Traveling has provided me with tremendous experiences, broadened my horizons, opened doors of opportunity, and allowed me to escape from the daily stresses of life. In my 20s and 30s, I traveled a lot. Then for some reason, I decided to become a teacher in my 40s and was immediately flat broke which limited my traveling funds pretty dramatically. Now, I am about to turn 47 and have clearly crossed the thresh hold of mid-life crisis and I am longing for the road. So today, I will reminisce about ten of my favorite trips, pictures included.
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| Kirk and I in South Dakota |
1. South Dakota. I loved this trip because, for some reason, I felt like I was home. The spiritual experience in nature is beyond what words can explain and the people... The whole trip was love for me.
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Kirk, Denise and I taking a tour of
Central Park before Hurricane Sandy hit. |
2. New York in the City. We survived a hurricane but I LOVED being in New York with my sister and nephew. It is truly the city that never sleeps... until that hurricane hit. I wish I had the guts to go when I was younger. Although, I may have never come home. What life might have been!
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The clothesline of towels
and swimsuits at Table Rock. |
3. Table Rock Lake, MO. My family, cousins included, returned to the same resort my mom and dad used to take us to when we were kids. We all stayed in the same cabin. We ate together, fished together, and swam together like we did when we were little. Then at night, all of us "kids" would head back to the lake and lay on the shore to stargaze together. It was an amazing blessing.
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| Kirk, Denise, Mom, and Shiloh enjoying the farm in New York. |
4. New York in the Country. We stayed on an alpaca farm in the countryside which was incredibly calm and beautiful. For a couple of days we also headed into Cooperstown to watch a Hall of Fame Induction and enjoy all the chaos of Hall of Fame weekend. What a pleasure!
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| Shopping in Breckenridge |
5. Breckenridge, CO. This trip came on the heels of quitting my job. I had enough and I needed eight days in the snow to find myself again. Every day, I pulled on my boots and headed out for a walk in the snow. This is also where I realized how much I loved riding a snow mobile. The outdoor hot tub in the snow was pretty cool too.
6. Orange Beach, AL. Disconnected from the world, sat on the beach, and TRULY relaxed. I remember trying to be PRESENT and ignoring messages from work. I ended up leaving that job shortly thereafter also to go to another agency so I didn't feel as much pressure to be available. But to TRULY relax was a gift. We even rented a sailboat (that came with a sailor) and he sailed us around the ocean for three hours.
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| "selfie" |
7. Any road trip... There is nothing like loading up the car with a destination in mind but no real timeline. Stopping at random roadside stores to pick up some lottery tickets (because you know the winners are always in some small town) or to buy an "antique" that you don't really need. Diner food, farm land, cows (especially in Missouri)... it's what dreams are made of really.
8. The Field of Dreams in Iowa. First of all Iowa is a gorgeous place. As green as I imagine Ireland might be. I love driving right down the middle of a farm with cows and horses and sheep within reach from the car. But then, to stand where Kevin Costner stood. Well, we all know that made me giddy. Most importantly, however, this was the trip that launched the birthday trip tradition I have with my nephew Kirk. And now, every year for 9 years, we have gone on a trip for his birthday.
9. L.A. with my nephew allowed me to see it with fresh eyes. I had been many times before but witnessing his excitement as we toured a movie lot, walked through the set of one of his favorite TV shows, took pictures with famous people (wax famous people but still), and traipsed up and down Hollywood Boulevard overjoyed me.
10. Finally, any trip I have ever taken to Memphis. I cannot recount the stories because some of them are secrets but I can tell you that I have eaten the best barbecue and met some incredible people. I have listened to great music, sung before thousands and danced til the sun came up. I have laughed more in Memphis than probably anywhere in the world because I have been afforded time there with some very dear friends.
6. Orange Beach, AL. Disconnected from the world, sat on the beach, and TRULY relaxed. I remember trying to be PRESENT and ignoring messages from work. I ended up leaving that job shortly thereafter also to go to another agency so I didn't feel as much pressure to be available. But to TRULY relax was a gift. We even rented a sailboat (that came with a sailor) and he sailed us around the ocean for three hours.
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