I Miss the Adventures
Travel may seem like a luxury, out of reach for most, but really, it’s just a matter of deciding to do it and making it happen.
I’ve always loved to travel. Exploring new places, trying new foods, understanding how people live in other places.
Growing up I did almost no traveling. Our state was so big, we could do a lot of things and never cross the state line… camping, skiing, fishing, amusement parks… all without leaving “our home”.
At age 15, I worked in a small, high-end consignment shop. The owner was an older woman (I’d guess in her 70’s at the time, maybe older). She and her best friend would travel a couple of times a year. One trip I remember them taking was a trip to Egypt, and ever since then Egypt has been on my “bucket list”.
By the time I was in my early 20’s, I had driven across the U.S. three times, alone except for the company of two cats and a ferret on my 2nd trip. To date I’ve visited or lived in most of the lower 48 and Hawaii.
At 26, and newly married, we talked about going to Australia. Now, The land down under had been on my wish list since elementary school. I don’t know why, except that maybe because it was the furthest away from my home I could possibly go while still on this planet.
I simply decided we would go.
It really is that easy. When you “decide” to do something, you just prioritize and make it happen.
Hoping, wishing, and visualizing are all well and good… but you just need to decide and do it. So we did, in 1995, the year before my boys were born.
It would be 23 years before I’d take another adventure trip like that.
Ok, so maybe not that long. I worked with a company where I could earn free trips so between 1996 and 2008 we went to Mexico (twice), the Bahamas, and Hawaii. Not the adventures I craved, but they were fun.
After some tumultuous life changes and many years later, I decided it was time to begin traveling again. My first destination would be Peru, another bucket list location. It seemed mysterious and exotic. So it was perfect!
Since none of my friends could go with me, I decided to go alone. I wasn’t going to put my life on hold for others (anymore). Traveling alone wasn’t new to me and this was the most exciting trip of my life to date.
Despite almost being stranded in Lima when I was supposed to be flying on to Cuzco, (and my Spanish is remedial at best) I managed to maintain a sense of adventure and go with it. What choice did I have, really? My guide felt so bad about not getting me on the proper flight, the whole rest of the trip he was trying to make up for it by paying for meals and souvenirs. I still have a painted clay coffee mug from a small family owned pottery that he bought for me.
Anyway…
The next year, 2019, I decided on Morocco. Another amazing trip I will never forget. There’s something to be said about being alone with your thoughts, in a place nobody knows you, free to think and just be in the moment.
After enjoying the beauty of Northern Africa once, I was looking forward to exploring Egypt the following year. I was finally going there!
And then the world changed.
For a couple of years I couldn’t travel, almost nobody could. Then, slowly the world began opening up again. My mom started traveling again, but I didn’t. There are still a few things that need to happen before I can venture to far away lands again, but oh, I do miss the adventures.
I will travel overseas again, I’m sure. Meanwhile, there are still a few places here in the states I haven’t seen that I need to just “decide” to visit.
That’s all it is, a decision. No wishing or hoping. Decide and make it happen. Like anything else we want in life, we just need to decide to do it and make it a priority.