Good morning… and depending on when you read this, good afternoon, good evening, and good night! (Do you like the Truman Show reference I just did there?)
I wanted to touch base with you all because I am really determined to stick with this schedule of posting every other Saturday (I hear routine is supposed to be good for people, and I, surprisingly enough, do qualify as a “people”). I did just get back from a little trip to Phoenix, AZ and I am so excited to share some of the photos from that trip and just the thoughts and experiences. Alas, today’s post will be a little short as I need to comb through the photos and get the best ones edited for you.
It was really good to be on the road again. I hadn’t taken a true out-of-state exploratory road trip since January of 2021, and I forgot how much I love it. I mean, I knew I loved to travel, but have you ever had something that gives you so much happiness and inspiration, that you then aren’t able to do for a significant amount of time? How do you feel when you get to do it again? For me, it felt like I had gotten so used to the hunger for travel, that I forgot I was hungry. And now that I got to “eat,” I never want to go hungry again. It also made going back to work so hard. I don’t think I got used to doing my job again until Friday, oops!
I do have a couple of random take-aways from the trip that I want to share with you now. The first is really just a confirmation of something I already “knew,” but the knowledge sunk in a little deeper this time. I always knew that we are all individuals and all our minds operate a little different from each others: This is why our perceptions of the same events can vary so much. But this time I realized I, personally, am wired a little different.
For me, going on solo road trips just feels so normal; Whether it’s a drive through the mountains or a drive through multiple states, they feel the same to me. So the idea that driving to Phoenix alone is adventurous, kind of confused me, because to me that just feels like a “Tuesday.” And the expectation that you are supposed to travel with people showed up in some unusual situations. Like chatting with a stranger in the park, she asked if my group was staying nearby, even though I was obviously alone, chilling on a park bench (granted, that did make it a lot easier to follow the #1 safety rule of solo travel, which is to always make it sound like you are traveling with others). The weird thing for me now, is that my brain doesn’t automatically recognize why you wouldn’t travel alone? I get that most people travel with family or friends, but I like to travel alone. I enjoy the hours alone in my car listening to music and the ability to change my plans based on what I feel like doing at that moment. I can randomly go visit a fort that is five miles out of the way, or say “screw it” and stay in my hotel room and watch a Kdrama instead of exploring the city like I had originally planned. The freedom of it is kind of my favorite.
Ok, lastly, I am going to leave you with a funny thought I had while driving home that made me laugh really hard (hopefully it will make you chuckle a little too). I was driving on this super hilly and winding highway heading out of Phoenix, and the speed limit was pretty fast, so you can feel the force as you go up and down, and veer left and right to hug the curves of the road. It made me feel how I assume a racecar driver feels. So there I am, Rihanna blasting on the stereo, with my window down, my hand out floating on the wind stream from my car, and my excited little voice just shouts “This road has more curves than me, and I LOVE IT!!”
There you go. A mini-update for you all. I hope you enjoyed.
Sojourn Nation 