Adventure in the time of Covid

What does adventure mean to you? Is it a weekend away to a new destination? Perhaps adventure to you means just pushing boundaries beyond your normal comfort zone. We have always gotten an incredible high from waking up in a new country or location with no idea how the day would play out. 2020 is not that year.

The official definition of adventure even adds in a bit of danger.

ad·ven·ture/

an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity. Especially the exploration of unknown territory.

During these last few months of time spent close to home, we have found ourselves endlessly discussing past adventures while craving for our own next big adventure. We’ve scoured the pages of this blog reliving the countries and continents we’ve explored and missing all those we’ve met along the way.

Recently a friend shared this quote: “Now is not the time to lament what we can not do, but embrace what we can do”. So true in this year of disruption on so many levels.

While BIG plans are in the works with more info to come about later, we have managed to have a few short trips up and down the Oregon coast. While the unusual and dangerous elements may have been missing, there is no question that this scenic route is one of the most spectacular we’ve ever driven.

Meanderings both north and south delivered on stunning vistas, magnificent empty beaches where masks and social distancing were unnecessary discussions, along with some damn good seafood.

Saturday we leave for our next mini-vacation with a two-week jaunt through Central Oregon hanging for a few days each in several of our favorite campgrounds and enjoy days of leisure. The only things on the agenda are sleeping in, days spent on the lake, and lots of R&R.

I suspect I’ll even read a book, or five. The majority of our time will be out of touch, fully unconnected from the chaos and dysfunction that is 2020.

New adventures await and one day our plans will again include international travel and far-flung locales. One day we will hug our friends close and enjoy group outings.

For now, we relish our time together. For now, we are grateful daily that our sweet baby girl is still with us and smiling daily. For now, we appreciate that we work in one of the few travel industry jobs that is actually thriving. For now, we take one day at a time dreaming of adventures to come.

Moving On – An Introduction

I know I’ve been silent on this blog for the last several weeks. The passing of our beloved Maddy shattered us.  After the first few days of constant crying jags, we tried to learn to adjust without her in our lives and it was devastating. She had become such a constant in our lives that, with her gone, we truly understood the absolute silence that existed without her. Morning was our special mommy & Maddy time…. we’d go outside for a pee and then she’d eat her breakfast and sit in the kitchen, watching me intently, while I told her what the day was to bring as I made coffee and lunches. Now, I found myself alone and would collapse into great gulping sobs, finding myself hunched over, hypher-ventilating, feeling as though I’d been gut-punched. Continue reading