In my life, I’ve been blessed with travel to enjoy wonderful places and the beauty of our world. I was born and raised in the heartland of the most beautiful state of the union, (although the most screwed up), California. As a 17-year-old, I worked a summer in the Swiss Alps. As a bride of 21, I lived in Moldavia, USSR, and honeymooned across Europe.
I’ve sailed on one side of the beautiful Pacific Ocean and catamaran-ed on the other. I’ve seen deep Minnesota quarry pits filled with the clearest of rainwater and cooled my toes in the headwaters of the Mississippi River. From the romance of a moonlit night on Waikiki beach to the charm of the deep south, traveling has provided crazy experiences.
There have been eagles, grizzly bear, elk, and bison sightings in Yellowstone National Park. In Northern Minnesota, a wild wolf ran alongside my car for a bit. There were black bears in Yosemite, and trout caught out of a lake on the John Muir Trail in the high Sierra Nevada’s.
So far, there’ve been 50,000 miles crisscrossing the United States by land, and plenty of states visited by air. To date, I’ve visited 25 states and 7 foreign countries.
None of this would have ever happened if I’d depended on doing it “Someday”. Throughout my entire life, when opportunities arose, I took them. Some were a little more daring than others. As the years roll by, my “Someday” box of wishes is quite empty except for a return to Russia.
After experiencing it, Russia can stay on my “Someday” list for the rest of my life. Not a place worthy of any bucket list. However, if I’d missed it, I wouldn’t have amazing stories to tell. That much is true.
When cancer knocked at my door in 2020, I believed for a tiny moment in time that my life had ended when his did. In the middle of a move to a brand new home in an unknown town, losing my husband of 32 years was something we figured would happen “Someday”. But, surprise, surprise. It happened on a Wednesday at 10:30 am on the side of Davidson Mountain in Virginia City, Nevada.
Just completing the fifth summer after this loss, I can tell you that the word “Someday” still isn’t in our vocabulary. As any wise Sexagenarian would be quick to advise, “If not NOW, WHEN?”
Last week, while walking the glittery sidewalks along Las Vegas Boulevard, HHH and I enjoyed a true vacation. Even retired folks deserve to get caught up on lost time. We saw things we can never un-see. In Las Vegas you can’t believe your eyes for everything is one big fantastical mirage, rather like a circus mirror.
In one week, HHH swept me away to the streets of New York and hugged me under the Eifel Tower. We ate at restaurants named for famous chefs. We pounded the table while hoisting tankards to kings on horseback under the watchful eye of Merlin the Wizard. But the most enchanting place was a magical garden inside the Bellagio Conservatory.
Who, but two crazy Master Gardeners, would choose that over other options? That would be us. But, the most amazing thing was that this place was jammed with people who love gardens as much as we do! Almost everything seen in this short video was made from natural materials. There were hundreds and hundreds of chrysanthemums and coleus. Pumpkins of every color, size, and shape were found throughout the autumnal forest. Fairies and waterfalls. Something we won’t soon forget.
A favorite Aunt of mine had a dream. A house in the mountains. She began by researching what plants would grow there, because she wanted to be sure she had a lovely garden. For years, she bought dog wood trees and plants native to the foothill town. Each year, her own yard gained pots of plants she intended to move to the beautiful garden she had sketched. Each year, they thrived on her porch.
Auntie never realized her dream of her mountain house, but every night, she dreamed of the gardens. Each day, she enjoyed the precious little piece of mountain life right on the valley floor.
We all have the S- M- T- W- Th- F- S’s of our lives to fill with memorable experiences. Some are found right in our own backyard, while others might be a few hundred miles to the south. Pick a date and start planning your list. Start close or dream big, just begin with a destination and a date.
Whatever you do today, see what’s going on in your home town. I would imagine that Auntie TJ and The Goddess of the Central Coast are getting ready to tour the Scare Crows of the Central Coast of California. If you haven’t seen them, it’s worth the visit.
More tomorrow.