February 2026: A Solo South Florida Trip: Pre-trip

Pre-trip:

It’s solo trip time! But it’s not a Disney solo trip!

We are trying to conserve Nick’s vacation time for a couple of big vacations in 2027, so I knew February vacation would be a solo trip.

The last couple of school years have involved a LOT of sick days, which means a lot of time on social media. Through social media, I learned about Blowing Rocks Preserve in Jupiter, FL. And then I learned about Jupiter and Juno Beach in general, and liked the looks of the area. I did a little more digging and decided I could easily fill a few days of vacation, so I decided to head to the Jupiter/Juno Beach area for this February vacation.

As I got serious about planning, I realized that while West Palm is the closest airport, and there are nonstop flights there from Boston on JetBlue, I could get nonstop flights between Manchester and Fort Lauderdale on JetBlue. While this would be a bit more driving in Florida, that sounded like a better option to me than having to get to Boston ever, but especially in February. So I stalked the JetBlue flights from MHT, and in May got myself booked.

Then the hotel debate began. And the changing of hotels when sales popped up. And of course the flight schedule changes from JetBlue popped up. Those didn’t necessarily change my hotel choices, but they sure made me play the stalk the rental car company for price drops game.

In the end, I was booked at the Hampton Inn Juno Beach/Jupiter from February 22-27. I’d be flying out of Manchester about 1:10 pm, landing in Fort Lauderdale around 4:45 pm. Return flight home at 6:25 pm, landing in Manchester about 9:45 pm.

The days leading up to vacation were a game of dodge the germ, and filled with lots of shoveling, in addition to lots of general school chaos. This winter has been a more “old fashioned NH winter”, with a LOT of snow and really cold days. I was VERY ready to go south for a few days!

As the last few days before break unfolded, the government semi shut down again, the weather forecast for departure day ranged from nothing exciting to “the Blizzard of 78”, which all these years later is still how New Englanders compare snow storms. Being used to pre-vacation drama, I was not surprised. So I started refreshing weather websites as frequently as possible.

We started vacation a day early with a surprise snow day, which gave me more time to pack, and to analyze forecasts. In the end, I was pretty sure I’d be able to get out, but knew it was still risky. I was very happy I had bought the trip insurance.