This is a bit of a backlog to post but hey, all things work in the time they should.
And actually, it’s kind of fitting because just today I was scrolling through my Pinterest board when a pin of Salvation Mountain came up and I thought to myself “hey, that’s cool because I’ve actually been there”. Usually, I’m pinning travel destinations I want to go to all over my boards so it was a moment of gratitude to see one that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting.
Anyway, long story short, I made this short travel video back in March when my friend Lizzie and I took a road trip to Palm Springs/Salvation Mountain/Joshua Tree for spring break after our previous travel plans were canceled. If you don’t remember March madness, well you can check out my blog post on that.
I posted this vid on my Instagram like 2 weeks after we went and was all “oh gosh when we used to be able to travel places”, thinking the pandemic we had just gotten stuck in was going to be over real soon and I was just being dramatic. Little did I know.
I actually went back to Salvation Mountain after this trip for another quick trip to the desert again with Lizzie and our other two roomies, but I didn’t document it. Other than that, I drove back to KC from LA, went to the Lake of the Ozarks for a weekend, Bentonville, AR for a day, and Waco, TX for a weekend. None of which I documented in video, none of which were in ‘normal’ non-COVID times, none of which quite compare to the ability to freely and vastly travel the world. But still grateful for the experiences.
So now, as we round the corner on the year 2020, I guess this really is a short ‘Ode to Travel’ as it was my last true trip without a pandemic on my face (cuz of the masks ya know). Travel is an opportunity far and few were able to experience this year and a gal like me is missing so much. I started a count on January 6, 2020 while in Sydney, Australia of how many planes I would fly on in 2020 because I thought it would be quite a few (again, little did I know what was to come). Before the pandemic caused us to come to a halt, I was on 7 plane rides from January 1- March 6. Then, I decided to hypothetically count how many other planes I would have been on had the pandemic not happened and my other travel plans were to carry through – the number was 14. WELP.
As always, I’m so blessed to be able to experience the world. Doesn’t matter how far you go, there’s always something new to see and experience. It’s the greatest privilege of my life to visit the countries, states, and cities that I have. And I’m thankful that I can sit here today and write this in good health in such a year. I watch this video and think little does this young woman know how much gratitude she will have by December and the opportunities she is still yet to have. I hope you enjoy! Here’s to next year, when it’s hopefully safer, to travel again!