Are We There Yet?
This could also be titled How Do You Know if You’re There If You Don’t Know Where You are Going?
Yesterday was a very long day. Two flights on very crowded airplanes with crying children. A long layover in Minnesota. Long lines at the car rental place. Rain, rain and more rain. We had a three hour drive ahead of us when we landed in Portland (YES IT WAS MY FAULT BECAUSE I DIDN”T WANT TO GET UP EARLY ENOUGH TO FLYCHEAPLY INTO SEATTLE). By the time we arrived in Seattle it was dark , raining, unfamiliar, with lots of construction detours and we were hungry.
BUT it wasn’t snow and it wasn’t Ohio and we were on VACATION.
What I want to say is yesterday’s travels were a lot like Life. There are lessons to be learned as you go along.
- To get where you want to be you have to know where you want to go and have some idea of how you want it to be when you get there. However do not cast this in stone.
- Slow down. Its really easy to miss something if you are going too fast. It’s not always possible to easily get back to where you wanted to go if you miss an essential turn.
- It helps to have a map and someone to help navigate .Trying to read the map in the dark while you are driving is not a good idea. By this I mean, learn as much as you can before you start the car.
- Keep your eyes open because there may be something more interesting along the way. It may be just a detour OR you may decide its a better destination than where you thought you wanted to go.
- Sometimes you need to stop and ask directions.
- Sometimes you just need to stop. And start again the next day.
I say this because what a difference a day makes. When I started this blog this morning it was taking a dark turn. The experiences of yesterday were still clinging to me. I didn’t like where it was going so I stopped. I knew we “weren’t there yet”. I turned off the computer, took a shower and decided I would be cheerful if it killed me. Overcast skies be damned. I had a bright new red raincoat and I’d enjoy it.
By the time we arrived at Pike Place Market the clouds had started to lift. By noon the sun was shining (something that only happens 90 days a year in Seattle on average). We had a great time at the market, got back to the car before we got a parking ticket and decided to change our game plan and do something really touristy. We went to the Space Needle. We did and were treated to a magnificent view of Mt. Ranier and the rest of the city bathed in warm sunlight.
Daffodils are in bloom, Cherry and pear trees are blooming here and people are actually walking around without coats, hats and boots.
As I was saying – travel is a lot like life. There are lessons to be learned.
- Don’t believe everything you read. The forecast said rain and 45 degrees. We had sun and 63 degrees.
- Take time to enjoy the unexpected. By deviating from our original plan and staying a little later than we should have we had a glorious view of Mt. Rainier and of the Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges.
- Stay flexible
- Smile at strangers. They might need one.
- Keep a sense of humor. You are going to need it more than once on the journey.
- Crying babies and crowded planes become just minor inconveniences when you see a homeless woman living under an overpass with her cat.
Think about it.