Let's Go, Jane!

I’ve always been a big planner. But life is full of surprises, that’s what makes it so great! Why do people plan things down to the last minute? I guess it’s for a sense of control or safety. Predictability is comforting. I, for one, am done trying to predict what’s going to happen. It’s time to embrace the randomness of life.

Some of my favorite memories from this past year were completely unplanned. The kind of spontaneous experiences where you catch yourself thinking, “you can’t make this up!” When I saw a news headline last winter that an eclipse would be visible in the U.S. in April, I pulled up a map and found that the path of totality was only about four hours away by car. I texted my boyfriend and asked if he was up for a road trip to Auburn, NY for a night or two (of course he was). 

But my favorite memory from that weekend is not seeing the eclipse. The best part of that road trip was the United Taxidermists of New York Convention being held in the Holiday Inn where we were staying. The conference organizers saw us walking by with curiosity and amusement, and invited us to come in and explore. The care with which the exhibit entries were prepared was evident. There were hobbyists and professional taxidermists standing around, trading stories and tips. It’s always fun to see people following their passion, whatever that might be.

A month later, Carey and I decided to dust off our bicycles, put some air in the tires, and go for a ride. The plan was to bike five miles to an ice cream shop and then bike back home. To this day, we are still biking to food destinations, we’ve just increased the distances. Right down the street from the ice cream shop, we could see a bunch of tents and hear music. We wandered over to check it out and found it was a Polish Festival with crafts and music and people in costume. We got some delicious pierogi and kielbasa and sat on a park bench to do some people watching. It was a beautiful spring day, and a great way to spend the afternoon outside.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I don’t remember where I saw it, but months ago I had seen a listing for a Garlic Festival in Bethlehem, CT and put it on my calendar. As the weekend approached I took a look at the website for the festival. The presentations looked interesting and the food offerings were extensive and mouth watering. So once again I texted my partner in crime to see if he was up for a day trip to the fairgrounds. We made our way from food stall to food stall, and ended the day with some good old fashioned fried dough. I’ve been living in New York for so long now that I have gotten used to funnel cake. They are not the same!

I have a friend who gave up her apartment a few years ago to travel the world. She has a home base in Mexico now and travels for weeks or months at a time. I asked her for advice and she said the most common mistake people make when starting a nomadic lifestyle is to overplan. There have been times where she has extended a stay one day at a time, each morning deciding whether to stay another night. She said you never know whom you will meet and what opportunities will present themselves. The lesson in all of this is that great adventures await you when you go out into the world with an open mind and some flexibility. The key is just to put yourself in a situation that allows you to pursue them. I look forward to exploring this lifestyle myself next year!