A funny thing happens when you blog or journal...some parts of what you capture seem to come alive and take on their own trajectory once they are inked. My dad has a phrase for this in speaking that seems similar -- the idea is that once you say something it is now, "in the air." Anyone can hear it, grab it, claim it, use it from that point on. It's become it's own thing.
Since blogging on some things I've learned in travels, my brain has rushed to come up with other things I've realized I've learned in my 41 years of glorious existence. A few years ago, I took a training seminar on Getting Things Done. I don't remember much of it, but I distinctly recall this one thing -- the instructor said, "Pay attention to things that have your attention or you'll give them more attention than you need." The idea is -- deal with it when it hits you and then move on. If you don't, it'll linger and pester and fester and bug you and end up taking way more time that it ever deserved.
All that to say, I keep thinking of these dang little lessons so I'm going to capture them and then get them out of my brain. I hope.
1. I remember as a kid watching my mom slowly soak her white dish towels in a bleach-water solution. I thought that was absolutely ridiculous. Who cares if they have stains? They are dish towels! My mom also always worked hard to keep a lovely yard, with flowers and lovely landscaping. She would regularly ask for "hanging baskets" for mother's day gifts or birthdays. I also found this bizarre. Who cares? Within the last year, I've begun to get this. Part of it is pride of ownership, certainly. Taking care of the things you own. Keeping them looking good and in good order. But, there is another element for me, and maybe for mom, too. Not sure. I feel better when I'm in a place of order, beauty, cleanliness. Just this summer, I got a few flowers for my backyard. I can't believe how much I enjoy seeing them there every day. It's not that I was a flower hater before -- I just didn't connect it to my well being. This morning, I was folding up my dish towels as I took them from the dryer. I noticed some stains. Thought of my mom's old kitchen sink with the little basin in it. Time to soak these; it'll make me feel better.
2. I confess that for 37 years, I didn't make my bed. At least not regularly. I was hard core in the "why bother when I'm just going to climb back in there in a few hours" camp. What happened at age 37 to make this routine come to a grinding halt? I got a divorce and found myself living in a tiny apartment all alone for the first time, well, ever. I had zero furnishings, nick nacks, stuff. Pretty much just walked out. I got a bed and a tv and a bean bag. I had nothing to do. Some days I'd just sit there in silence and stare at the wall. Nothing to do. No one to talk to. It was quite a weird time. I started making my bed. I didn't realize I was doing it at first. I don't know why I started doing it, but I'm guessing it was for something to do. I would notice that when it was time to go to bed (quite early then, sometimes 6 PM) I liked the feeling of having to pull the covers back and crawl in. It felt comfortable and structured and clean. I needed all those things. I realized when I walked into my bedroom, I liked seeing it made. I felt like at least one thing was working right for me. I've never stopped making my bed. I cannot stand seeing it unmade now. If it weren't creepy, I'd stand right next to the bed staring at my husband waiting for him to get out so I could immediately make it. Just kidding. Maybe.
3. Hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and spiders are my friends. I've really never been a bird or insect person. I have a lifelong feud going with spiders. In the last year, we worked really hard to create this perfect little backyard oasis. The kind where your soul goes to find rest. And create it we did. But no one told me that backyard oasises (how does that become plural??) where souls rest come with creatures. We're awash in creepy crawly things. Especially spiders. Can a Rachel and a spider co-habitate? Can my desire to smash, stomp, crunch or otherwise annihilate can be controlled? Turns out, they can. In recent times, I've done things such as gently move a spider web aside to walk under it and AND I actually said to a spider OUT LOUD the other day, "hey buddy." Someone call 911, because I've obviously died. There is something really nice about the tiny little environment of all these things working together to make this perfect place. Everyone has a time and place. Except the wasps. Those jerks. I like seeing the spiders crawl into hiding as the sun rises and floods the garden with early morning streaks of light. I like knowing the hummingbirds have figured out they can eat well at our feeder and seeing them show up at set times and thinking about how they seem to also eat 3 squares a day all sugar and don't gain weight. I like naming our dragonflies (like Karch Karaly, who always watches over our volleyball net) and watching them land on my fingertips to gently say hello. I love that the bees also love our basil and the tiny flowers are the perfect size for them. They quietly buzz all around it with each flower emergence. I cannot get over the fact that we bought one milkweed and one fennel plant at a master gardener sale and now have butterflies that twirl and dance and play in our yard every day. It was thrilling to discover that the most disgusting looking blob of stuff on our lime leaves was, in fact, a caterpillar who perfectly hides himself by looking like bird poo. He ate about 8 leaves and then left to do his magic. We often wonder which butterfly he is when they come to dance in the late afternoons. How come no one told me there was joy in the tiny pockets of life all around us? How come no one ever mentioned how great it feels to be a part of this little community where everyone works together to create beauty and, in return, gets rewarded?
4. Growing your own food is such an incredible feeling. I've always had a black thumb. I couldn't keep the most hearty house plant alive. For most of my years, I never kept any plants because, well, I couldn't. Having a producing garden to look at is so oddly rewarding. Everyday, there is a small harvest of something. A couple of okra, basil, maybe some tomatoes, jalapenos. Cooking up our first potatoes was way too exciting. I mean, seriously. Why is that so fun? I'm anxiously awaiting carrots. I've never grown one and can't figure out how you know exactly. But I can't wait. Last winter, I picked 6 meyer lemons and vowed to never complain about the price of organic lemons again because it took me 6 months to grow 6 lemons and they were the most delicious, exquisite lemons I could imagine.
There is more. I'll capture it when it hits. Would love to hear what you're learning:)
Monday, August 28, 2017
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Lessons Learned While Traveling
If you've traveled a bit, you've probably racked up a nice list of things learned just by the experience of the travel itself. I know I have. As someone who loves learning, I can honestly say I'm looking forward to what I'll learn on this upcoming journey.
Woke up early this morning...ok, earlier than usual:)...and had a few moments of solitude with my coffee to think about things I learned in previous travels.
-- there are things that exist in parts of the world that are completely unknown and foreign. This doesn't mean they aren't real or that they are somehow "less than". It just means you haven't experienced it before and that you are, quite literally, ignorant. When I was in Brasil one summer, I witnessed a man who was absolutely out of his mind and, before I knew otherwise, I would have described him as possessed. What proceeded to happen was an exorcism -- which, even 20 years later is hard for me to describe. But, I will tell you now as I told people then -- I saw it and felt it personally and the man I saw walk in was not the same man I saw walk out. It's not hyperbole to say that this encounter changed my life.
There is poverty and intense suffering the likes of which you cannot grasp for almost everyone who lives in the United States. There are diseases and afflictions that cannot be overcome. There are things that are so insanely unfair that your heart will break in a split second upon seeing it-- in that very moment you realize that if the person/place/thing were merely located elsewhere, everything would be different. I recall walking in a large, open market sort of area of Sao Paulo and seeing a large woman sitting on the ground holding an umbrella. Her right leg was so incredibly swollen -- the skin stretched so thin -- that I couldn't not stare and I just knew it would burst open as I watched. For more than 20 years, I've remembered her. I think about what was going on with her leg. Why she couldn't see a doctor. How her life would be different if she just lived somewhere else. Where was her family? Could she walk? How many things do I take for granted that are an actual advantage -- like which country i was born in. That wasn't my choice or my doing but it benefits me in ways I see and ways I do not see.
You will encounter people who do not like you because you aren't like them -- and when you realize how often YOU do that too, you will be crushed. (or you should be.) I was sitting alongside the Seine one day, quietly eating some lunch I had brought along in my pack. A policeman came up and was yelling at me. I couldn't tell why because I didn't speak a lick of French. I could tell he didn't want me there and I quickly moved along. I saw a shop owner nearby and I made my way over to try my luck at them speaking English. They did. I asked what I had done wrong. He said that I couldn't sit along the river's edge. Really? I was surprised. It was beautiful there -- quiet and still. Peaceful. A perfect place to sit and eat lunch. Why not, I asked. "Because you're American. You'll ruin it." Oh. Ouch.
There are places so extraordinary and beautiful that you will cry in public and not care. You might also sing out loud in public and not care. You aren't the you that you normally are. And you won't ever want to be that you again. You know that even if you snapped 1000 pictures, you won't be able to capture it correctly. You wish it could be bottled up and pulled back out later to be remembered in all its exquisite detail...and you know it cannot. You simultaneously want to tell everyone all about it and also hold it tight and keep it a secret...just in case saying it out loud makes it unreal. I felt this way so often in Iceland that it almost became entirely overwhelming.
People are people everywhere and yet the people you meet in other places will challenge you and stretch you and change you in all the good ways. I met a man in Brasil who was so incredibly poor -- living in a favela -- and he offered me his shirt (literally the shirt off his back). I cannot even recall why but I can recall the shock of someone giving me one of the very few things they owned in this world for nothing in return. I think about the children I've met in Honduras who want so badly to learn and go to school. They aren't asking for physical possessions or the "typical" wants of children in the US. The joy on their faces when we give them simple things like toothbrushes or a cheap toy car or plastic doll is radiant. 2 years ago, we saw little boys playing soccer with garbage from the dump, crumbled up into sort of a ball. As we prepared to leave, one little curly haired girl, about 3, started crying because she was the last one and we ran out of things to pass out and she didn't get anything. Her pain was palpable and it crushed my husband. He ran around looking for anything at all to give her. Someone finally tore a single page out of someone else's coloring book and found a marker to give her. She beamed with gratitude. Oh my heart.
You'll learn things about yourself that you might not otherwise know. From my journeys to Iceland and down through Big Bend National Park with my brother, I learned that I don't like to be stuck or feel like I'll get trapped somewhere that I cannot get out of. Now, perhaps you read that and think, well, who does!?!?! But, I didn't realize this at all about myself until coming face to face with a few incidents that sent my pulse racing and caused immediate physical responses, including but not limited to actually yelling, "I don't want to get stuck here and not be able to get away!" When talking through it later with my brother, I finally realized the depth of of all it -- I don't like the idea of being "stuck", whether physically, spiritually, romantically...it was such a huge moment for me and explained so many moves, marriages, changes...and then my brother goes, "Well, duh." This also shocked me -- he already knew that? "Well, yeah." Huh.
I could continue to list things I've learned. Maybe I will again later. For now, I look forward to what's to come.
Woke up early this morning...ok, earlier than usual:)...and had a few moments of solitude with my coffee to think about things I learned in previous travels.
-- there are things that exist in parts of the world that are completely unknown and foreign. This doesn't mean they aren't real or that they are somehow "less than". It just means you haven't experienced it before and that you are, quite literally, ignorant. When I was in Brasil one summer, I witnessed a man who was absolutely out of his mind and, before I knew otherwise, I would have described him as possessed. What proceeded to happen was an exorcism -- which, even 20 years later is hard for me to describe. But, I will tell you now as I told people then -- I saw it and felt it personally and the man I saw walk in was not the same man I saw walk out. It's not hyperbole to say that this encounter changed my life.
There is poverty and intense suffering the likes of which you cannot grasp for almost everyone who lives in the United States. There are diseases and afflictions that cannot be overcome. There are things that are so insanely unfair that your heart will break in a split second upon seeing it-- in that very moment you realize that if the person/place/thing were merely located elsewhere, everything would be different. I recall walking in a large, open market sort of area of Sao Paulo and seeing a large woman sitting on the ground holding an umbrella. Her right leg was so incredibly swollen -- the skin stretched so thin -- that I couldn't not stare and I just knew it would burst open as I watched. For more than 20 years, I've remembered her. I think about what was going on with her leg. Why she couldn't see a doctor. How her life would be different if she just lived somewhere else. Where was her family? Could she walk? How many things do I take for granted that are an actual advantage -- like which country i was born in. That wasn't my choice or my doing but it benefits me in ways I see and ways I do not see.
You will encounter people who do not like you because you aren't like them -- and when you realize how often YOU do that too, you will be crushed. (or you should be.) I was sitting alongside the Seine one day, quietly eating some lunch I had brought along in my pack. A policeman came up and was yelling at me. I couldn't tell why because I didn't speak a lick of French. I could tell he didn't want me there and I quickly moved along. I saw a shop owner nearby and I made my way over to try my luck at them speaking English. They did. I asked what I had done wrong. He said that I couldn't sit along the river's edge. Really? I was surprised. It was beautiful there -- quiet and still. Peaceful. A perfect place to sit and eat lunch. Why not, I asked. "Because you're American. You'll ruin it." Oh. Ouch.
There are places so extraordinary and beautiful that you will cry in public and not care. You might also sing out loud in public and not care. You aren't the you that you normally are. And you won't ever want to be that you again. You know that even if you snapped 1000 pictures, you won't be able to capture it correctly. You wish it could be bottled up and pulled back out later to be remembered in all its exquisite detail...and you know it cannot. You simultaneously want to tell everyone all about it and also hold it tight and keep it a secret...just in case saying it out loud makes it unreal. I felt this way so often in Iceland that it almost became entirely overwhelming.
People are people everywhere and yet the people you meet in other places will challenge you and stretch you and change you in all the good ways. I met a man in Brasil who was so incredibly poor -- living in a favela -- and he offered me his shirt (literally the shirt off his back). I cannot even recall why but I can recall the shock of someone giving me one of the very few things they owned in this world for nothing in return. I think about the children I've met in Honduras who want so badly to learn and go to school. They aren't asking for physical possessions or the "typical" wants of children in the US. The joy on their faces when we give them simple things like toothbrushes or a cheap toy car or plastic doll is radiant. 2 years ago, we saw little boys playing soccer with garbage from the dump, crumbled up into sort of a ball. As we prepared to leave, one little curly haired girl, about 3, started crying because she was the last one and we ran out of things to pass out and she didn't get anything. Her pain was palpable and it crushed my husband. He ran around looking for anything at all to give her. Someone finally tore a single page out of someone else's coloring book and found a marker to give her. She beamed with gratitude. Oh my heart.
You'll learn things about yourself that you might not otherwise know. From my journeys to Iceland and down through Big Bend National Park with my brother, I learned that I don't like to be stuck or feel like I'll get trapped somewhere that I cannot get out of. Now, perhaps you read that and think, well, who does!?!?! But, I didn't realize this at all about myself until coming face to face with a few incidents that sent my pulse racing and caused immediate physical responses, including but not limited to actually yelling, "I don't want to get stuck here and not be able to get away!" When talking through it later with my brother, I finally realized the depth of of all it -- I don't like the idea of being "stuck", whether physically, spiritually, romantically...it was such a huge moment for me and explained so many moves, marriages, changes...and then my brother goes, "Well, duh." This also shocked me -- he already knew that? "Well, yeah." Huh.
I could continue to list things I've learned. Maybe I will again later. For now, I look forward to what's to come.
Monday, August 21, 2017
The stressful build up of "may never be there again" itis
I've alluded to this some in previous posts, but I have gotten a little bit of grief for my (mostly mild and mostly joking) complaints about how stressful it is to plan out something like this.
This morning, I read a post by someone I frequently read-- and then I shared it with my dad and we exchanged some thoughts. The idea being discussed was being idle. Intentionally not doing anything. Not in a planning way -- at least that's not what the post this morning was about -- but just the idea of, in between doing other things, to choose to do nothing at all.
As someone who doesn't get bored, I like this notion. I couldn't do it for long because I've got a long list of things I also want to be doing:) But I can do it for short;)
And so here we are -- planning a trip for 50 days. Two things keep flying in my face at once: build in some down time. Every day doesn't have to be scheduled. Some days can have nothing. But also -- YOU MAY NEVER BE THERE AGAIN>>> DO ALL THE STUFF.
As I get older (at the ripe age of 41 while typing this...) I feel this more. This notion that I likely won't be back to places I go visit. Not because I'm not able. I'm perfectly healthy. But because there are just too many other experiences to have. I don't recall ever feeling this when I was young. I always had a notion that I could come back if I wanted to. And indeed, I have been most places more than once, with a few exceptions. I never felt that time was finite. That there wouldn't be another available time for something.
Last night I made the final hotel and plane reservations to ensure that we DO get to see the Great Barrier Reef. I started looking at the activities on the island we'll be going...and the "may never be here again" feelings were all over me. They are very rude. They say things like, "Spend all your money! It's worth it! Once in a lifetime opportunity!"
As I think on it again today, though, I don't want to plan activities there. I am bringing my dive mask and snorkel. I have every confidence that's all I need.
For me, it's always about water. I was telling Jason the other day, you can tell this sabbatical is 100% Rachel because there will not be a single second of it in which we are not either on an island or on a boat. And while it is true that I may never be there again, I believe I'll get equal joy from the days I do things and the days I don't. It's the being there that counts.
This morning, I read a post by someone I frequently read-- and then I shared it with my dad and we exchanged some thoughts. The idea being discussed was being idle. Intentionally not doing anything. Not in a planning way -- at least that's not what the post this morning was about -- but just the idea of, in between doing other things, to choose to do nothing at all.
As someone who doesn't get bored, I like this notion. I couldn't do it for long because I've got a long list of things I also want to be doing:) But I can do it for short;)
And so here we are -- planning a trip for 50 days. Two things keep flying in my face at once: build in some down time. Every day doesn't have to be scheduled. Some days can have nothing. But also -- YOU MAY NEVER BE THERE AGAIN>>> DO ALL THE STUFF.
As I get older (at the ripe age of 41 while typing this...) I feel this more. This notion that I likely won't be back to places I go visit. Not because I'm not able. I'm perfectly healthy. But because there are just too many other experiences to have. I don't recall ever feeling this when I was young. I always had a notion that I could come back if I wanted to. And indeed, I have been most places more than once, with a few exceptions. I never felt that time was finite. That there wouldn't be another available time for something.
Last night I made the final hotel and plane reservations to ensure that we DO get to see the Great Barrier Reef. I started looking at the activities on the island we'll be going...and the "may never be here again" feelings were all over me. They are very rude. They say things like, "Spend all your money! It's worth it! Once in a lifetime opportunity!"
As I think on it again today, though, I don't want to plan activities there. I am bringing my dive mask and snorkel. I have every confidence that's all I need.
For me, it's always about water. I was telling Jason the other day, you can tell this sabbatical is 100% Rachel because there will not be a single second of it in which we are not either on an island or on a boat. And while it is true that I may never be there again, I believe I'll get equal joy from the days I do things and the days I don't. It's the being there that counts.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Don't Believe in Rainy Days
Despite being raised better, I am not much of a planner or a saver. I eschew planning because my spirit prefers spontaneity and serendipity. And saving? Well, I'm more of a live in the moment and there are no guarantees type of girl. Who says I'll still be alive at retirement age? Why put all my eggs in that basket? The only real basket is the one I'm holding right this very moment.
Side bar: if you are reading this and you are my mother or father, yes, I still have a healthy 401K. I just give it the stink eye.
As I said a post or two ago, I've known for just about 6 years that this sabbatical would be mine if I hung in there. And, I'm really good at hanging in there when I choose to. So, I decided to put aside my normal lack of saving ways and start hoarding airline and hotel miles and points.
I travel regularly. It's easy for me to always fly American, because I quite literally live across the street from DFW airport, which is an American hub. They also fly non-stop to San Jose, which is my most frequent place to visit. It is also quite easy for me to always stay at a Hilton. And so, I do both at least 1 time per month. Sometimes 3-5 times. Repeat every month for years. Next thing you know, there are hundreds of thousands of points and miles available.
Imagine our delight, if you will, when we finally started booking everything a couple of weeks ago. Not only did it finally start feeling real, but it is also feeling free. We are able to fly first class on every single flight for absolutely $0. As of now, there are at least 7 flights within this trip. We are staying at, surprise! Hiltons on numerous occasions, including the 4 days in Honolulu coming and going, Auckland, NewZealand, and possibly the Great Barrier Reef for a total of $0.
Then, as luck would have it, I recalled that Jason's awesome parents had offered us a timeshare week they wouldn't be able to use...in October! I hopped on line and found I could trade it out for a week's stay at one of the top hotels in Adelaide, Australia. For just a change fee of something like $79.
Our luck continued in that Jason has a wonderful friend who is currently living in Brisbane, Australia and has invited us to join her and her hubby at their place. So, there is another week of housing without cost.
We couldn't find a way to make the 31 day cruise free, but we watched the price on it fall the last 7 months (seriously) and finally booked for fear that the balconies would sell out. When we went to book, Jason had another stroke of brilliance and he (somehow!!!) thought to look at American Airlines Cruises (which, I promise you I didn't even know was a thing). Sure enough, the very cruise we wanted was there. So while we paid for our balcony cabin, we got plenty of other perks including triple miles!! Boom! Another free flight has been born. Another plus, American Airlines Cruises also offers shore excursions -- so we now can compare the ones offered directly from the cruise and the ones offered from AA. We're picking and choosing between them and it is awesome.
In a sea of approximately a gazillion, one thing I love about Jason is he travels like I do. We don't get bored. We can just grab a drink, sit outside, and watch. We can take walks around. Just be. And you know what? Just being is often free.
So while I often hear people mumble about how much a trip like this would cost...and it, of course, costs, I hope you'll get some encouragement from reading this. With not too much effort, I was able to weave together something incredible for very little. I do realize that not everyone can rack up the miles and points I did -- at least not in the way I did. But, there are plenty of ways to earn miles and points without having a traveling job:) I follow several travel hacking websites, take full advantage of miles/points based credit cards, etc. It all adds up to making big dreams happen.
At the end of the trip, I'll share the real costs. I'm always very open about it. This is not to brag or boast. This is because as a traveler, I spend a lot of effort trying to determine these sorts of things and always wish that someone would share their trip expenses so I could make a decent ballpark guess at what my own trip might cost. If there is something in particular I don't mention that you're curious about (cost-wise) please ask. I will tell you unless it is something I've purchased as a gift for someone who might be reading:)
Side bar: if you are reading this and you are my mother or father, yes, I still have a healthy 401K. I just give it the stink eye.
As I said a post or two ago, I've known for just about 6 years that this sabbatical would be mine if I hung in there. And, I'm really good at hanging in there when I choose to. So, I decided to put aside my normal lack of saving ways and start hoarding airline and hotel miles and points.
I travel regularly. It's easy for me to always fly American, because I quite literally live across the street from DFW airport, which is an American hub. They also fly non-stop to San Jose, which is my most frequent place to visit. It is also quite easy for me to always stay at a Hilton. And so, I do both at least 1 time per month. Sometimes 3-5 times. Repeat every month for years. Next thing you know, there are hundreds of thousands of points and miles available.
Imagine our delight, if you will, when we finally started booking everything a couple of weeks ago. Not only did it finally start feeling real, but it is also feeling free. We are able to fly first class on every single flight for absolutely $0. As of now, there are at least 7 flights within this trip. We are staying at, surprise! Hiltons on numerous occasions, including the 4 days in Honolulu coming and going, Auckland, NewZealand, and possibly the Great Barrier Reef for a total of $0.
Then, as luck would have it, I recalled that Jason's awesome parents had offered us a timeshare week they wouldn't be able to use...in October! I hopped on line and found I could trade it out for a week's stay at one of the top hotels in Adelaide, Australia. For just a change fee of something like $79.
Our luck continued in that Jason has a wonderful friend who is currently living in Brisbane, Australia and has invited us to join her and her hubby at their place. So, there is another week of housing without cost.
We couldn't find a way to make the 31 day cruise free, but we watched the price on it fall the last 7 months (seriously) and finally booked for fear that the balconies would sell out. When we went to book, Jason had another stroke of brilliance and he (somehow!!!) thought to look at American Airlines Cruises (which, I promise you I didn't even know was a thing). Sure enough, the very cruise we wanted was there. So while we paid for our balcony cabin, we got plenty of other perks including triple miles!! Boom! Another free flight has been born. Another plus, American Airlines Cruises also offers shore excursions -- so we now can compare the ones offered directly from the cruise and the ones offered from AA. We're picking and choosing between them and it is awesome.
In a sea of approximately a gazillion, one thing I love about Jason is he travels like I do. We don't get bored. We can just grab a drink, sit outside, and watch. We can take walks around. Just be. And you know what? Just being is often free.
So while I often hear people mumble about how much a trip like this would cost...and it, of course, costs, I hope you'll get some encouragement from reading this. With not too much effort, I was able to weave together something incredible for very little. I do realize that not everyone can rack up the miles and points I did -- at least not in the way I did. But, there are plenty of ways to earn miles and points without having a traveling job:) I follow several travel hacking websites, take full advantage of miles/points based credit cards, etc. It all adds up to making big dreams happen.
At the end of the trip, I'll share the real costs. I'm always very open about it. This is not to brag or boast. This is because as a traveler, I spend a lot of effort trying to determine these sorts of things and always wish that someone would share their trip expenses so I could make a decent ballpark guess at what my own trip might cost. If there is something in particular I don't mention that you're curious about (cost-wise) please ask. I will tell you unless it is something I've purchased as a gift for someone who might be reading:)
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Itinerary that Dreams are Made of...literally
If you are even remotely like me, you daydream of various St. Somewheres and limitless time to explore. I would go so far as saying there isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thinking about a future adventure of some sort.
And so, it caught me by surprise when it came time to be serious about planning this sabbatical that I absolutely could not figure it out. This has been an unending struggle for all of 2017 and some months of 2016. Also, just a couple of years ago, I offered my brother a free trip to Anywhere for his 40th and he struggled to pick a place... and that surprised me. Little could I have predicted that in short time, I'd find myself in his shoes. (By the way, I chronicled that adventure earlier in the life of this blog, should you care.)
What began as Europe for sure with possible tack-on's to tangential places has ended up on the far side of the world. My brilliant husband finally reasoned that we could go to Europe in shorter stints (that didn't require a sabbatical) but couldn't go to the farthest ends of the world without the longer time period to work with. And just like that, Australia and New Zealand were on the map.
Interestingly, although I have always wanted to go to both places and secretly know, in advance, that part of my very soul is likely waiting for me in New Zealand (can we have spirit countries?) at first, I wasn't any more excited about this plan. I've finally realized, it's because it's just too unreal.
We've been cobbling together an itinerary. There are a few things left to figure out so there are placeholders for now. But, here's what we're expecting to happen. We're also expecting life to happen over these 50 days...so we'll see where reality lands.
And so, it caught me by surprise when it came time to be serious about planning this sabbatical that I absolutely could not figure it out. This has been an unending struggle for all of 2017 and some months of 2016. Also, just a couple of years ago, I offered my brother a free trip to Anywhere for his 40th and he struggled to pick a place... and that surprised me. Little could I have predicted that in short time, I'd find myself in his shoes. (By the way, I chronicled that adventure earlier in the life of this blog, should you care.)
What began as Europe for sure with possible tack-on's to tangential places has ended up on the far side of the world. My brilliant husband finally reasoned that we could go to Europe in shorter stints (that didn't require a sabbatical) but couldn't go to the farthest ends of the world without the longer time period to work with. And just like that, Australia and New Zealand were on the map.
Interestingly, although I have always wanted to go to both places and secretly know, in advance, that part of my very soul is likely waiting for me in New Zealand (can we have spirit countries?) at first, I wasn't any more excited about this plan. I've finally realized, it's because it's just too unreal.
We've been cobbling together an itinerary. There are a few things left to figure out so there are placeholders for now. But, here's what we're expecting to happen. We're also expecting life to happen over these 50 days...so we'll see where reality lands.
Day
|
Location
|
Getting There
|
Plans
|
1
|
Honolulu
|
Plane
|
Buy stuff
|
2
|
Waikiki Beach
|
||
3
|
Honolulu Cruise terminal
|
taxi
|
Go aboard
|
4
|
At sea
|
boat
|
|
5
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
6
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
7
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
8
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
9
|
Pago Pago, American Samoa
|
Boat
|
|
10
|
International Dateline
|
Boat
|
|
11
|
Suva, Fiji
|
Boat
|
See Dramea!
|
12
|
Lautoka, Fiji
|
Boat
|
|
13
|
At Sea
|
Boat
|
|
14
|
Lifou Islem New Caledonia
|
Boat
|
|
15
|
Ile Des Pins, New Caledonia
|
Boat
|
|
16
|
Noumea, New Caledonia
|
Boat
|
|
17
|
At Sea
|
Boat
|
|
18
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
19
|
Sydney, Australia
|
Boat
|
|
20
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
21
|
Melbourne, Australia
|
Boat
|
|
22
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
23
|
Tasmania, Australia
|
Boat
|
|
24
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
25
|
At sea
|
Boat
|
|
26
|
Cruise Milford Sound
|
Boat
|
|
27
|
Cruise Fjordland National Park
|
Boat
|
|
28
|
Dunedin, New Zealand
|
Boat
|
|
29
|
Christchurch, New Zealand
|
Boat
|
|
30
|
Picton, New Zealand
|
Boat
|
Wineries!
|
31
|
Wellington, New Zealand
|
Boat
|
|
32
|
Napier, New Zealand
|
Boat
|
|
33
|
Rotorua, New Zealand
|
Boat
|
Kayaking and glow worm caves!
|
34
|
Auckland, New Zealand
|
Boat
|
Waiheke Island
|
35
|
Auckland, New Zealand
|
Boat
|
Exit the cruise ship and find our “land legs” again
|
36
|
Auckland, New Zealand
|
Land!
|
|
37
|
Adelaide, Australia
|
Plane
|
|
38
|
Adelaide, Australia
|
Wineries!
|
|
39
|
McLaren Vale, Australia
|
Wineries!
|
|
40
|
Barossa Valley, Australia
|
Wineries!
|
|
41
|
Brisbane, Australia
|
plane
|
|
42
|
Brisbane, Australia
|
||
43
|
Great Barrier Reef
|
Plane
|
Stand in awe
|
44
|
Great Barrier Reef
|
Be amazed
|
|
45
|
Brisbane, Australia
|
Plane
|
|
46
|
Brisbane, Australia
|
||
47
|
Brisbane, Australia
|
||
48
|
Honolulu
|
Plane
|
|
49
|
Honolulu
|
||
50
|
DFW
|
Plane
|
Jet lag
|
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