Planting the Seeds of an Incredible Adventure

If you were to ask anyone about the type of person I was, they would probably say that I'm a responsible, dependable human being who is typically prepared for various unforeseen situations.

Or, as Julia likes to sum up...

"He's a triple Cap!"

And I guess this is true. I can be pretty responsible, dependable and prepared (on average), which may or may not result from my sun, moon and rising sign being under the sign of Capricorn.

And, although I've often benefited from these traits...

...they can sometimes go to extremes.

My car alone, for example, contains jumper cables, three umbrellas (one small and two golf), an ice scraper and snow brush (which remain in the car all year long), a road atlas of the US, a miniature phone book of Lorain County, a roadside assistance kit, a water bottle, 2 air pressure gauges and a St. Christopher medal.

And this is just my car.

As with anything, too much of this responsibility and preparedness can weigh on you after a while and make you feel rigid, stressed out and seem fairly uninteresting.

That's why, every so often, I feel the need to shake things up for a bit of balance!

(It also makes me seem more interesting.)

Usually, in the summer and fall months, I've been able to counter the structured part of my life with crazy festival trips.

But lately, after these past few months of slow festival activity, I've felt this incredible urge to go on some type of adventure...

...or, as I've found defined in a Google search...

...an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.

Now I'm not one to throw caution completely to the wind (I do appreciate my health and safety), but I did want to have some criteria in order to heighten this sense of an adventure.

Among those are...

1. Visiting states I've never been to
   
2. Traveling alone
   
3. Going during Mercury in Retrograde

Let's look a little closer at each!

1.) Visiting states I've never been to: Unlike my festival adventures where I travel through the very familiar state of Ohio, I wanted to go somewhere I've never been to before. This would allow me to explore new landscapes with different cultures, foods and people.

If there's one thing an adventure has, it's unfamiliarity.

2.) Traveling alone: this can easily work for you or against you. On the one hand, you can decide on your destination, create your schedule and route, and make spontaneous decisions and/or alterations. But it also pushes you to be an extrovert and talk to the locals and other tourists more readily in order to learn more about this new land.

This can definitely be a challenge, since I can get shy at times - and Lord knows I'll miss Julia while on this trip. But, apart from calling her often while in the car or at the hotel, I have to make a mental note to myself not to use my phone as a means of wasting time while at a restaurant or potential social situation. I need to put my phone away and interact with the locals.

That's how adventures develop. No one tells vacation stories that involve Words with Friends.

3.) Going during Mercury in Retrograde: OK, so I really didn't plan this. But, as it turns out, Mercury, the planet of communications and travel will be in retrograde during my trip, which can lead to delays, miscommunications and traveling snafus.

So, even in an astrological sense, there are potential risks to help my adventure become a great/interesting one. Hopefully, this won't add any situation I can't handle.

But if I was that concerned about it, I wouldn't be going.

...................................................

The main reason I'm even writing about this trip is because I want to plant the seeds of this adventure out into the digital universe in the hopes that it will grant me its blessings before the adventure even begins.

Perhaps you, the Reader, can send out a small prayer so that everything runs smoothly, I have a wonderful time, I learn constructive things about myself, and that the experiences of the trip inspire me to do great and spectacular things for the benefit of humankind.

(Believe me, God hears these prayers from me all the time...once you mention my name, He'll be expecting it!)

Another thing I thought was that you might be able to help me with your advice and suggestions.

This trip will include five states I've never been to (Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas) and one I have (Missouri) over a 4 day weekend in the foreseeable future.

This is the map I've created so far...

View The Great State Road Trip in a larger map


Nothing's set in stone just yet - I'm just putting interesting things down to help plan out the trip (I guess I'm still trying to be prepared to some extent).

If you could look it over and let me know what you think, I'd greatly appreciate it.

And don't worry...

...I will write about these adventures once I return!

Thanks so much!