Soul searching can be a tough thing. It exposes the fragile parts of your nature to the cold and harsh reality of the world. Yet it can be profoundly gratifying and uplifting when following the true path of your soul. Jake and I have found with each new adventure, we get closer to finding ourselves. We absolutely love to know that there are plans in the pipeline. Its the force that drives us and keep us motivated during lesser times. No matter the amount of work or sacrifice required, the fear is outweighed by the potential amazing experience that lays in wait.
Right now, we both desperately want to go on another big adventure. Its been a couple of years, not since New Zealand that we challenged ourselves physically and mentally. Sure, we've explored a lot of amazing places over the past couple of years, but what I'm talking about is different. The element of the physical challenge paired with travel to a new place is what gives us the greatest thrill.
There are specific things that need to happen in order for us to continue our exploits. We had a security blanket of funds to fall back on once our adventures were complete. We've reached a stage where those funds that would propel us forward are no longer abound and plentiful. Not to mention the fact that both of us are feeling the deep pangs of exhaustion in our bones. It is because of this that we often like to focus on the lesser things, like settling down someplace to find home again. However other times, we both feel a great urge to do something radical, big and wonderful. Its like tug of war.
Early this year, I began jotting down a list. Not a shopping list or a day-to-day task type of list, rather our big adventure goals and dreams. It has evolved through the year and has even been a spot of contention for us. The problem is that Jake and I approach "what's next" from different angles. He likes to know what's coming down the pipeline so that he can mentally and emotionally prepare. I prefer to be more flexible and open, never planning too far ahead, just in case.
THE MASTER LIST (since Feb, 2018) 1. Hike the Grand Canyon - Rim-to-Rim in a day 2. Dedicated climbing in Zion (2 months?) 3. Southwest Photo Safari (check) 4. Hike TA north 5. Astrophotography Courses (check) 6. Find land and build Bosco Station 7. Finish TA book 1 8. Learn to Fly 9. Housesit in new country 10. Raft the Yukon 11. Go to Alaska (by sailboat or by car?) 12. Sail to Nova Scotia & St. Lawrence Canal 13. Elephant Volunteer program in Sri Lanka 14. Cooking school for Jill, Pastry school for Jake 15. Sled dog training / courses / Iditarod 16. Greenland Expedition 17. Antarctica Expedition 18. Bike tour Europe (OR) Trans-Canada
* These are in no particular order
Okay, so maybe they aren't all "big adventures", but each item is important to one or both of us. The hard part is choosing which one to focus on, as it would be impossible to do them all at once.
Some of the items above we have actually completed, including #3. Southwest Photo Safari and #5. Astrophotography Courses (though I'd like to do more!). Both were amazing and I look forward to sharing them. We also accomplished a lot around #6. Finding land to build Bosco Station. Much like 2017, we spent a good amount of time out west, namely Montana, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona in effort to find a place that suits us. Along the way, we almost managed to achieve #1. Hiking the Grand Canyon in a day. This is something we thought we could pull off, however the logistics proved inopportune (and extremely expensive). Basically we were too late in the season to make it work and thus have to wait for another time.
You might notice some of the list are more daunting, expensive, time-consuming and likely challenging, basically everything we could want! But, it poses the question of which to choose...
Our year flew by and by mid-October we found ourselves staring at our list, having to make a decision. Jake was leaning on #4. Hiking TA north, which would carry over into early spring of 2019. The problem for me is that I wanted to be with my family for the holiday and if we left for NZ, we would surely be out of funds when we get back. I also have a lot of work opportunities that would be hard to pass up if we chose to go on this epic adventure right now.
The pressure was mounting but it was impossible to make a decision. We still needed to go to North Carolina to check on Bosco boat after Hurricane Florence and that, in itself, would be expensive, with flights, rental car and accommodation. So instead of taking charge and making any decision, I kept putting it off. I focused on other things; like seeing what our sailing friends were doing this year. I remembered that S/V Dreamtime emailed us early in the year about possibly housesitting in Australia for the winter. I reached out to inquire with them, but the gig was already filled. It planted the seed...maybe we could find a housesitting gig someplace fun, new or exotic. It made the list (see #9).
For the next couple of days we did little else but research until we found several short-term housesitting gigs between Chicago (where we were) and North Carolina (where we need to go). Wouldn't you know that we managed to book two of them in North Carolina over six weeks. The timing is perfect because now we can drive out and take care of business AND have loads of fun in the process.
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