Once we got to Paso Robles, we enjoyed a lot of great wines. There was a moment that is now locked in my memory and forever memorialized in a couple of pictures he took at the exact same time -- we were in the vineyards at Opolo, one of my favorite wineries. He was setting up to take pictures. I was meandering up a winding road through the vines. It was a sunny day with blue skies with white puffy clouds. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with JOY. I was just happy. I'd been in this ugly, dark, sad place and seemingly just-like-that...I was happy. I skipped down the road with my arms spread open wide. I was laughing and singing like a little girl. For no reason and for every reason.
I took these pics at that time:
My brother, on the other hand, took amazing photos of this same place. You can see them here and here. Feel free to view the other Paso photos while you're looking -- they are superb.
Anyway, back to the story. So, I'm remembering this glimmer of joy and hope in an otherwise horrid year and I think to myself -- what a gift that was. And then I think -- we should do that again. And then -- well, that's it then. A gift worthy of a 40th birthday -- a photography trip with me, anywhere of his choosing. An attempt to repay the joy that was given to me.
So, I had this thought months before his birthday. And it was KILLING ME. I was crazy to find out where he'd pick. I figured New Zealand or Australia. It began a game among those who knew -- where would he pick? It became a study on human nature that continues to fascinate me long afterward. Try this for yourself and ask those around you. Report back -- because I'd like to know. Something interesting happened when he was presented with the gift. Of course, he was thrilled.
But then, he had to choose.
One place.
And he struggled with it for a bit. I didn't anticipate the struggle. At one point, the struggle made me feel bad -- almost to the point I wanted to remove the weight of having to choose -- it was the idea of it being the "chance of a lifetime" that made it hard. Would he ever again be offered a free trip to anywhere in the world? Probably not. And that made the choice difficult. Should he choose a place he would never be able to afford? What about a place he wanted to go but Tracy didn't, so that wouldn't be a thing? What about a place where he's always wanted to go vs a place where there are a million sites for a photographer like himself to capture?
So stop and ask yourself, if it was you...and you had to pick one place in the world. Just one. For a free trip. Where would you choose? How would you choose? I asked a lot of people. Some struggled like my brother. Some said, "I have 5 places I've always wanted to go. All 5 would be great. So, it doesn't matter which one. Flip a coin, throw a dart, whatever." Some went with the place they knew they'd never be able to afford. It is truly interesting to see the thought that comes with this. I tried to answer it for myself and never could.
He finally settled on Iceland. New Zealand was in the short list, but we needed to go during summer break when his wife would be carrying a lighter load (she's a college prof) and could wrangle their son by herself. For her part, by the way, she's a GEM. She's figuring out how to make due with his 2 week absence while working and raising their soon to be 3 year old. She's fantastic and I'm so thankful for her. Anyway, he decided he'd rather not visit NZ in their winter so he started considering other locations. We looked at Denmark, Norway, Sweden. We debated Greenland. Iceland won out. It's got everything we've ever wanted in an adventure and it's a landscape photographer's dream to boot.
No one predicted Iceland when we were trying to guess ahead of time. But after it was decided, it seemed like the only logical choice there ever was.
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