3.
THE Trip of a Lifetime!
Hawaii...the number ONE destination on my bucket list for as long as I can remember!
I started dreaming about visiting Hawaii before the internet even existed.
As a child, I loved looking at maps.
I would beg for a new map every time I saw one. It didn’t matter what location was on those maps. I wanted to see the world.
My husband doesn't get quite as excited as I do about traveling, but he finally agreed to go to Hawaii for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary!
After many, many evenings of asking him “are you sure?”, I got to work on the details.
As I’m sure you can guess, I had 36 tabs open, a notebook for each island and its individual vibe, as well as making multiple posts on social media asking for recommendations.
I looked at several online discount travel sites—Travelocity, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Priceline, and a few lesser known sites that I’ve since forgotten. I do use these sites occasionally, and haven’t had a lot of issues.
That being said, I have had one or two instances where what I reserved wasn’t available when I got where I was going. The establishments that were involved did everything they could to make it right, but did let me know this was not an isolated incident. Nothing intentional, but sometimes all the different sites don’t communicate as quickly as they feel like they should.
I compared flights on at least four different airlines. I looked at flight times, flight paths, number and length of layovers, cost, what seats were available, and probably a dozen other things I can’t remember right now.
I looked at several different lodging options—downtown hotels versus vacation rentals just outside of town, camping versus hostels, high rise versus first floor living.
I looked at reviews for at least half a dozen rental car companies.
Things I looked at?
Cost, mileage limitations, individual reviews, etc.
ALL options were considered and explored.
To understand the struggle with lodging, I want you to know my husband and I have very different ideas of what an “amazing place” means.
While I love being on the top floor of a high rise overlooking the beach with a chintzy little coffee shop at the back door, my husband prefers first level living in a low traffic residential area where we can brew our own coffee. He’s not a fan of heights.
I’ve discovered that I can be happy on the first level in order to enjoy a couples vacation. I just wait until I go on a solo trip or with an adventurous travel partner to rent those corner rooms with a view that sometimes cause my stomach to drop half-way up the elevator ride.
Does lodging really matter? I have mixed feelings about this.
If I’m taking a beach vacation, it’s usually the place I spend the least amount of time, so I don’t need it to be exquisite, just comfortable.
If, on the other hand, it’s off-season or I’m just trying to get away for a couple of days, I look for something with high reviews of beds and bedding, onsite restaurants and/or coffee shops, and a quiet neighborhood.
I’ve used one rental car company for most of my road trips.
I’ve only had an issue with their service once. They apologized and gave me a free upgrade with my next rental. This redeemed them for me. I understand that we’re all human and as such, are imperfect.
What happens after a human error is what determines my loyalty to a company—DO YOU AGREE?
Three weeks before the trip, I do my weekly airfare check to see if I can save any money. I CAN! Not only was I able to upgrade to front row seats (more room for my husband!), but I also got back over two-hundred dollars! (Sometimes the way my brain works—works in our favor).
The trip itself?
WORTH EVERY SINGLE TAB!
Hawaii was better than any dream I’d ever had.
For me, it was heaven on earth.
The air smelled clean and sweet. The water was otherworldly—a clear turquoise that gradually blended into a deep blue that seemed to flow right into the sun. Palm trees swayed in the warm tropical breeze, the beaches were pristine, and the locals were welcoming. “Mahalo” became a common utterance that invoked joy every time it was spoken.
Because of our drastically different travel styles, most of our couples vacations start with a disagreement. This time, it was about the rental car. Nothing life-altering, but the first-day-of-vacation fight has almost become our rite of passage…the truest sign that we’re starting a new adventure together. With ADHD, this often means that my feelings are hurt and I spend at least a little time crying in the bathroom while he silently paces and grumbles under his breath.
I have started using this time to talk myself back into reality and I try to remember that whatever just happened will not end my marriage or even the vacation. I also try to remind myself that it was almost certainly not something I was 100% at fault for.
We both ended up loving this trip and I am happy to report that I have since gained explicit permission to return in the future.
I probably don’t have to tell you that I started researching that next trip on the flight home. 😁
2.
Good morning Squirrels!
So many amazing places, intriguing people and unforgettable experiences!
I want to share all of them, but every adventure starts with a first step. Since I can’t recap every story at once, I’m just going to start somewhere in the middle and we’ll hop around like squirrels in a field full of acorns.
Some stories will make you laugh.
Some might make you think.
Some may inspire you to throw together a travel bag and step on the gas.
Still some others may show you that the best vacation is a staycation.
And speaking of hopping around…I’ll start with the very first trip that lit the fire inside me—years before the pandemic hit.
I had finally convinced my non-travel-loving husband to go on our first ever family vacation…us and our three girls (roughly four and six years old).
We decided since it was our first trip, we’d stick fairly close to home. Saint Louis was a short four-hour road trip away. We thought “surely we could make that happen with a few weeks planning.”
As we prepared for our very first family vacation, we did what I imagined all families did.
We tried to make sure we had the house in good condition.
We had neighbors ready to collect our mail and keep an eye on things.
We started packing our suitcases for a long weekend getaway.
The night before we were to leave, a strong storm system blew in. We were in a pretty intense drought, so the rain was welcomed. We put our girls in bed and headed to bed ourselves.
“COLLEEN! Get up NOW! Call our insurance agent!”
This was how my husband woke me up at 2:30 a.m. the very day we were supposed to leave.
The rain had come in too quickly for the dry ground to absorb it.
At first, it just seemed annoying.
But, the intensity of the storm kept increasing.
Our little blow-up swimming pool in the backyard was quickly overflowing and the excess water was running straight to our already-cracking foundation.
Then came the sound.
The crash.
Then another.
And another.
Multiple basement windows had caved in.
That was the first time I’d seen waterfalls in person. The problem with that? They were in our basement.
It was oddly beautiful in the most terrifying way.
Boxes were floating.
Baby furniture intended to be passed down to our grandchildren was saturated with dirty rain water.
Everything was destroyed.
We stood there, eyes wide with disbelief as years of memories floated around our ankles. The vacation we’d spent weeks planning seemed to disappear with every bucket of water we removed.
Needless to say, the vacation was canceled.
Instead, we stayed home and deep cleaned the basement—something we’d been avoiding for years.
There were no pictures.
There were no souvenirs.
There was no road trip.
There were many, many tears shed.
This was the first time I recall praying as a couple.
While we weren’t able to make this trip happen, we chose to accept that this was God’s way of reminding us to do what we’d been putting off for so long.
But, we had done something important.
We had taken the first step.
We were finally taking the trip.
The most important part was that we finally decided to go. We made the reservations. We turned “someday” into a specific date on the calendar.
The storm ruined our plans and destroyed the basement, but it couldn’t stop us from taking the next trip.
The rain may have delayed that first trip, but it did not put an end to it.
We kept dreaming.
We kept planning.
We tried not to procrastinate when it came to doing things we knew required attention.
Have you ever spent weeks planning the trip only to have it go completely sideways at the last minute?
Did you give up?
Did you keep going?
I’d love to hear your stories!
1.
Hello Squirrels!
Let’s get this party started!
I hope you’ll bear with me as we explore, learn and grow together while creating a welcoming community of people who want to see the world, embrace their neurodivergence and live life to the fullest.
I’ve told you about me—now I want to hear from you!
What do you want to see here?
What travel challenges are you facing?
What can we talk about to make travel less overwhelming?
What victories are you celebrating?
One of the biggest triggers for my anxiety is packing. Not the actual task of packing, but the part where I’m terrified I’ll forget something.
How much should I pack?
When should I start packing?
Will I need to check my bag, or can I fit everything into a carry-on?
How can I avoid leaving something important behind?
With each trip I take, I’ve slowly found a routine that puts my mind at ease.
Please keep in mind that this is what works for me. It may look a little different for you, and that is perfectly okay!
My best friend and I prepare for trips very differently, but we both end up in the same place.
And that’s what matters!
So…
What part of travel stresses you out the most?
