During the last few weeks, I took time with my family to plan and take a trip of a lifetime: a very long and first family road trip.  It may sound like a Griswold family vacation, but it was better than that, believe me.  After so many months of seeing the same sidewalks, same walls, same roads, it felt incredibly invigorating to just get out of town!

Planning of the trip started about two months ago.  In May, my husband got the travel bug.  After all of us being home –either working from home, doing remote schooling, or having to stay home for shelter-in-place order compliance, he dreamed of going out West – relaxing at a ranch in the mountains, seeing the open skies, horseback riding, swimming, rafting, anything fun and outdoors!  We quickly looked at the closest options for a drive, not feeling ready yet to brave the airports while the pandemic continues, and found Colorado Springs.  The drive looked doable, even with two children.  We chose a hotel and booked ourselves for a week to relax after a long drive and to try to forget the many miles to get there before braving the many miles back to our home. 

After setting up the hotel, the next plans were for the adventures.  Our itinerary had many local attractions on it as well as “bucket-list” activities like white water rafting and zip-lining.  The schedule shaped up into some days at the hotel utilizing resort amenities like outdoor pools and slides, tennis round robins, paddle boats, and golf clinics.  Then the local attractions and excursions stacked up as well.  We tried our best to squeeze them all in – a quick car tour and hike around the Garden of the gods, a gorgeous walk up to the Seven Falls and terrifying climb up and down the two sets of lookout stairs (I may have a minor, ahem, major fear of heights),zip-lining (never again), white water rafting (definitely again), and the best zoo experience ever – feeding giraffes at the Cheyenne zoo.

All of these activities filled me with excitement and a sense of awakening.  I have felt really well during the quarantine due in part to a rigid running routine while we sheltered at home.  However, in the first few weeks of June when things started opening up again, my ability to run was taken away.  I needed to have coverage for my children, which I didn’t once my husband’s work opened up again.  Going from running almost every morning to not at all was brutal.  I hadn’t realized that the lack of cardiovascular activity had affected me so much until I was on the trip. 

The road trip itself was mind lifting.  Seeing the open road, my eyes seeing places and cities for the first time, all of it was exciting!  I enjoyed the traveling time actually.  The vacation itself was so much fun and filled with so many adventures I started thinking: traveling is an antidote for quarantine.

Here’s what I mean: if you can go for a road trip, do it and you will find a heightened sense of wellness.  It is the true definition of keen living.  After researching every part of the trip, the travel itself provided a heightened sense of life.  It reminded me of every beauty out there that my imagination could not during quarantine.  I had tried my best to wait patiently and dream using whatever imaginative methods I could while sheltering at home, but nothing beats traveling!  All the weight of quarantine seemed to lift with traveling.  It truly is an antidote for the situation we are all living in.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

© 2020 Megan Davia Mikhail