“On the road again!” was my October theme song. (thanks Willie Nelson). We just got back from a wonderful 2 week vacation–“Americana Road Trip 2013”!. Along the way I learned several things I felt would be great tips on life’s journey, especially at this time of our lives.
1. Identify several “must’s” in your life and decide when you want to do them. (Hint: The sooner the better.) For me, I love our National Parks and road trips. Fortunately my husband does too. I have wanted to visit the Smoky Mountains and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall. It was everything I’d hoped for and more. We hit the fall colors perfectly, visited fascinating historic sights, enjoyed delicious regional food, wines and beers, and shared some memories with family and friends along the way.
2. Get something scheduled. I almost always have some kind of trip on my calendar. It can be a big vacation, but often they are day trips or weekend getaways. They keeps me focused forward and excited about something new. Planning something is invigorating, opens our minds to new possibilities, discoveries, and stretches us to learn about new regions and enjoy different experiences. I have a close friend and when she’s a bit down, she’ll call and say, “let’s get something on the calendar”. We do and it cheers us both up. Anticipation and planning are great antidotes to the “blahs”.
3. Embrace the unexpected. One morning, after we’d spent a night in a relatively unknown small town along the Hudson River, we realized we were 1/2 hour from Hyde Park (Roosevelt’s home and Presidential library) so we drove up and spent several hours. What a fascinating look into history at that time…one of the highlights of our trip.
4. Get off the freeway of life. Side roads offer a slower pace and many more interesting sights. We stopped at a local fruit stand with over a dozen varieties of apples; found a local bbq dive with the best pulled pork sandwich we’ve ever had; and toured an interesting craft brewery.
Give one or all of these a try soon, you’ll find your life’s journey much more interesting.
