Most people plan their adventures 6 months, sometimes a year in advance. We used to fall into that group… In fact, I can totally remember the last time we did, it was the summer of 2017. Our kids were out of school and it was once again summer vacation time. Time to get out of suburbia. Jess had spent many months prior researching, making reservations, and lining up activities. This was going to be our trip of a lifetime!! which it was… for entirely different reasons than I’d ever anticipated.
The plan was to adventure up from California to Colorado by way of Nevada to Arizona and up through Utah. Then unexpectedly a brutal heat wave rolled through the west just before we were set to leave. 118 degree weather scorched the deserts and even areas of Colorado were threatened with triple digit heat during the day. To the 4 of us and our dog that just sounded like misery and it was exactly what we were trying to escape from at home.
For anyone who has ever road tripped in an RV you know that these cabs aren’t exactly airtight when driving down the road. Even running a generator and having overhead AC’s pumping isn’t guaranteed to keep ya cool… we’d be lucky to shave off 25 degrees off the outside temp. In 110 degree desert that is 85-90 still…. and that’s if overheating didn’t stop us. I didn’t even want to think of that. Overheating on the side of the road, in the desert, 120 degrees out.. a couple of cranky kids and a hot n bothered wife. It wasn’t gonna happen, something had to be done.
We canceled all of our reservations, scrapped the entire trip. We lost a decent amount in deposits and went with plan B. We decided instead to just drive up PCH and go coastal as far as we could. The coast is an easy 10-15 degrees cooler than any inland route so by staying along the coast all the way up we actually ended up with amazing weather and one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever had.
Not only that but it was on this trip that “Navigate By Heart” was conceptualized and understood. Since we had lost out on our deposits for the canceled trip and were too late in the game to book much of anything for the new route, we didn’t. We set out knowing we had places we wanted to see and visit and knew that we had a house on wheels so we could get there.. worst case iI figured we’d sleep on the side of the road or in Wal Mart parking lot. Most importantly we trusted that it would work out and we’d be OK and guess what?? We were. It went beyond “OK” … Once the fear was gone AMAZING things started happening.
More than a few times we rolled into a cool town along the way, checked in to see if there we any available sites only to find that they were totally booked up… BUT one of the best sites at the campground had just opened up and was available due to cancellation!!? We’d talk to people around us and opportunities would open up from nowhere. In fact, our very first day of the trip, which happened to be my birthday, we drove into A very busy beach campgound [Rincon] just beneath Santa Barbara. Rincon is right on the water and first come first serve. People drive the strand for hours looking for a spot.
We’d never been so we didnt know this information [yet] and drove up on a whim. It’d been 4 hours and I was getting tired and figured pulling in before sunset, cooking up dinner and staying on the sand would be the plan. On our first pass through a set of kind eyes locked with mine. A man stepped out from the lineup of RVs that spanned miles down the shore and informed me that his neighbor was leaving. I’d be wide to flip around and get into position and post up. Which is exactly what we did. The couple leaving the site siad nothing, didnt look us in the eyes.. head down they scurried out. It was quite strange. No sooner did we pull in than did a group fo neighbors descend upon us. Offering me high fives and celebratory beers… telling me I’d won the lottery pulling in like that… and asking me how many hours I’d been crusing the strip looking for a spot.
“Uhhh, about 30 seconds..” I said.
Laughter broke out. Today was my birthday. Vibrations were strong and this example of the universe guiding us in with perfect timing was just the first of many to come.
Its not easy to do. To believe and trust in the universe. Its in our nature as humans to doubt, have fear… fear of being late or having things not work out. Even with something as simple as reservations… your average person thinks
“well I better make a reservation, I dont want to risk it, be sorry later and find myself in a situation I dont want to be in.”
Without reservations, you are not guaranteed a good spot [especially on a busy weekend] you might not even get a spot at all. In fact, without reservations, you might be sleeping on the side of the road or in a wal-mart parking lot!! Lol [it happens often] BUT you have to trust that you will get the experience you are supposed to have… meet people you woulndt have otherwise met. While it might not always make sense at the time, trust that you will always be able to look back later and make total sense of things by connecting the dots backwards.
Navigate by heart
Dare to live a life without reservation. Sometimes making the reservations has far worse consequences. I hate the feeling of driving down the road and seeing something REALLY cool roadside that I wanna see or do but am unable to BECAUSE of a reservation hours ahead I’ve already paid for. Having to rush through parts of a wonderful adventure due to a prior reservation is just the worst. In the past I’ve skipped the thing my gut told me I needed to pull over for… I drove on to make it to the reservation. Later realizing we should’ve stopped in the cool town we stumbled across and just spent the day there instead.
Thats regret, I can’t have those
It actually takes a couple of these types of regrets to zap ya!! As well as a few divine moments scoring the best spot in the park due to someone cancelling their reservation before you become a believer of navigating by heart. Once you truly trust the universe to provide the best experience you are meant to have at that time for growth upon the trip, then you can’t do it any other way. In fact you might find yourself taking the unknown road intentionally just to see where it leads
Its the unplanned places that jump out at us along the way that make some of the best unforgettable experiences. We’ve had a number already and I’m sure there are more left to come. An adventure is best to let it take form along the way, not to always try to control. So this whole trip is navigate by heart. Thats the name of our adventure blog I am in the process of building [navigatebyheart.com] and thats lifes new motto. Follow your heart, do what feels right. Listen to that feeling inside that tells ya to do something. Don’t let your logical brain talk ya out of it.. follow through on your gut feeling, the one you feel is right. Thats how you Navigate by Heart.
More on all of that soon… I have so many half written pieces in the works and soooooo many freaking photos to share. Our internet is hit and miss and pouring out your soul through your fingers to a keypad takes time. I’ll put it into a pretty little bow and tie it up soon enough. Till then Im marking this one >>>
To be continued…..
