Departures.

I've discovered my newest guilty pleasure.  Halogen.  It's a cable television channel with shows so relaxed and laid back about travel.  The show I'm loving is a show called Departures.  It's basically these two guys who gave up their lives to travel for a full year.  The two men in their late 20's or early 30's just took off with their friend who's a camera man and documented their travels.  One of the guys, Justin is such a laid back guy who is the more carefree but lost at times within his soul.  He said at one point the difference between vacation and travel is that vacation is sitting on a beach somewhere warm and drinking where travel is getting out to new countries and exploring, perfect description.  I want to travel. 

The few times that I've watched the show they've traveled through various places in India....visited Nepal and the coast.  Within Nepal they went on the Toy Train and at various times and journeys tried to see Mt. Everest but couldn't due to the clouds.  So is life when nature takes over and you just can't control things.  The other guy, Scott is the more level headed guy who seems to be more of a take charge, planner type, and more formal, although not much seems to be planned on their trip.  They are doing what I want to do.  Just go.  The episode I'm currently watching is one where they are on Ascencion Island and their enjoying the crabs, fishing, hiking, worst golf ever, and finally the night life.    There's so much I want to do and so many places I don't ever want to forget.  I know this is small in the grand scale of traveling, but by writing all of this down I'm holding myself accountable to what I don't always remember about where I want to travel and why I want to travel.  I want to experience the world, see places most people never will, meet people who may pass through my life just once or forever, and find the strength inside myself to discover.

Personal Narratives.

So, I'm currently sitting in my classroom while my entire class of 4th graders are writing a personal narrative.  I thought it would be good for me to set an example and write as well, so here I am writing on my blog as they write on their yellow legal pads,  the rough draft to which I'll be editing so they can make their final copies for their parents during conferences.  Here's my personal narrative....

    Gathering our mats, towels, snorkling gear, and books, Sarah and I walked down the parking lot path to Wailea beach.  Being in Hawaii was absolutely amazing and perfect in almost every way.  The sun shone brightly in the morning, the Pacific rolled her waves gently onto the sandy beaches and the clear salt water beckoned for us to "Come on in, the waters fine!"   Walking through the soft sand, feeling it slip beneth my toes is the most comforting feeling in the world for me.  The ocean always seems to be a place where tranquility comes to me in overwhelming rushes of peace.  
    As we moved closer to the water, a small patch of warm sand called for our towels and we set up camp in the morning sunlight.  I fairly quickly put my things down, set tiny piles of sand on each of the corners just in case the trade winds kicked up and reached for my blue netted bag.  My snorkling gear was screaming to be pulled out and used.  Setting my sandles aside and reaching for the bag, I took out my de-frogger and squirted it on the snorkling mask to help avoid it from fogging up. 
      The time was finally here, I put the last touches of SPF 70 on my Michigan skin and stood up, flippers in hand.  I adjusted the snorkling mask and breathing tube, wiped the last strand of my long brown hair back into the ponytail, looked toward Sarah and started toward the perfectly blue Maui waters.  One step into the surf was all I needed, finally I felt like I was home in my element, the warm, salty ocean water.

Changes.

It's so difficult for me to plan anything.  I don't do well with planning months in advance nor even at times hours in advance.  I just don't do well with that.  A little ironic with all of the planning I have to do at work, I know, but my own life is the complete opposite...thank you Gemini side.  The plans to go to Bali seem to be getting further away or just a little bit more gray.  After agreeing to go to Ireland next year with my mom over spring break, she didn't get the time off but instead got the 2 weeks after school ends off and I just couldn't tell her no after seeing how excited she was.  Now my fear is this....if I go to Ireland in June I might not go to Bali in June.  A big part of me just wants to go to Ireland and then take off from there for Bali, but I don't want to leave my mom alone to get home.....but I think I could do it.  I'm a little worried right now, but I know it'll all work out.  Maybe to Bali for late July/August instead?

The Box.

So.  I've bought my box, of course you would know since I already wrote about it here.  Tonight I cleaned and found the islands travel magazine I bought at LAX on the way home from Hawaii.  It's one that I said would help me to take off and find new exotic places to travel to.  The magazine is now destroyed, but my box has some new cool pictures and sayings. 

Fall.

Rusty red is appearing everywhere.  The evening sun casts golden hues across the horizon.  Green is fading quicker than a flash of lightening.  I miss spring and summer.   I've never been very fond of fall.  I've never enjoyed the lush green carpet of the world fading.  I've never been a fall person.  I have two exceptions to this, the first being a 2-3 day span where the leaves are still vivid on the trees with a Michigan fall sky, cooler weather (but still warm enough to have my car windows open), and a certain smell of fall floating through the air.   The second are the days when the fall has disappeared to a beautiful winter wonderland of white fields and cascading flakes falling from the sky.  After about a month of snow, I'm ready for spring. 

Over the past two weeks I decided to offer myself up as a travel buddy to my mom.  She's always wanted to go to Ireland, so I told her I'd go this coming spring break.  I'm not sure how this is going to change my plans for the summer, but a trip to Ireland won't be a cheap trip.  It's not that I don't want to go, I'm going to love it in Ireland, it's just that my heart is now set on going to Bali.  Maybe it'll just be a trip a month later than I originally planned?  Like a late June, early July trip?

Seconds.

This past weekend was quite the experience for me.  I had the joy of attending a good friends wedding with a few other amazingly phenomenal friends.  First off, I had rushed down to Chicago from work and ended up stuck in traffic for about an hour and a half and found myself steaming at the lack of public transportation actually moving in a modern city.  It took myself many times telling myself to 'slow down and chill' throughout this bumper interstate that transverses that city.  Finally I took a side street, followed my gps and found myself completely relaxing.  It didn't matter if this route was going to take me 5, 10, or 20 miles outside of where I was focused on going, it was all about getting the space to breathe!  Once again it made me think I need to get out.....it's weird feeling so claustrophobic in a country that is so vast.  I have to wonder if someday this whole planet will feel cramped to me?  I did always want to see what was beyond earth and get that amazing view of our blue planet from space.  :)  And Neptune always seems so beautiful....although a bit cold and gasy. 

As Saturday rolled in, I found myself slowing down and enjoying the wedding, feeling beautiful and more confident than I usually do.  The wedding was beautiful and the company was good.  Throughout the day I found myself opening up and relaxing, it felt good.   It always does me well to be around people who I can just relax and be me with and not feel judged, something I consistently feel at work.

Sunday was a relaxing day and J and I went to see Eat, Pray, Love.  My 2nd time around of course.  It was good for me to refresh those feelings I have about traveling which have come full force with this movie.  I focused in this time with the scene about the box.  The one character had the box of baby clothes, something I was sick to my stomach about (really thinking kids/marriage just isn't me) and the other, Liz's was a box of travel.  So this is my next step in the journey of where I'm headed....I bought my box.  It's a blue, cloth letter type of box with two simple silver hinges on it.  Thank you Ikea, it only costs $4.00.  (I know this trip can be affordable.....and this was yet another 'sign' of sorts!)  Now the box is here, it's started.  The 2nd ticket stub of Eat Pray Love is inside of it.  Let the journey begin continue.

Florence.

So it's only fitting that I start this time writing and of course, like I usually do, try to open with a title. A topic of sorts to get me started.  The one or two word ones are usually my style. Anywho, I knew I wanted to write about Florence and the Machine's song Dog Days Are Over and another moment of 'the universe' screaming out to me HELLO....TRAVEL!  Florence not only is an artist, but also a city in Italy.  Check another city to the list I must visit!   Weird how much things connect.  Maybe I'm looking for it, maybe it's coinsidence, and maybe it's just a fluke.  I'm chosing to believe it's a 'calling' of sorts. 
Now the reason I started to write this blog is because I'm addicted to the song Dog Days Are Over lately.  It's yes, wait for it......a song from the movie Eat Pray Love.  Like Whoa.....but seriously now, everytime I hear it I think of sad days being over and a horizon of bigger and better things to come.  The song talks about running from happiness that's charging at you and wow, that's a lot.  I've charged away from happiness.  I've run from things hiding back into myself, I know I have, but I need to be ready for this happiness to come up to me.  I'm just about ready to go charging at it with a horse of steel.  My Dog Days Are soon to be Over.