Recently, a friend and I were talking about some of our favorite romantic places to go. I realized that many of the trips advertised as a “romantic getaway”, are far away, are at least a week long, and cost thousands of dollars. I’m much more interested in weekend trips. My husband and I have our own business and work very long hours, but once in a while we manage to fit in a short little getaway.
I think most people have certain things they look for in a trip like this. For me, enjoying traveling there and back, plus two days of fun and relaxation while we’re there are very important. We love being somewhere aesthetic, where we can explore and soak up Nature’s artwork. Lastly, I like to have the majority of my time spent at the destination and a comparatively short amount of time traveling.
Well, that rules out flying commercially to many places I might otherwise like (either no direct non-stop flights or too long a travel time). And honestly that also rules out driving to anyplace more than a three hour drive away or that has bad traffic to contend with. Some people are probably more tolerant of traffic than I am, which could open up more destination choices for them.
Traveling in a flying car would allow me to have my cake and eat it too. Not only would our travel be vastly more efficient, but it would be one of the highlights of the weekend. I have never been on a flight in a small plane where I didn’t see interesting landscapes and wondrous beauty. In a Switchblade, cruising at 160 mph, we will be able to fly about 350 miles in 2 hours. For longer trips, we could land after 2 hours, take a short break, get gas at the local gas station (or airport) and carry on to our final destination. Most people live within a 15-25 minute drive of a regional airport and there are thousands such airports where you can take off and land your flying car.
Okay, well instead of giving you my top picks for a romantic weekend getaway, I decided to ask a few friends where they would go – in a Switchblade Flying car. Here’s what they said.
Alison (Los Angeles, CA): Flying in a Switchblade would no doubt start a romantic getaway beautifully as the stress and wasted time of typical travel would be instead an enjoyable feature, especially given that we live in the Los Angeles area, known for its monstrous traffic.
We’d head off to Palm Springs to stay at our favorite chic resort where we escape now and again. It has the feel of the iconic 1950s Hollywood elite with beautiful landscape in the majestic desert. It’s a 3+ hour drive with traffic but in our flying cart it would only be a 50 minute flight. Flying inland from the Pacific in a Switchblade would be stunning along the only East/West mountain range in all of California.
Chris (Seattle, WA): For us a fun flight from our home in Seattle, via the Switchblade, would be to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island… (the hotel and restaurant are great, with tremendous sunset views!) Besides the fishing and whale watching, boating is fantastic there. Normally it is a 5-hour trip one way – 2 hours of driving and 3 hours on the ferry. In a Switchblade we could do it in less than an hour.
Gail (Sacramento, CA): South Lake Tahoe – it’s a nice, cool getaway from Sacramento in the summer. Our ideal is to stay in an Air B&B, and hike in the forest. The nature is always so fabulous – look in any direction and there’s beauty all around you! Then, take in the restaurants at night. Going there over a holiday turns a 2-hour drive one way into a 3-4 hour ordeal. With a Switchblade, how fun it would be to bypass all that and fly and drive to Tahoe in 45 minutes.
Julie (Nevada City, CA): What fun to return to the place it all began. I’d love to go to the bed and breakfast we went to on our honeymoon in Monterey – to spend hours over that morning cup of coffee and then walk on the beach; to come in from the fog and cold and sit in front of the warm fire and eat chocolates that were left on our bed; to soak in the claw foot tub and ……. but that is just not practical for a Valentine weekend. What is romantic about spending 6 hours in the car each way? The whole trip would be eaten up in travel.
If the Switchblade could take us there (in a little over an hour)……. dreams could come true!
Katelyn (New York, NY): I love Sag Harbor; it’s a quaint village out on Long Island, part of what everyone refers to as the Hamptons. Sag Harbor is a lazy, mostly quiet town, on the water but no real beach. Boats galore 🙂 Our romantic getaway would include a morning game of tennis at the East Hampton Tennis Club, lunch at LT Burger, afternoon shopping (mostly window shopping), and a relaxed dinner at one of the great local restaurants.
Oh and of course, some time during the weekend we would stop at the home goods store Sylvester & Co. where they have my all time favorite “Dream Coffee”. Sag Harbor is only 2 hours from the City, but with traffic in NY, it’s a good 4-5 hour drive each way. Traveling in a Switchblade could cut that almost in half and also give us a beautiful scenic flight.
James (Louisville, KY): One of my favorite romantic destinations from Louisville is Ashville, NC (KAVL). For a small town tucked in the tail of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is serviced by a very accommodating airport with an 8,000’ runway and full service FBO (airport office). The drive to Ashville from Louisville is 5.5 hours with no traffic but the flight in a Switchblade would be less than 2 hours. Once we landed at KAVL, it is a short 20 minute drive in the Switchblade to our favorite spot, the storied Grove Park Inn which is now owned by Omni Hotels.
The Grove Park was built in 1913 and looks a bit like the Keebler Elves Castle that blends perfectly in the forested hillside north of town. Great for outdoor activities including hiking and white water rafting on the French Broad River, but you could spend a lot of time indoors, especially in the winter, with the Grove Park’s massive stone fire places in the lobby areas that you could literally walk in.
With the Blue Ridge Parkway nearby, it’s also a beautiful area to explore with the Switchblade in ground mode. If you can’t relax there and rediscover what’s important in your lives and why you love each other, there’s no hope for you. 😉
Randy (Clearwater, FL): Key West, Florida is a beautiful place where my wife and I would love to have a romantic weekend – but it’s an 8-10 hour drive. In a Switchblade, we’d fly down the Florida Coast, hugging it for about an hour until Naples and then head across the water to the Key West Airport. (A 90 minute flight with a short drive on each end.) There are some quaint B & B’s with waterfront views and gorgeous beaches to walk along. Hemingway’s home is interesting to visit and we’d enjoy the art galleries in town. Driving down Duval Street in a Switchblade would definitely turn some heads!
Lindsey (Roseville, CA): I have always wanted to visit the beautiful McWay Waterfalls in Big Sur, CA. I’ve heard it’s an amazing place to visit & explore the peaceful beach area with stunning views. The only downside is that the location is fairly remote and there aren’t many hotels around. It’s about 250 miles from our home and takes 4+ hours to get there. Traveling in a Switchblade would make it only 2 hours door to door and give us a much easier weekend escape. Plus the views flying down the California Coast would be breathtaking.
Where would you go? Food for thought! And even if you end up traveling to your romantic getaway by a more traditional means of transportation, I hope you have a great time!
– Martha Bousfield
