1. We’re Going On a Trip

Eastern seaboard map with approximate distance/mile indicators.

I have always had a sense of adventure.  Anything new appealed to me whether tangible or intangible.  That isn’t to say “bright and shiny” new, but more as an a new-to-me kinda new.  For instance, growing up, we got a lot of  hand me downs from neighbors and I LOVED that I was getting new-to-me sweaters or shirts, not disgusted that I was getting something that used to belong to someone else.  And the idea translates most aspects of my life.  It doesn’t need to be original, just not something experienced by me. It’s never about being first or the best…just new-to-me.  A game, a trip, a trail, a song, a food…it’s all good!

To say that my running has encouraged this sense of adventure is something I would completely agree with.  Running in high school, I wanted to try new workouts, run faster than I did before, do more reps than I did before, do more miles than I did before.  I love the feeling I get, the sense of accomplishment, when I push the limits physically.  It’s a little scary pushing into and through the pain, but on the flip side, it is so worth it! Even for the non-physical plusses of running like trying different trails or routes— it was time to explore and see something new!  Trying a new trail or route may be unknown or intimidating, but almost always you see or experience something you haven’t before and in the end you learn from it.

I think that it is hard to fathom sometimes, the size of our world, our countries or even our towns and cities.  Just think about it…do you know all the roads in your neighborhood?  Your town? Do you know it well enough to get from one place to another without GPS?  There’s no shame if you don’t, but it underscores a point…there is so much to explore!  Even if we think we know a place there is probably a piece that is new to you.  And that’s just places – what about experiences?!?!? There is so much out there!

Could not have done the trip without this atlas. Yes, technology and GPS are at our fingertips, but when planning out or when signals are bad, there’s nothing like a book in hand.

With our instant access to pictures and stories of people, places and events, we superficially allow ourselves to think that we have been there and done that. Why go out and climb that mountain? Nothing special, it’s been done before.  Why don’t we hike around that pond, check out that waterfall, watch a sunset from _______?  Excuse: I’ve seen the picture, I’ve read the story, I watched the movie about that.  But it isn’t the same.  Watching a game or race on TV isn’t the same as participating in or cheering at an event.  Seeing the Milky Way in a picture doesn’t compare to seeing it when you look up at it in the night sky.  Visiting and living in a different country is very different from learning about it on the news or in books.  It’s not to say that books, TV’s and digital devices can’t give us information, it’s that we can get more out of experiencing it.

This is why I have started to take my family on little (and some big) excursions and will continue to do so for as long as I can. Unfortunately, I can see the day that they are too cool to come with mom and dad or maybe even too busy. But, there are so many things to experience and see in our world.  I hope to imbue them with a thirst for adventure and discovery, despite the many distractions that keep us from seeing the beauty, diversity and challenges in the world that make living all that it can be. 

My boys were six and ten when we went on our first big trip. It lasted from June 21st to July 8th.  We traveled just under 3000 miles total through 13 states.  We stayed a six hotels, three campgrounds and three houses of relatives. Overall, it was a fantastic experience, but there were definitely some bumps in the road, pun intended!  Also, this trip was sans my significant other.  This was for two reasons: 1. Getting the time off was going to be hard and more importantly 2. He has chronic leg pain that is exacerbated by being in static positions for long periods of time.  We moved a lot, but we were also in the car for significant portions of time.  I WISH we could figure out what was causing his pain (for another blog). I hope future trips will include him:-)

We were missing Chevy, but the trip has its ups and downs just like the movie! Thank you to my husband for sneaking this picture into the binder:-)

When I prep’d for the trip, I made a binder with directions from location to location, reservation info for the handful of places we made reservations, as well as contact information for each stop – just in case I ran out of juice or lost my phone.   I also made binders for my boys with pictures and info about each stop and a space for them to write notes or draw pictures of what they saw. I wish I had dedicated a little more time to the process while we were on the trip.  They made notes, but not tons- maybe next time:-)

While they may not have taken notes, listening to them recall pieces of the trip afterward, I know that they had many wonderful take-aways.  They learned that the United States is HUGE.  We only went through 13 states and they know that what we saw of the states was just a drop in the bucket. In addition, they learned the states are diverse.  Diverse is a complex word, so to be clear, I mean that most states are unique and have their own characteristics, history, and things they are proud of.  Another take-away is that growing up in New England and seeing different parts of the east coast often, they have seen many examples of economic and social inequality — but as we got further from the coasts, while there were/are still inequalities, they were able to see different types of inequalities, (which will make for excellent conversations as they get older). 

The two things that I hoped they would notice, that were more secondary thoughts for them that will only become primary as they get older, were the beauty of the landscapes and structures they were looking at as well as how similar they are and their experiences are to the people of the places we visited.  I know that they appreciated much of what we saw and who we met, but for now, they are figuratively and were literally background to activities we did. But, at least they have some context for future experiences and discussions now:-)

Next blog: Cherry Springs State Park, the first leg of the trip and the morning that almost ended it all.

Our sweet ride;-) . The Sienna was perfect for the trip with plenty of storage for our clothing and gear.