2014: A Year of Adventure!

One of my friends wrote a blog entry about  how traveling should be not relaxing, but rather adventurous.  This post really resonated with me for many reasons.  First, my friend and I live very parallel lives…we got married at the same time, we adopted dogs at the same time (both chocolate labs no less), we lost our moms at the same time (both from cancer), and we have very similar timelines for our future plans.  So when I read this post, I felt as though I was reading something I had written (although she is without a doubt a much better writer than I am).  She opens this post with a profound line:

Ask me the definition of “vacation” 3 years ago, and my response: “beach and sleep.” Ask me now, and my response: “where adrenaline meets natural wonders.”

It’s true.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Hawaii, Costa Rica, Jamaica and would go there again in a heartbeat, and I DO want to someday go to the Maldives and Turks & Caicos, but right now, at this point in my life, I’m craving adventure.  I want to explore the world.

Another point my friend makes is something that I think nearly everyone in my generation and younger can relate to…being glued to technology and social media.  Even when I’m wearing a purse, my phone is in my hand ready to snap a picture or respond to a text message at any moment.  I am guilty of forgetting to live in the moment because I’m so glued to my phone.  The first thing I do in the morning when I wake up is check Facebook and Instagram.  The last thing I do before bed (after saying goodnight to my hubby), is to mindlessly scroll through Facebook and Instagram before my eyelids get heavy and I drift off.  So in the words of Lauren:

And so, take this real-world deprived person and place her on a beautiful beach in Maui, and what do you think happens? She leaves her phone behind in her hotel room while she lays on the beach and stares at the ocean? Of course not. She needs her phone, to you know, photograph the ocean, photograph her and her husband, and share these moments with her family and friends. The phone is clearly only present to capture her vacation real time, and help her take in her environment. The phone will not be accessed for email, or internet browsing. Right.

Traveling to an adventurous location where you’re snowmobiling through a white-out, or hiking at 2,000 ft elevation on an unmarked trail, or bathing in a glistening Blue Lagoon surrounded by glaciers…whatever the adventure might be, having your phone or camera glued to your hand may not be such a feasible option.  Of course the camera will make a quick appearance when the ground is stable or the white out clears in order to get one beautiful photo to capture that magical moment, but it won’t be as frequent as say lounging on the beach with a Mai Tai in one hand and your phone in the other.

There is another very personal point my friend makes, and that is feeling her Mom for the first time since she passed.  I will never forget the first time I felt Mom after she passed in a warm breeze as though she was hugging me telling me everything is going to be alright.  When I’m outdoors enveloped in nature, that’s when I feel her most.  And in those moments, I smile and laugh, and I am happy.

Sean and I have decided that next year will be our year of adventure.  We have endured a lot of hardship in the last 3 years, and we’re ready for 2014 to be the year of excitement and adventure.  We already have some exciting things planned, and we’re working on planning a couple more adventures!  Stay tuned….