You never know what to expect when you’re traveling. You could have smooth traveling days and even smoother days at your location. Other trips can lead you to new and unexpected places. And other trips could leave you wanting to never return to the area.
I have had some trips that have moved smoothly. Every day goes according to plan and every activity meets all my expectations. Other trips though, do not follow this formula. I have had trips where there just isn’t enough time to see it all or some plans fall through. Trips like my most recent trip to Florida, nothing goes according to plan at all. I find these trips exciting and character building. These types trips make or break travelers.
I hope they make more then they break.
I have learned that with each trip that does not go according to plan, you just need to go with the flow. Seriously, do not resist where the trip is trying to take you. You may miss out on something great because you are disappointed. I am a natural planner and I admit, I definitely start feeling discouraged when every plan falls through or changes. IT’S OKAY TO FEEL THIS WAY! Just don’t let this feeling linger. Embrace the path that the universe is putting you on and go with it!
Like I said, this happened with my most recent trip to Florida. Looking back on the trip, it was so unique and eye-opening because I went with where the trip was trying to take me.
The best example would be that wherever I travel, I always need to go to a new coffee shop. I need to try a new, single origin coffee. I look for coffee shops that roast their own coffee and have a certain vibe. I found these two coffee shops that meet my criteria near downtown Orlando. Luckily, our plans had us driving by downtown Orlando a few times, which means we could stop! Every day, every time, our plans would fall through on our way to the coffee shops. We would have plans, leave early for these plans, and we would just happen to hit 30 minutes of traffic on the way. That would have been the 30 minutes we would have had to get coffee! I even tried looking at coffee shops along the routes we would be driving and one after another, our plans to stop would fall through.
On the 3rd day of the trip, plans fell through again to visit one of the coffee shops. I decided right there and then that I was done planning. This trip clearly had other plans for me. Later on the 3rd day, we visited a cute little town and we stumbled upon this tea shop called The Rosie Lee Co. They had loose teas lining the wall and a bar where you could order them. To the right of the bar, you could smell and buy the loose teas to brew on your own. I am obsessed with loose teas and love trying new ones. This place had a cool vibe and was like heaven! I was smelling the different loose teas and the barista started telling me about some of their specialty drinks. One was a turmeric latte with coconut milk and honey.
Fun fact about me: I love turmeric tea and I make lattes at home with turmeric tea.
I was dazzled about how amazing that sounded. I ordered one right away.
Honestly, it was one of the best turmeric lattes I have ever had!
If I had coffee earlier in the day, I might have not given that shop much of a glance. And if I did go in, I might have ended up passing on the turmeric latte. But since I just let the trip take me where I needed to be, I ended up with an amazing turmeric latte and some loose teas I could bring home.
So please please please don’t get discouraged if your trip does a 180 last minute. Go with the flow! It’s a part of the journey.
Maria Does Things 