I’m finally planning a trip!

I’m finally planning a trip! My first real trip of the YEAR! Normally this is not headline worthy news, but 2020 is a whole different story. I have been holding off on travel since the pandemic started, at first out of fear and now out of social responsibility. I just didn’t think it was worth it to travel with people I wasn’t regularly seeing, or to take a flight and possibly risk carrying the virus to others, much less getting it myself.

Now that the summer has passed and some kids are returning to school, we are all learning how to live within this pandemic. Extra precautions have become the norm in our everyday lives. We have gone from a state of lockdown to a state of cautious living, and I am trying to make a better effort of existing somewhat normally and not letting fear rule my life. This isn’t to say I’m pretending the pandemic is over, that would be impossible (and dangerous). Rather, I’m figuring out what I can do in the current climate. What is safe and low risk, what is respectful of others and the overall health of everyone.

I have been seeing more people traveling lately, in the safest ways they can, and it has encouraged me to get back out there myself.

I would by lying if I said this pandemic hasn’t completely f***ed with my life, but I’m trying to focus instead on being grateful for my health and my family’s health, and the good things that have come out of this isolated time. It has been a chance to pause, reflect, and look inward, which is something we don’t normally have the time for (maybe because, like me, we’re busy traveling).

I reflected a little more on this on Instagram a month ago:

I’ve been having a hard time labeling or figuring out what this time in my life is for, what I’m supposed to be doing. now with ~six months of the pandemic in my rear view mirror, I’m finally seeing this time for what it is and leaning into the slow life. last night I watched a plane fly through the sky at dusk, and I thought about one of the last few times I flew on a plane at night like that. I realized as I watched its lights flash through the sky that right now I need to appreciate the time with my family, because once the world is open again there will be so many flights and so many trips, I know that then I’ll look back on this time as one of peace and memories with family and friends at home. I don’t know where I’ll be next year or what I’ll be doing, and hopefully the world will be in a better place, and this will all be a somewhat fond memory because we were lucky enough to just slow down, take a breath. I know I have so much to be grateful for even to just be able to say that. 2020 isn’t at all what I thought it would be, and for a while I was spinning out of control from the lack of direction, the questions every day with no answers in sight. but now I’m beginning to see this year for what it is, and reminding myself that if I’m able to enjoy the quiet, the peace of staying in one place and forming new routines, then I am lucky enough. 

So, it finally felt like time to make some plans and GET OUT.

Aside from a few days at my family’s cabin (lake house, for those of you who aren’t from the Midwest), the last trip I took was to Florida with my family for New Year’s. It is so crazy to think back to that…taking a plane, staying in a hotel, visiting crowded bars and restaurants, going to a football game in a stadium. I try not to dwell on pre-pandemic life too much because it just stirs up so many emotions of want and jealousy and sadness. I haven’t even thought about travel too deeply because I knew it would just make me depressed. Instead I tried to just shut off that part of my brain, that longing, so that I could try and be happy staying in one place. It’s like practicing gratitude. By focusing on what you have, you don’t want for more. But staying in one place isn’t what I’m meant to do, and the normal, mundane routines have me itching to get out. Desperate for a change.

Travel is essential to me. It stirs my creativity, it feeds my curiosity, it allows me the human connection and interactions with new people that I desire, it keeps me constantly learning. To see a new place is the greatest gift, I think. Or even to see a familiar place with new eyes, after a few years away. I can’t even describe the feeling, that newness of being in an unfamiliar place for the first time. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world for me.

So, I am excited to say that I will be traveling to Nashville, Tennessee in November! It’s still over a month away but obviously I already started the itinerary. My friend Steph, who is a concert photographer on the side, has been wanting to check out Nashville for a while but had to put it off due to covid. She finally decided to just do it and urged me to go with her. How could I say no!?

I got absolutely emotional today looking at Airbnb listings, thinking about the previous times I had done that. One particular photo from a listing, of their cute teacups and wine glasses set out on a shelf, got me because it reminded me of the Airbnb me and my friend Isabella stayed in while in Florence. It was our home away from home in a city that will always be a huge part of my heart. We had tea there and used the wine glasses before we went out one night, and it just brought back so many memories to think about traveling and that special, festive December weekend in Florence.

To get to Nashville, Steph and I decided to drive instead of fly even though we were both comfortable with the idea of flying now (especially if we flew with Delta, or another airline we trust that has been taking appropriate precautions). The decision was mainly so that we would have the freedom to drive once we reached Nashville, and wouldn’t have to rent a car (still not technically old enough for that! haha) or take Uber.

I felt good about committing to this weekend away because we will be doing the same activities I’m comfortable doing in my own city, like visiting cafes and stores and walking around neighborhoods. Our Airbnb choices were narrowed down to super hosts, all with great reviews especially in terms of cleanliness. Maybe I’ll freak out when we get there, but I’m hoping my mindset by then will be one of ease and not stress related to the pandemic. And if we have to stop to use the bathroom along the way (we will, it’s 12 hours), I’ll just pretend I’m at a restaurant or the mall and get on with it.

I’ll be sharing more on trip planning during the pandemic, now that it feels comfortable doing so. If you have specific questions or requests, please let me know in the comments! Or send me a DM on Instagram.