Two Years and I'm Back to my Adventures

 In more ways than one, I've returned to doing what I love to do. Through COVID I found my passion for writing had waned in lieu of an effort to stay connected with friends and family through Zoom, Facebook, and Teams. Now as I find myself vaccinated and returning to meeting up with family and friends more regularly and resuming my weekly writer's group, I'm suddenly hit with the desire to write again.

Since early 2020, like many others I found myself isolating in an effort to keep myself, and more importantly, my at-risk family members safe, healthy, and alive. Just day-to-day living was exhausting mentally and physically. The weekly writing meetup I had online with other writers turned into a chat session to just connect with others who had lost the drive to write as well.

After getting vaccinated early last year and boosted, I've been able to take a couple of adventures to Utah and through California and Washington State. This year, I was able to take a weekend adventure to Death Valley. 

Devils Golf Course, Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park with family.

Finally, with the return to travel, planning, and dreaming, my drive to write has returned and I'm excited to say I've launched back into a book I started writing over ten years ago and set aside for some unknown reason.

Seatle Skyline

I find myself now in Montana on a regular basis in a fictional town on a ranch where I get to watch the humor and journey my characters have begun as they make their way through their story.

But I also find myself wanting to write about the adventures I've had in real life. (It's slightly less painful to write about travel when that is once again a possibility.

So I ask myself. Where will I go next? Will I plan to return to Yosemite and spend more than a day just driving through? Perhaps a return to Yellowstone or some other National Park I've seen but missed so much because there simply wasn't enough time to see everything I wanted? Maybe I'll plan a trip to some other National Park I've never visited or some part of the country I've not seen. Maybe I'll even leave the country. 

Olympic National Park

Perhaps I could find myself in Paris, strolling the Champs Elysees or around the Arc de Triomphe. Maybe I could sample some excellent balsamic or parmesan in Modina after having watched the gondolas of Venice before heading off to the Almafi Coast.

Maybe I could once again find myself blown away by the beauty of the Irish coastlines and amazing cliffs. Who knows?

Driving up the California coast around Big Sur.

All I know is I'm back and I'm writing and dreaming again. My once dormant imagination is waking up, looking for a caffeine jolt at my favorite coffee shop. It started with quiet murmurs as I slipped into slumber at the end of the day and slowly grew louder as the days progressed. I found myself thinking about the story I set in Montana. I wanted to check in on the characters to see how they were faring. After seeing how my lead characters Travis and Olivia were doing, laughing at some points, and rewriting a few other points I'm excited to slip back into this story. I can't wait to see what will happen.

Time Flies but I haven't

 It's amazing how the last year has flown by and I have not posted a single blog. So much has changed and since my last post, I've taken some really neat trips and was planning for another...until March and COVID hit. Now I wonder when I will get to set foot onto a plane or set out on a journey to explore a new destination.

Last summer I was able to journey to my fourth Epic Road Trip, this time it was a drive through Utah and I visited 3 National Parks. Crazy enough, that only whetted my appetite to see more National Parks and ended up seeing 2 more National Parks later in the year tipping my total count of National Park visits to 12. (I won't count each park visit more than once as living in Arizona, I've been to the Grand Canyon multiple times. I'll only count that once).

So far in my life I've seen:

1. Arches National Park
2. Bryce Canyon National Park
3. Canyonlands National Park
4. Grand Canyon National Park
5. Joshua Tree National Park
6. Gateway Arch National Park
7. Mount Rainier National Park
8. Niagara Falls National Park (Canadian side so not sure I should count it)
9. Petrified Forest National Park
10. Yellowstone National Park
11. Yosemite National Park
12. Zion National Park

Next on my list? I'm not sure. I have my eye on visiting Niagara Falls on the American side and exploring. There is so much in the area to see and going to Michigan, Ontario, and Niagara Falls just sounds like it would be worthy of my next Epic Road Trip.

Until I can travel again. I'll have to start visiting some of the places I've been in memory and perhaps share with you some of those interesting, fun, and unique experiences of past trips. Including the four I took from last July to earlier this year when the world came to a stop.

Gearing up for another trip

Here we are, just starting into June and I am already counting down to the next road trip I am taking and it isn't until the beginning of August. I have so much to do between now and then and yet, I can't help but think about all the great adventures I'm going to take once I leave here. I have plans to see three national parks on this trip. I have plans to see a natural geyser in a small town close to the Idaho/Utah border. I have plans to see a working farm, where I might actually get to milk a cow!

So many wonderful adventures await me on my trip. I wonder how much of Bryce Canyon's Hoodoos I'll get to see. I think about Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park and wonder if I'll be able to see both of those places. I think about the last time I went through Four Corners and wonder just how much it has changed since my last visit about three decades ago. I wonder if I'll enjoy my drives seeing unique scenery I don't normally see in my day-to-day life.

In past trips, I've seen the massive mountains of Colorado and Yosemite. I've seen impressive features of Yellowstone and the beauty of the Grand Canyon. I've seen the high plains of Montana and the gorgeous shoreline of North Carolina. I've seen marshes, mountains, valleys, plains, and so much. There is so much this upcoming road trip has to offer and nature views that I've never experienced. Just what will I see this time?  I can't wait!

It's the Journey

We often hear it's not the destination that counts, it's the journey but I have to wonder just how many people this advise to heart. So many people are preoccupied with getting to their destination they spend time worrying about the quickest most convenient way to get from point A to point B. I realized that I can fall into this trap easily when planning my trips as well and quickly fell into that mindset when I initially planned to take time to visit family in Logan, UT. I was browsing a travel site looking for a flight that would be convenient for me to make the flight without missing too much work and giving myself optimal vacation time for the week I was taking from work.

Then it hit me. There is so much I haven't seen in Utah, and parts of northern Arizona for that matter. My reality suddenly changed and it stopped becoming about how quickly I could get from Phoenix to Logan and it became about, what can I see on my trip there and home. From this line of thought, Epic Road Trip #3 was born. Now I have plans to see Bryce Canyon, stay in a little cabin on my drive to Logan, and will see Four-Corners, Arches National Park, and Monument Valley on my drive back home.

In addition to the drive to and from Logan, I've sniffed out other fun things to do around Logan including the Natural History Museum of Utah, Wheeler Historic Farm (where you can milk a cow!), and Geyser Park, ID (which apparently has a geyser right in their town).

I can tell you, I'm excited about the destination as I will have fun while I'm in Logan but there is so much that I'm looking forward to experiencing on the journey too. My daily drives are mostly short and I have time to get lost (so-to-speak) along the way. If I see something that snags my attention I can stop and explore it. In the end, some of the people I've met and experiences I've had on my treks from one place to another have been some of my favorite memories. I can't wait to find out what this next trip has in store for me.

Finding the Unique with Google Maps

In my travels, I use Google Maps to help me design my destination spots. I've used maps for the usual uses like finding great hotels and restaurant and also to get directions to those locations. I've also, in large part used Google Maps to explore and find the interesting or unusual. Something that might have a little something special to offer a visitor.

In Seattle, WA I made plans to go check out the ever-popular Fremont Troll and, in exploring Google Maps in advance, I also found a couple of unique sights to check out, like the Center of the Universe Sign and a fantastic bookshop where I was able to indulge my love of books with three new stories! Little did I  know, there was more to discover on this side journey on my exploration of Seattle. A short distance from the sign was a grouping of Google Office buildings and an awesome draw bridge, the Fremont Bridge.

Other trips I found, using Google Maps, an awesome Riverboat converted into a hotel and restaurant right in the heart of Old Town Sacramento! Imagine having a fantastic meal while floating on the water and watching tall ships sail past the window. That was my experience. After my tasty breakfast, I was able to explore Old Town Sacramento which boasted many unusual shops, a museum, and other unique rustic features that one would only find in this place. If it weren't for maps, I'd never have made Sacramento a stop on my trip through California and would never have seen the neat things I did.

On another journey through Montana, I was lucky enough to find a unique bed and breakfast, Toad Hall Manor. This place was fantastic with owners who were lovely, friendly, and welcoming people. They invited those of us who were staying in their B&B to join them for a dinner of homemade jambalaya. Breakfast was started with a small scone and tea or coffee brought right to your room on a tray that guests could enjoy while getting ready for their day. This place reminded me so much of many of the places I had stayed at when I was traveling through Ireland. It was gorgeous and so comfortable.

Speaking of Ireland, an experience in itself. I used Google Maps so much to explore the country. I used it many times in advance to gauge directions and familiarize myself with the lay of the land as we would be driving around the country. One find we had that stood out was our visit to Kilmokea Tea Garden. We were lucky enough to make it just before they closed. We had intended just to stop long enough to use the bathrooms and maybe snag a cup of tea before heading out not wanting to impose too much on the owner. Instead, we found ourselves invited to stay, have a snack and a cup of tea while chatting with the owner who sat down to converse with us. He told us that when we finished our tea we were welcome to wander the gardens and gave us a map saying the only thing he requested was that we be on our way before dark. Since we began our garden exploration after the place closed we had the garden entirely to ourselves. The experience was like a cross between Alice in Wonderland, a fairyland, and The Secret Garden. The visit left us breathless and with a desire to come back and see more.

In all, Google Maps has afforded me so many unusual and wonderful experiences and I love using the site to look for more. Even now I'm planning a new road trip and I'm using Google Maps to dig out fun and unique places to visit. (Guess what? I found a hotel, where each guest gets their own cabin! Bet you know where I'm going to be staying!)

Luggage

The massive luggage we took to Ireland.

Over the years I've had trips to various destinations with many different modes of transportation. Sometimes it's simply been a road trip, others a combination flight and road trip. Other times simply flying to my destination and relying on friends or family for the rest of my destinations. In every trip there had been one thing in common. Luggage. However, the type of luggage I use varied from trip to trip.

For scale, my huge bag.

One trip, a weekend in Michigan, I packed everything I needed in a simple backpack and carried it onto the plane. I felt so put together on this trip, everything jammed into one small pack that fit easily under my seat on the plane. That included some tunes on CD with my CD version of a Walkman to take for in-flight music and some extra CD's to play in my rental car.

My simple backpack.

On the other end of the scale, I had a trip to Ireland for three weeks. The luggage of choice for this trip? A massive suitcase that could double as a piece of furniture. There were many comments from the owners of the B&B's we stayed in on the size of the luggage. I had one of my own and mom had hers, plus her carry-on size rolling suitcase. How we managed to travel for three weeks with those pieces of rolling furniture is beyond me. All I know, that won't happen again. In fact, I sold my suitcase shortly after returning from Ireland. I have other bags, ones that aren't quite so massive and yet, can hold quite a bit of stuff.

Many other trips I've had luggage of various sizes and lately my choice have involved my pink polka dot squishy rolling duffel-style bag and a large purple duffel that collapses into itself. I love both of these items as they can hold a lot of stuff and don't really take a ton of room.  I guess there's something to be said for inexpensive luggage as both of these were either free or fairly cheap.

My pink polka-dot bag on my trip to Houston.

Regardless of the trip, the memories I pack into these bags, the thoughts they hold along with my clothes and various souvenirs they've held, these bags are special. They represent a new hope, a new journey, a destination I've never taken. They also represent the familiar, the knowledge that I may be heading off to explore a new and exciting destination or simply a trip home to visit my family. No matter what, these bags, my luggage, are all important to me. When I look at them, I wonder, where will I take them next?

Thanksgiving Treks

Over the years I’ve built up a mountain of memories all over the week of Thanksgiving. Over ten years ago I started planning and taking trips over the week of Thanksgiving. It started out simple, just leaving the day before Thanksgiving after work and coming home Sunday. Those trips involved going to Prescott, AZ and just relaxing, spending time with myself, and having some fun. As the years progressed, I came to love my annual trips so much that I looked forward to going away on these trips.

I quickly realized that I could take a vacation the week of Thanksgiving getting the maximum amount of time off, using the least amount of vacation hours from work, nine days off and using only three vacation days. My trips quickly expanded to the entire week and I have spent many years since taking a trip of some kind during the week. I kept it local for most years. Staying in Arizona, spending my week in Prescott.

I remember one year I rented a small house near Thumb Butte for the week and loved every minute. I took time to decorate for fall with miniature pumpkins and gourds. The place had two fireplaces, one in the bedroom, one in the living room. It was so nice to spend time enjoying a fire in the fireplace and putting a puzzle together. It was relaxing and nice to spend time just enjoying my visit.

One year, I finally took a huge step. To this point, most of my trips had been safe. A drive to Flagstaff or Sedona. Spending a week in Prescott. But this year, 2015, was the first time I was taking a major road trip. The plan was to drive from Phoenix to Fresno, Fresno to San Francisco by way of Yosemite, San Francisco to Sacramento, then to South Lake Tahoe, Vegas, and then home. This was my first major solo road trip which I had quickly dubbed Epic Road Trip 2015.

I was terrified the day I left, afraid to face a trip alone. I had rented a car and met with my mom and best friend in Phoenix for breakfast before I hit the road to make the long eight-hour drive to Fresno. After breakfast I even tried to talk my mom into joining me. Heck, she was retired, she had the time. She and my friend both pushed me to go, on my own. They were both sure that this solo trip would be good for me. Just what I needed to do. I am so happy to say, there were right!

I remember flying down the I-10 with Rascal Flatts’ Life is a Highway blasting through the speakers of my rental car. I loved the views I saw that day, the craggy mountains as I headed toward California. I was enchanted by the rolling hills and farmland as I made my way north from Pasadena toward Bakersfield and final Fresno. By the time I finished my first day of travel I was wiped out and extremely grateful that there was a nearby Italian restaurant that delivered wonderful food, right to my hotel door. 

The rest of the trip was filled with wonderful memories, exploring Yosemite, seeing the beauty in San Francisco and Sausalito. I loved dining on a converted riverboat to restaurant and hotel in Sacramento. Experiencing the freezing temperatures in south Lake Tahoe was a whole new experience. Seeing the deserts of Nevada in drastic change from the mountains of Tahoe was overwhelming. Then spending an evening wandering the bright intense business of the Las Vegas strip. Ending my trip with a visit to Hoover Dam and driving through Northern Arizona back to my home.

Every experience was unique, one of a kind and one I won’t get to experience again. There are places I want to visit on these trips again. There is so much I still want to see and know that I will be making another trip to each of these stops from this trip and I look forward to each and every destination I will be visiting.

Over all, I've loved every single one of my Thanksgiving trips, whether a local vacation, a stay-cation (which I've done a couple of those) or taking an epic road trip. This year I look forward to a trip to the Grand Canyon over the holiday weekend with a couple friends who've never been. I'm excited to see what new experiences we will have and what new memories we will create on this trip.