The road less traveled

I heard the phrase recently in the video by “kidpresident” and something about it sparked the idea for a little weekend experiment.

You gotta love the kid’s frankness about choosing the road less traveled…and it HURT =) Love his facial expressions!

Part of our plan to re-feather our empty nest was to travel more. But, we already have sort found ourselves in a rut. We plan a vacation. We go. We come home. And then we get into our mode of the everyday “routine” .

So this weekend I had one of my “wild ideas”. How about we just get in the car and drive to the country? There is something very liberating to just drive out of the city and get away from the hustle and bustle and tail lights.

We headed north. To throw a little twist to the plan, I also placed another stipulation on our day trip.

We had to experience 5 new things that we had never done in our life.
YIKES. Hubby even said that was a pretty steep goal for such a short amount of time.

It took some creativity…

But here is our list of “5 New Experiences”.

1. We ate lunch at a little cafe that we have heard some folks talk about. It’s not close to our house so we decided to head up there to eat. Thank you Fuzzy’s Taco Shop for some yummo fish tacos!

2. We went and shopped in a little town we had never visited before. This was a little town. One blinky lite on the town square. One shop open.

3. After leaving the little town, instead of going back up to the highway we ventured off down the country roads. We found ourselves traveling deep in the heartland. Wow. Texas continues to amaze me on how BIG it is!

4. As we headed home, we went and drove around a section of neighboring city that is dear to our hearts as it’s where we spent our honeymoon 28 years ago. We got to experience sitting at the rail lines and watch the commuter train at night. There is something so lonely yet peaceful about a train whistle blowing at night.

5. Our final venturing back to familiar territory found us traveling down the highway towards home and we realized we were traveling on a newly opened section of highway that we had not traveled yet.

Ok. It wasn’t too exciting on the spectrum of THRILL. It’s not like we went rock climbing, or parachuted out of airplanes, or went deep sea diving off a remote island in the sea.

But for us two “old” birds, we ventured off our usual “road” and took the scenic route which led to some experiences we had never enjoyed before. We took time to be grateful for the small things and to enjoy some simple pleasures.

For us, we took the road less traveled.

And it was good….

For your literary enjoyment, here is Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost

I encourage you to seize the new opportunities that await you now that you are living in your empty nest. Determine in your heart that you will experience new things! Enjoy life! Love the Moment and Live the Day! And never forget to be grateful for the small things.

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6 Comments

  • Bonnie Gean

    This is something my partner and I need to do. We don’t take time out to stop and smell the roses, as they say, and it’s desperately needed!

    We’re up in age too, so there’s no better time than the present. πŸ™‚

    Thanks for allowing me to take this journey with you!

  • coby lange

    Me too like to drive and take some small roads to look around, You do not have to go far to have a wonderful day.

  • Aletha McManama

    Kim, what a wonderful story to share! I’m someone that doesn’t take the road less traveled and I wish I did it more with my family. It can get very boring when you don’t step out and do something spontaneous. You’ve given me inspiration to consider this on our way to Myrtle Beach, SC this weekend. πŸ™‚

  • Kim

    Howdy Aletha! I hope you had a great trip and were truly able to enjoy some treks “off the beaten path”

  • Kim

    Howdy Coby! Isn’t it wonderful to learn to enjoy the simple pleasures around you!?

  • Kim

    Howdy Bonnie! Oh yes!! Please take time to enjoy the roses! You will feel so much better for doing so! Thanks for stopping by! =)

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