It's June 15th and I haven't boarded a plane, carried a passport or landed in a different time zone. I haven't been lost, spoken to in a foreign language nor tasted a new food, and I'm feeling a bit stifled.
What to do? The answer came when the last wedding guest left on Saturday and .....it hit me hard... I NEEDED some real ADVENTURE but, I'd have to find it in my own backyard.
Isn't that where real happiness and love is found anyways? According to ancient legends of travel, treasure and wisdom seeking?
#1 And so the adventures began that very night with Tony and I finding a new lake to kayak (20 minutes away). We actually heightened the adventure by using googlemaps, me in the driver's seat, Tony intensely studying each street and calling out, "Turn now," as if we were racing through the French countryside. We could have easily found it without googlemaps (ridiculous), but it brought us that much closer to a much needed adventure. Once there, the surrounding mountains, the unfamiliar people, reminded me of a Ravensburger puzzle, and I pretended, for just a moment that we were on the lake in a quaint European village. The spell was broken when a hefty, American accented, bubba voice called out, "Hey you're on my fishing bauble."
On the adventure scale of 1-10, it scored a -10.
#2 We're actually going out to a real movie theatre to see the new Jurassic Park. The effort will be tempered however by seeing the matinee--I won't even feel the threatening thrill of coming out in the dark after a scary movie!
On the adventure scale, we move up to a -8. Wait,...we haven't done it yet so -9.
#3 The great American adventure through the history books. I'm really focusing on American History--post reconstruction forward AND I will create a timeline to keep it all in perspective. Woo hoo. And could anything be better than the vicarious adventures of America's statesmen? Don't answer.
Adventure scale: -5
But, we're moving up.
#4 Finding many of those history books in the public library. Ok, I got myself on this one. The public library has always been an adventure for me.
Adventure scale shakes like the Richter: +1.
#5 Spend an afternoon at the Museum of Art. Since museums are most often a vacation endeavor, I shall overrate this adventure, especially since I will sit in the cafe after, while reading the exhibition pamphlet.
Adventure scale +2
#6 Drive to a new canyon and ride my bike.
Adventure scale +3
#7 Last night, clouds gathered, rain threatened. The thunder rumbled, lightening flashed, and it was gorgeous. I sat on the comfy deck couch enjoying the beauty, the peace and the sure-safety, and realized I needed to rethink the need for adventure. I haven't been home in June for seventeen years, but the funny thing is I really want to be here. I'm glad I'm here. Perhaps the adventure is finding the adventure when it's far from apparent. Like finding the blessings amidst hardship; like finding the joy through the pain; like finding the purpose of the experience when there's no way out. Like finding the good when we've only focused on the bad. Like finding kindness and patience when we've only shown impatience and intolerance. Like finding the greatest adventure may be the change we can make in ourselves.
Adventure scale +10
What to do? The answer came when the last wedding guest left on Saturday and .....it hit me hard... I NEEDED some real ADVENTURE but, I'd have to find it in my own backyard.
Isn't that where real happiness and love is found anyways? According to ancient legends of travel, treasure and wisdom seeking?
#1 And so the adventures began that very night with Tony and I finding a new lake to kayak (20 minutes away). We actually heightened the adventure by using googlemaps, me in the driver's seat, Tony intensely studying each street and calling out, "Turn now," as if we were racing through the French countryside. We could have easily found it without googlemaps (ridiculous), but it brought us that much closer to a much needed adventure. Once there, the surrounding mountains, the unfamiliar people, reminded me of a Ravensburger puzzle, and I pretended, for just a moment that we were on the lake in a quaint European village. The spell was broken when a hefty, American accented, bubba voice called out, "Hey you're on my fishing bauble."
On the adventure scale of 1-10, it scored a -10.
#2 We're actually going out to a real movie theatre to see the new Jurassic Park. The effort will be tempered however by seeing the matinee--I won't even feel the threatening thrill of coming out in the dark after a scary movie!
On the adventure scale, we move up to a -8. Wait,...we haven't done it yet so -9.
#3 The great American adventure through the history books. I'm really focusing on American History--post reconstruction forward AND I will create a timeline to keep it all in perspective. Woo hoo. And could anything be better than the vicarious adventures of America's statesmen? Don't answer.
Adventure scale: -5
But, we're moving up.
#4 Finding many of those history books in the public library. Ok, I got myself on this one. The public library has always been an adventure for me.
Adventure scale shakes like the Richter: +1.
#5 Spend an afternoon at the Museum of Art. Since museums are most often a vacation endeavor, I shall overrate this adventure, especially since I will sit in the cafe after, while reading the exhibition pamphlet.
Adventure scale +2
#6 Drive to a new canyon and ride my bike.
Adventure scale +3
#7 Last night, clouds gathered, rain threatened. The thunder rumbled, lightening flashed, and it was gorgeous. I sat on the comfy deck couch enjoying the beauty, the peace and the sure-safety, and realized I needed to rethink the need for adventure. I haven't been home in June for seventeen years, but the funny thing is I really want to be here. I'm glad I'm here. Perhaps the adventure is finding the adventure when it's far from apparent. Like finding the blessings amidst hardship; like finding the joy through the pain; like finding the purpose of the experience when there's no way out. Like finding the good when we've only focused on the bad. Like finding kindness and patience when we've only shown impatience and intolerance. Like finding the greatest adventure may be the change we can make in ourselves.
Adventure scale +10