Travel can be rewarding because it forces me outside of my comfort zone. Don't get me wrong; I love comfort, and the older I get, the more I find myself resisting change or new adventures, if only because I want to "relax" or "be comfortable." But when I'm on a trip, even if it's just a short drive out of town for a night, I'm forced to confront a real and dangerous world that I can't always control. I can't shut myself away or rely on habit and routine to determine what I'll do. I have to go outside, to get a little lost and try figuring out where I am. I have to learn and adapt to situations. And it's kind of thrilling.
This year, I recall a nervous, anxious sensation that was somehow also gratifying and pleasant, if not entirely comfortable. This was different than just anxiety or a panic attack (although I've had to work around those things a little as well, even on vacations), and it usually happened when I was away from home, in some entirely new surrounding, taking in the world instead of trying to tune it out. I feel like those moments end up sticking with us as life goes by. I'm glad that my wife Abby generally enjoys traveling, and the trips that we've taken together tend to produce some of my favorite memories ever. So even when travel causes me some stress or anxiety, I usually cherish the feeling of letting go of my normal life for a few days.
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| Picture by Tucker Nichols |
The first time we drove out to look at our new house, before we ever even considered buying it, I started to feel lost right as we turned a curve that reveals the property - like "no, we've got to be in the wrong place." That's probably one of my favorite things about where we live now. I felt a little lost this year visiting San Francisco and other parts of California with Abby. Our friend Justin lives in SF, and he took us everywhere he possibly could in one day. On that same trip, we visited Monterrey and Big Sur for Woodsist Fest. Staring up at huge redwoods while listening to psych-folk can definitely make you feel lost in a good way.
I also got that feeling visiting this odd barnyard animal rescue farm in Georgia a few weeks ago with our friends Ty and Anna Belle, who had recently wed and moved back to Georgia from Colorado (another amazing place where I got that "good lost" feeling a few times). A couple weeks ago, we visited our friends Corey and Kate for a pop-up art show and visit to their new property in Gary/Miller Indiana, another example of getting out to a different and interesting place. I guess we had friends on a lot of these journeys, but it was still nice to be in a completely new environment, even for a short time.
My wife and I took another trip earlier this year to celebrate our 5th Anniversary... I don't even remember the details exactly, but I know it was somewhere in Florida - some rather small coastal town with only a couple of main streets. We stayed in a weird little bungalow duplex, and overall we had a great time. It's funny that I can't even remember the name of the city, but I distinctly recall seeing lizards, eating tacos, visiting a sushi restaurant, and drinking microbrew in a tiny shop where several locals raged and ranted for a few hours. Like many of my memories, some important pieces fall away and I'm not even sure where I was, but I enshrine those golden moments anyway and keep their distorted images in my head for as long as possible.
So yeah, I like to go away sometimes. I like to be at home, but I really do enjoy taking trips. It can be fun. But more than that, traveling and wondering around can make me more aware. And getting a little lost definitely makes me appreciate the relative comfort and safety that I usually take for granted.
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Today’s prompt: Share a time that you got lost this year, whether you didn't know where you were or you were working on a project or activity so fiercely that you lost all sense of time and place. Did you learn anything?
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