Road Trippin’
By: Lara Dustin Scriba
(3 min. read)
Ahh, I just LOVE the feeling of shaking it up and gettin’ outta dodge! We decided on a spontaneous road trip this week to head north and visit friends one last time before we head south to Mexico again in the fall. My son’s only real wish for his 14th birthday was able to come true, to be surrounded by his old buddies back in San Francisco.
As a homeschooling mom, I’ve taken my boys on a ton of road trips, but this one felt different. Now that I am a mom of a teenager, time is no longer to my advantage. The months seem to fly by. He grows taller by the minute but is also drawn more outwardly towards exploring the world on his own rather than with me. A natural stage, I know, but it tugs on the heartstrings nonetheless.
So, as we buckled up, full of excitement to head out on our adventure, once again, it was just US. Nothing competed for our time or attention; adventure and connecting with friends were our only missions. Flipping through the memories of places we visited on our sail south last year, we decided to stop in Morro Bay, my son’s favorite “drowsy” little town.
I’m not sure exactly what it is, but this place has a really special energy about it. As you arrive, life seems to slow down instantly. The air feels a little heavier, the sun struggling to burn away the morning fog, yet it still somehow feels very bright. The sun seems to shine with a sense of purpose. The stillness in the air offers a moment to reflect on the elements of opportunity you hope to embrace that day.
Our stop here was a purposeful pause to visit a dear friend and to soak in the special vibes of the bay, reminding us to slow down and connect before we continued on our journey. As we packed to leave to continue on, our hearts felt full. The confines of the car for hours allowed us to connect, reflect on all of our favorite things and people and plan our upcoming visits.
I tend to have my best creative thoughts when I am busy driving or walking, so my son quickly became my scribe. At first, he was dutifully jotting down all the bursts of ideas or plans I was having, but then his own curiosity and creativity were ignited. Before we knew it, we both were flushing out ideas and making plans for topics to research and projects to work on when we returned home.
This is EXACTLY what I love about road trips. The conversations and ideas that normally stay in your own head now have the space and time to be teased out. It becomes a shared experience, and everyone joins in. Perspectives can be shared, and simply being out of our own predictable environments seems to spark new thoughts and open up new possibilities.
What could’ve been a mundane drive quickly became a silo of creativity and ingenuity. Plans were being made, businesses were being built, and dreams were being shared. TRUE connection was happening.
We have finally arrived and immersed ourselves into the to and fro of a full itinerary, connecting with friends. My heart already aches, knowing it’s only for a few days, but the experience we had driving up reminds me of the importance of adventure. The opportunity it provides for us to tap into different perspectives and possibilities, to let our minds wander and dive into the depth of our dreams.
Reminding me of exactly why we chose this lifestyle, to live a creative, deeply connected, and purposeful life… and that sometimes you need to shake shit up to remember your “why!”
