Saturday, August 28, 2010

Always Have a Trip Planned


Part of a good groundhog Day is to have a future trip -- whether that be a full-scale vacation or a mini-vacation -- in the planning stages. The Oregon Coast. Puget Sound. Canada. Central Oregon. Timberline Lodge. Crater Lake. The Wallowas. Yellowstone National Park. Wherever.

A big part of the fun of any trip is the planning. What to do. Who to do it with. Finding a great place to stay. Finding great bookends -- beginning and ending events to cap the trip, to give it definition.

The full-scale vacation is more expensive. It's a chance to get away for a week, to visit friends and relatives, to walk on the beach through huge flocks of pelicans, seagulls and cormorants. To see an OSU football game or go to a Heart concert. To wander through the Painted Hills, and marvel over the lunar-like landscape of McKenzie Pass.

The mini-vacation can be and should be taken more frequently. We aim to take a mini-vacation once a month. This might involve a long weekend where we go on a photo expedition to restock opportunities for Teri's Oregon desk calendar. It's a chance to get refreshed, see new faces and places and be energized by the endless variety of Oregon scenery.

Regardless of where we go, Teri and I are firm believers that it's the journey that is important, not the destination, although in the Northwest there are many great destinations to contemplate. Some moments of each trip will be more poignant than others. Yet if we keep going, if we keep traveling, sparks will eventually fly, and forever memories will be forged.

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