The joy of mini adventures
Way back in January, when my husband and I were making plans for 2020, we had one theme in mind - this would be our year of big adventures. Instead of peppering lots of little breaks throughout the year, we decided to save up our annual leave and take one big trip instead, road tripping along the East Coast of the US and through Canada. Our itinerary included so many bucket list items - whale watching in Cape Cod, hiking in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, eating our way around Montreal, and watching one of our favourite bands play in New York.
Of course, coronavirus quickly put paid to those plans. A few weeks into lockdown we realised that 2020 probably wasn’t going to be our year of big adventures, and that we’d have to adjust our expectations a little. I’ll admit that we felt grumpy about that for a little while - frustrated that we wouldn’t be able to take our big trip, jarred by the realisation of how little control we really have. But once we got over that initial reaction, we adjusted our expectations and decided to make this the year of mini adventures instead.
Because, yes, our bucket lists are full of incredible things we’d like to do and see around the globe. We love travelling to new countries and destinations, and I’m sure that as soon as it is safe for us to do that, we’ll be back to planning those big adventures. But we also knew that if we were truly going to make the most of 2020, if we were going to squeeze as much joy out of it as possible, we would need to embrace all of the beauty right here on our doorstep.
And so that’s exactly what we did a couple of weeks ago. I blocked off my coaching calendar for a week, my husband rescheduled his work commitments, and we filled the week with mini adventures. We visited a Druid’s Temple in North Yorkshire. We paddled in the sea and climbed through sand dunes on a beautiful beach. We swam with the birds in a local lake. We hiked in the woods and watched a sunset and visited our local garden centre. We didn’t travel more than an hour or two away from our house, but the week felt filled with adventure and excitement.
It was a reminder to me that adventure doesn’t have to be preceded by a long haul flight. Adventure isn’t confined to destinations that get loads of likes on Instagram. Adventure isn’t something that you always have to pack a suitcase for. No, adventure is an attitude. It’s staying curious. It’s being present in the moment. It’s noticing the wind on your face or the bird song above you or the thrilling feeling when you round the corner and get met with a spectacular view. Adventure is squeezing every bit of joy and excitement from whatever situation you find yourself in.
This summer probably won’t end up looking like any of us expected. We might not be able to go on the holidays we’d planned, dance at festivals and weddings, or be as spontaneous as we’d perhaps like. But that doesn’t mean that it has to be void of adventure. All you need is a bit of curiosity and the desire to make the most of all that’s on your doorstep. Oh, and maybe a picnic. Don’t forget the picnic.
