We have been in Saint Paul for six days and I have already done no less than 30 different things! 😂 It has been wonderful to see so many friends and family members already, my heart is very full, and it is quite a change from the past eight months. Before the pandemic it was “normal” practice for me to triple book my life. I was mindlessly subscribing to grind culture. This has been nothing compared to that. Everything I have done since I have been home has been things that I have either wanted (connecting with friends and family) or needed (doctors appointments and car check-ups) to do. I feel in the past when I triple booked my life it wasn’t always filled with things that brought me joy and filled me up. Hence the reason I decided, four years ago, that it was time to make a change. When I decided to make that significant change from what I considered my “normal” way of life, I created a calendar reminder to repeat every Saturday. It read “Reprioritization, down size, couch time, make time for you, don’t triple book, you matter” and it is still there as an important reminder. Another significant difference is the people I am sharing my time with. Every single person has shown up and has been intentional about being a key player. My goodness am I fortunate to have so many people in my life that know my heart! We’ve cultivated a space where we can be unapologetically ourselves together. I am eternally grateful for them!
I know that I expressed a little trepidation before I came home about how busy it would be, and then I reminded myself that it is important for me to show up for my people the same way they have shown up for me. I know that I can’t do that if I am not 100% so I feel like this month is going to be about finding that balance. I want to be intentional about giving myself what I need because that is what is best for everyone. Wish me luck! 🙂
It feels weird that it has been a little over three weeks since I have written. I am not sure if you noticed that over the past eight months I tried to write about every two weeks. I guess three weeks isn’t too much of a difference. When we are in Europe we’re going to try and be in locations for a longer period of time in an effort to experience more “being” rather than “doing.” We want to really be able to immerse ourselves in the different cultures and places that we haven’t been before and learn more about the ones we have. Either way I am sure it’ll be different and I’m looking forward to it.
SO, since I last updated you, we were getting ready to leave Vancouver. The first week after we left we were in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a long two day drive with one overnight in Boise, ID. I know the map only says 15 hours but when you add in stops for food, gas, construction and for Dave to do work, everything takes longer than you can even plan for. I think that I mentioned that I had only been to the airport in Salt Lake City prior to our visit. It wasn’t really on my radar because I associated it with winter/snow activities which, even though I’ve lived in Minnesota for 27 years, I don’t participate in. I am so glad that through Dave’s analysis of the best route to get back to MN he found SLC. My goodness I was blown away by what a fantastic week it was!
My brother-in-law’s sister used to live in Salt Lake City for a long time, so when we decided that was going to be our first stop on our trip home, I reached out to her for suggestions. She sure did deliver! We stayed in the 9th and 9th area just outside of downtown and it was perfect. Lots of shops, parks and restaurants to walk to and a great location to drive to all the amazing hikes that she recommended. I also can’t forget to mention how amazing the mountains are in SLC!!!! It is almost a 360 degree spectacular view everywhere you look.
I was chatting with my friend who used to live in Colorado about this and she shared a theory with me that I didn’t even think of. The mountains in Utah, compared to the mountains in Colorado, look so spectacular because there are no foothills like in Colorado. They just rise straight up from the water so they look significantly bigger. She even said that she checked the elevation and they aren’t as high in Utah. I thought that was fascinating and made sense.
The weather was gorgeous almost everyday that week and so I was able to do a ton of incredible hikes and do a lot of solo exploring. I hiked the Pipeline trail at Millcreek Canyon, some of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, City Creek Canyon and Ensign Park which offered fantastic views of the city and of course the mountains! I also was able to visit the Great Lake State Park and was awestruck by the beauty of Antelope Island State Park. The bugs there kinda ruined my last attempt to walk a path along the shore and the Buffalo Point Trail was spectacular!
After we left Salt Lake City we made our way to Omaha, NE. Since it was another two day drive we did an overnight in Fort Collins, CO which was super fun. When we’ve had to do long weekend drives previously we usually didn’t roll into our place until very late which didn’t allow for much exploring. So this time we made sure we arrived early enough to experience it and I’m glad we did. I finally got to meet some of the amazing women at Kansas City Kitty which is a wonderful shop that I’ve been following on Instagram for the past couple years. We also went to Odell Brewing, listened to a lot of live music going on that weekend for FoCoMX, and we had a lovely dinner at Union Bar.
In Omaha we stayed with one of Dave’s closest friends from college. We hadn’t ever had that extended time with him, his wife and children and it was really special. We were very thankful to them for opening their home to us. To be honest there aren’t a ton of things to do in Omaha and I made the most of my days out of the house while they worked in our bedroom. 😂 I went to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium which really was spectacular! Their aquarium is amazing and I got to see several baby elephants which are my FAVORITE! I also visited the Fontenelle Forest and Nature Center which has a raptor center and tons of paths through the forest with views of the Missouri River. Since we were last there, three years ago for their wedding, they re-did the waterfront so we went down to the Gene Leahy Mall one evening to explore and it was pretty cool. They built a really beautiful area with fountains, parks, an infinity bridge and waterfront walk. I even got a couple hikes in at Zorinsky Lake and the Chalco Hills.
We ended up leaving Omaha a day early because there were tornadoes in the forecast for Friday. It was a blessing that we did because they ended up getting hit pretty severely right around the time that we were planning on getting on the road. Our friends fortunately were not impacted by the storm and we made it safely to Oconomowoc, WI, Dave’s hometown and where his parents still live, around 12: 30 in the morning on Friday, April 26th. It was nice to have a full day before Dave’s parents hosted a family gathering on Saturday. It was wonderful to have that time in Oconomowoc and to see so many of Dave’s relatives that live in the area. The weather continued to be gorgeous the rest of the week so I was able to walk around Fowler Lake several times and even had an opportunity to explore Lapham Peak for the first time. We were very grateful to his parents for hosting us.
During our week in Wisconsin I was also able to see friends in Madison and Milwaukee. It was so fun to connect with them an do some things we haven’t done before/for a long time. In Madison I walked around State Street and Campus and visited the Chazen Museum of Art. I also got to have an amazing belated birthday dinner with a friend at the Harvey House which was delicious! It was so fun to make it there for my first time especially after seeing the Top Chef contestants go there.
It is surreal to be back in Saint Paul and it is also like we never left. Except we’re in an Air bnb and not in our house. I am happy to report that our Air bnb is 100% better than the one we were in when we first moved out of our house back in August. I am grateful to have this time to see people in the Midwest. It is my intention to stay present and grounded in that during our time here and throughout all seasons of this wonderful adventure! ❤️
