How to Plan an Epic Adventure (Hint: Marry a Nerd)

Tags

Grand Tetons, international travel, itinerary, scotland, spreadsheets, top deck, travel, western europe, yellowstone

As a kid, my family traveled regularly. Resulting in seeing most battlefields and amusement parks on this side of the Mississippi. When Jay and I got married, I knew one of my non-negotiables was a yearly vacation. I told him that I wanted to go somewhere every year, even if it was somewhere small. I’ve referenced the year we stayed in Kentucky in the middle of nowhere. If I can have memories of that then I feel certain that I truly mean anywhere will do. I mean I’m sure my family did something but all I remember is the Bates motel vibe from the place where we stayed.

Our first vacation as a married couple was our honeymoon in Villa Rica Georgia. A friend was kind enough to give us their vacation travel points for the stay. It’s hard to beat free on a newlywed budget!

Braving My First Overnight on Mount Leconte

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family, five minute friday, great smoky mountains, hiking, national park, write28dayschallenge

Living in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mt. Leconte has almost legendary status. While not the tallest or even the most difficult, Leconte is “the” mountain to climb. The mountain, complete with 3 distinct peaks, is easily seen and identified from town.

Starting the New Year Off Right

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books, cabin rental, Cabins, family, holiday, reading, travel

Looking back at my 2020 entries in my gratitude and bullet journals, I discovered how much of the year had gone right. While its important to acknowledge the difficulties, and grieve where necessary, I want to call out the good when possible. Once again for 2021, I’ll be joining Heather’s Share Four Somethings link-up.

Here are just a few special things about the first month of the new year.

Loved

Ringing in the new year with family

Last year, Jay and I had to forego our New Year’s Eve tradition of counting down to the new year with my sister and her family. We had “the flu” (or a reasonable facsimile which resulted in complications wildly similar to the Rona, but I digress), and kept our germs at home. At the stroke of midnight, we did a toast with Nyquil and felt grateful to not believe the superstition that what you’re doing at midnight is what you’ll be doing the rest of the year. AHEM.

Somethings About September

Tags

books, hiking, Monthly Review, national park

Loved

National Parks

Jay and I traveled west for two weeks to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I’m still writing in my travel journal, based on notes I took of our daily activities. Almost a month later, and I’ve only completed day 10 of 16.

Once I’m finished with the journal, I hope to take those memories and turn them into posts to share here. So far I’m kicking around ideas about perspective, enjoying the journey, controlling anxiety, and making sure ‘experts’ are trustworthy.

{FMF} Help & Other Movie Randomness

Tags

five minute friday, fmf, movies, quotes

~The fire brigade once got me head out of some railins.
~Did you want them to?
~No, I use to leave it there when I wasn’t using it for school. You can see a lot of the world through railins.

Help, the Beatles movie which shares a title with one of their songs, contains some of the most quotable and goofy moments. My sister and I have been told we have our own secret language.

June 2020: Share Four Somethings.

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camp fradd, family, fiction, friends, fun, my darling love, quotes, reading, reflection, travel

“I was faced with a dilemma …A
I could either wrestle with my life …
Or I could plunk myself down right in the middle of the mess and realize that the mess is actually my life, the only one I’ll ever get, the one I’m in danger of missing completely, waiting around for fantastic.”

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

Romance – Camp Fradd Style

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1000gifts, adventures, beer, blessings, family, gratitude, holiday, local flavor, marriage, movies, my darling love, sickness, story, tavern, Valentine’s Day, wife-of-the-year

Valentine’s Day was low-key at Camp Fradd this year. We’re in the process of a move, in addition to the medical issues we’ve faced this year.

Me: What do you want for Valentine’s Day this year?

Jay: To just take you out to dinner, and you to be happy with nothing more.

Me: Throw in a giant card and you’ve got a deal.

Direction – Looking Back to Move Forward

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2019 lists, adventures, bullet journal, concerts, family, hiking, journaling, my darling love, project, scotland, storytelling, west highland way, writing

In reviewing 2019 and looking forward to 2020 (the year of my 40th birthday!), I’ve considered what direction I want to take my writing. Seasonal fatigue mixed with stress about moving to a new house (if just up the street), has left me with not much energy to devote to writing. Then I got the flu, which I’m still recovering from.

Here’s to October

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books, concerts, fun, halloween, holiday, learning, monthiversaries, my darling love, reading

The leaves are finally starting to turn here in my corner of the Smoky Mountains. As we wrap up the month of October, I wanted to share a few of my favorites this month.

Musical Vacation Memories

Tags

hiking, music, scotland, songs, travel, west highland way

Anyone who ever sat with a tape deck trying to record a song off the radio understands the power of the perfect song. Jay and I have several “vacation” songs that never fail to make us smile. We crank up the volume and remember the events surrounding us hearing the song, but more importantly the context of the particular vacation where we heard the song.