One of my new year’s resolutions for this year was to read a book a month. I made a list of books for dreamers and hustlers and got to work on reading them! While reading a phenomenal book by Jon Acuff, I came across a passage talking about regrets. The author encouraged me to ask myself if I died young, what would I regret? Immediately I knew I would regret not traveling more with Nick. We have only been to a few cities together, but we love exploring new places by taking public transit, enjoying bicycle tours, and always finding the best BBQ and donuts in town. Out of curiosity, I asked him what he would regret if he died young. Without skipping a beat, he told me he would regret not traveling more with me.
Heart-melting awwwww moment aside, this was a pretty big “AHA” moment. We both want the exact same thing. For those of you who have ever had a relationship, you know it is a SUPER win when you both want exactly the same thing. Sure, compromise is part of relationships but it is way better when everyone gets exactly what they want, right?!
We both want to travel together. That would be our number one regret. SO WHY ARE WE NOT DOING IT MORE? The easy answers are time and money. But we do have time and we do have some money. It is up to us how to spend both of those resources. Valentine’s day was approaching and instead of buying any gifts, we decided we wanted to travel. He thought we would drive somewhere to hike or visit, but I got to surprise him with a trip to visit his best friend in Seattle.
It is easy to talk yourself out of things. “It is expensive. I should not take time off of work. Finding someone to watch the dogs will be difficult. I am just too tired to add something else to my schedule. I would get so much more done if I do not take a vacation. I should pay more student loans before taking a trip. Is this really where we should go? What if one of us losing our job? Will we regret going? Will my coworkers think poorly of me if I take a vacation after being there for only 6 months?” The list goes on. At this point you are either nodding your head in agreement because you think like this too or you are wide-eyed horrified due to realizing I’m a loon.
Somehow, I got over it all and decided to go for it. While I was there, I really pushed myself to bring my camera, practice my passion, and capture some awesome memories. If you missed it, check out my post about day 1 in Seattle.
Since day one in Seattle, I got to go to my first National Park EVER. I have a goal to see all the National Parks before I die so this was an awesome beginning to that bucket list. We went on a sail boat for the first time and got to help sail! I was pretty convinced the boat was going to flip several times. Don’t worry, I took some Dramamine first! We went kayaking and saw a Sea Lion and our friend snorkeled and brought up live crabs for us to see. We went to a beautiful indoor plant conservatory. After a hike, we watched paragliders jump off a mountain. We visited some local makerspaces. We made and ate lots of great food. We played Banagrams with friends.
This trip showed me a glimpse of the life I want. We had adventure. I had my camera. I edited photos on a plane and am wrote a blog post in the airport. I know life can’t always be a vacation, but I want a life you do not need a vacation from. I want to work hard, hustle hustle hustle, and have adventures with my goofy travel buddy. We can do it. I WILL grow my photography business. I will love on my clients and continue to hone my craft. We have other skills we are willing to leverage as well and have started taking on clients who need a website built to support their own dream chasing. I even delivered a website while on this trip! Nick is working on being a better videographer and photographer as well. Step by step, we are getting there.
We do not need to be wealthy, but we want to be free. We want to prioritize travel and see as many beautiful parts of this world as possible. I want to bring my dogs when I can. I would love to take some great photos while I am at it. So, here we go!!
Want to read the book that inspired me to take this trip? I HIGHLY recommend it! I love this book so much I have given it to three people as a gift!
A now it is time for some photos! When I scroll through these, I am left feeling so incredibly lucky. My life is beautiful even when my hair on a sailboat gets a little rough.
It is completely surreal to be able to drive to the mountains and find snow. The plan was to do a hike in Mt. Rainier National Park, but the road was closed because the SNOW was too deep! After our snowball fights, we headed out to hike Poo Poo Point. Yup, it is a real place. We hiked to the top, plopped down with some sandwiches and watching paragrliders jump off the mountain! My camera did not come with me for this part of the trip, but Naomi snagged most of these fun photos on her phone!
Ty was an excellent captain and had so much patience with us as we began to learn the ropes. (pun intended)
Is it just me or is he WORKIN’ that life jacket?!
It was pretty cold. Nick needed a break from the wind!
Gasworks Park again! This time, we got the sea view.
After an afternoon on the water, we were ready for some warm food. BBQ it is from Cask and Trotter ! Extra bonus: you can color all over the table. The guys were weirdos and decided to sit on the same side of eachother. Let’s just say the waitress misinterrpretted who the couple was when it came time for the check!
Last, but not least, can we talk about these bicycle paths? There were several great bicycle and pedestrian paths all over the city. Nick and I love Lexington, but any time we have considered moving, bikability is HIGH on our priorities list for a new city. Wouldn’t this be the BEST morning commute?!
I honestly love these out of all your posts! Thanks for sharing yourself and encouraging others to do the same