Tag Archives: exploration

Back Home

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Today is my first day back after a being gone for a week of adventure out west. I flew to Casper, Wyoming and got in my friend’s Jeep so we could head up to the Cody/Yellowstone area.

Yes. In the middle of a government shutdown, I thought it was a good idea to fly AND go to a national park.

The security line in Columbus was long at 6:15 a.m. last Wednesday. TSA seemed to be running with a skeleton crew and then I slowed things down even more with the two metal pieces in my knee brace. My leg got scanned and patted down and my hands even got scanned for residue but they evidently decided I wasn’t a risk and let me go. Ha!

Johnna and I explored museums and thrift stores, went Jeeping in the back country, saw some wildlife, and had a wonderful time wandering around. I had an especially lovely gloomy afternoon in a wonderful bookstore.

I ate badly, didn’t get enough rest, and needed far stronger moisturizer than I had packed. Holy cow. My skin wasn’t prepared for the dry air and winds that are trademark of Wyoming. The 60 mph wind we drove through Sunday is what locals call “a breeze.”

Travel scares a lot of people but I find it exhilarating and fascinating. The more time you spend in places where you encounter people who look, sound, and think differently than you, the more clear it becomes that the world isn’t so scary at all. Leaving your comfort zone and exploring this big world of ours is one of the most amazing things you can do for yourself and for your understanding of your place in the world.

I learned a lot this trip and have much to think about in the near future and I’m grateful for this opportunity. Stay tuned. I have lots to share and a few stories that may take me a while to mentally unpack. We’ll get there.

Meanwhile, if you need me, I’ll be here with my industrial strength moisturizer, trying to coax my skin back to life.

More Of What Makes Us Feel Alive

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Sometimes we are tired because we aren’t rested and sometimes we are tired because we aren’t doing enough of the things that make us feel alive.

I have strayed far down a path away from the things that make me feel happy – road trips, writing, and exploration of the world around me have taken a backseat to work, illness and an all around sense of busyness.

Winter is done. Spring has sprung. It’s time to get busy living.

I’m ready for some road trips, for diner food and for tours of random historic sites. I’m ready for a long weekend looking at murals and flowers, for slamming on the brakes to photograph a barn, and for falling into bed at night exhausted from a day of seeing what’s around the next bend in the road.

I want to roll into a town I don’t know well, park the car and walk around. The world looks so different and is more engaging as a pedestrian.

These are the things that bring me joy and that make me feel like me. It has been a while and I think it’s time to go.

We spend so much time at work and fulfilling obligations in life outside work. We spend so much time recovering from a busy week and preparing for the next one. When did life become such a drag? When did the to-do list become the most important thing? 

When did the news, weather, and mowing grass become the only thing we know how to discuss? 

Let’s read a book, go for a drive, watch a documentary, learn a hobby, visit somewhere new, and learn something interesting so we aren’t swallowed up by the drudgery and by the mundane reality of merely existing.

Are you in? 

Let’s go.

Surprises At The Cleveland Museum Of Art

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The Cleveland Museum of Art is filled with surprises around nearly every corner.

With about 60,000 pieces in a collection that ranges from African and Chinese art to Renaissance art and even armory. The building itself is spectacular with a gorgeous exterior and an atrium that somehow makes you feel like you are at once inside and outside.

Adam and I met four friends and it was striking how different everyone’s interests were and how much we all responded to seeing things that we automatically enjoyed and things that were perhaps a little foreign.

A gorgeous Tiffany glass window, a wall sized tapestry, some Japanese statuary and a room of Impressionist paintings were among my favorites.

 I have said here before and will say again that I don’t have much to say about art that’s especially insightful or intelligent. I do know what I like and what moves me. While I enjoy hearing expert analysis of artwork, I also think it’s important to remember that art was meant to be enjoyed and appreciated. 

Wherever you are in this world, if you’re near an art museum, I suggest you go look around and see what you think. You may find a new passion or you may simply have something new to think about.

If you’re near Cleveland, go check out this museum. There is a fee to park but admission is free. If you want to spend the day, they do have a museum cafe and plenty of seating to rest a while and think about all the beauty this museum holds.

Learn more here.

Exploration

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My two favorite things in this world are going to places I have never been and repeatedly visiting places in nature that are familiar. That sounds contradictory but it helps me stay sane when I can’t travel.

When you find a place that’s close and that you enjoy, it’s a good idea to study it at different times of day and in different conditions. In nature, the appearance of a single tree can change with the seasons, with the weather and in varying light. It’s obviously different with the new buds of spring, the thick foliage of summer, the brilliant hues of fall and the stark bareness of winter.

The light and shadows make a place different too. The presence of people give a place much different energy as well. 

There’s something comforting in this knowledge that while a place can change with conditions, it remains the same in its core. One of my favorite things to do is to revisit a couple of local trails I know well. To watch with quiet anticipation the first blooms of spring, to watch for the turtles on a log where they return each year, to stop and admire the first wildflowers on the forest floor – this all is pure magic.

And then there’s exploration. I firmly believe that you should go somewhere you’ve never been every chance you get. Whether it’s a far away city, a museum exhibit close by or a forest near your home, find a place you haven’t seen and go there. It is good for the mind to see new things because you often will learn something. You may meet someone who changes your worldview. You may find a new passion or realize that old habits and thoughts do not serve you well.

I am dying to hit the open road and to stop and look at things that catch my eye. A road trip will hopefully be in my near future and I can hardly wait. If you haven’t been somewhere new in a while, it’s time to do something about that. Life should be more than a constant parade of work, chores, doctor appointments, errands, kid’s sports and other obligations. 

There has to be more to life than that. You get one life. Run wild and free or be quiet and introspective. Explore somewhere. Study it and learn. I have never once regretted an adventure day.

Colors

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DC’s Chinatown is vibrant and colorful. This mural is larger than life and stopped me in my tracks. Can you imagine having such talent?

It’s the unexpected stuff, the things that you’ll never find in a travel book that make exploring this big world of ours truly grand.

What was the last thing you saw that really made you stop in admiration? I would love to hear about it.