Layovers & Late Nights

The Secret to Deeper Conversations  

Every summer since high school, a group of us takes a trip together, and this year all eight of us made it work. We left our houses at 6 a.m. and got to Carlsbad Beach by noon, ready for five days split between the ocean and doing absolutely nothing. We rented an Airbnb with a pool and hot tub, which ended up being where most nights actually happened sitting around talking, half-watching whoever was losing at Clue. We went to the beach every day, since it was a short drive and there wasn't really a reason not to. One night we drove to Coronado Island for pizza on the beach at sunset, then ice cream at the Hotel del Coronado . A few days later, we celebrated a friend's birthday at an Italian restaurant on the water, also on Coronado. On slower afternoons back at the house, we worked through a puzzle and played more rounds of Clue than I'd like to admit. Nothing about the trip was elaborate no big itinerary, no must-see list. Just eight people, one house, and five days that ...