After many, many years of posting in my year-end roundup that I had not left the country yet again, I will finally have a different answer at the end of 2020. I went to Mexico for the first time last month, and it was delightful.

Rockford and I have gone to the Shaky Knees music festival in Atlanta for the last four years or so for our anniversary. It’s a very well-run festival, there are food trucks everywhere, the lineup has been terrific every year, and it’s a pretty easy drive from our house to Atlanta. I’ve loved all of our trips there, but I’ve never come home feeling like I’d spent the weekend relaxing.

And so, as we drove home after last year’s adventure, I told Rockford I’d like to change things up and maybe go somewhere and sit on the beach and do nothing for a few days. He was willing to entertain the idea, but I knew he was disappointed because he loved being immersed in live music for days on end. And then a few days after we got home, Wilco — one of our favorite bands — announced that they were planning their own festival at a resort in Mexico. I forwarded the announcement to Rockford, who said “Well, you manifested this so we have to go.” And so we did.

I felt odd about it, so I didn’t talk about it much ahead of time. It was far more money than we’ve ever spend on a just-the-two-of-us vacation, and getting a passport just to go see one’s favorite musicians seems like crossing a fandom Rubicon. But I’m so glad we went. It was a lovely couple of days in a beautiful environment, and we actually came back feeling like we’d been on vacation.

Was it weird being on vacation with Wilco, Sharon Van Etten, Yo La Tengo, Calexico (and more!) and a bunch of music fans? Yes, a little. Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat.