky Mountain National Park. She even went on a FOUR MILE HIKE with me, because she’s a total boss, and then wrote a really cute Facebook post about it saying she would treasure the day forever! I love my mom.”
Lara Aschenbrenner and Linda Witke / 27, 30 / Koh Samui, Thailand
“Love Asia and travel, so we decided to take a longer “vacation” here and are currently study in Bangkok, originally we’re from Germany.”
Courtney and Dora / 24, 30 / Lesbian Lake, Oregon City, OR
“We went on this camping trip a week into seeing each other because nothing tests a new relationship like spending a weekend camping with all your friends at a place called Lesbian Lake! Its the new U-Haul!”
Kate / 38 / Scarborough, England
“Quintessentially British seaside holiday… in summer…in July… in the rain. (My Mother was jubilant that the cold meant no shorts – which means she couldn’t see the tattoos on my legs. I am mildly convinced she controls the weather.)”
