People are always commenting on the places my husband, Robert, and I visit. They find it amusing or fascinating (really, they may think we are crazy) how we become nomads for a period of time during the year.
Exploring our great country on highways, byways, and back roads is what Robert and I love to do. It puts us in touch with nature, allows us to experience history, and helps us meet interesting individuals. We always get double-take glances and inquiries about our roof-top tent. It’s pretty fun that such unusual living arrangements sparks conversations with complete strangers.
Recently, as Robert and I were taking one of our Sunday drives, he said to me, “Do you realize that we’ve been to 13 states and have driven over 33,000 miles this year?” WOW!
It got me thinking how truly blessed we are. This year has been wonderfully full. We took a trip out West to attend Overland Expo at Mormon Lake, AZ. We designed our trip to last a lot longer than just the weekend of the event. In fact, the experience took us weeks to complete. We didn’t want to rush right out there and right back. No. We wanted the opportunity to explore and take our time doing
so. We also went East to Franklin, TN, to attend a copywriting seminar, where we not only learned a great deal at the seminar, but also connected with some wonderful individuals from all over the world.
With technology the way it is, Robert and I can take our office anywhere. It’s perfect! When we would pull out our computers at our campsite, we would repeatedly receive comments about how sad it was that we had to work on our vacation. Sad? We aren’t sad at all. We are grateful that we have to opportunity to change our office space to anywhere we’d like. We call our trips “workations.”
We get out of our normal routine and challenge ourselves to think differently and more creatively. The demands placed on us are both physically and mentally different. We learn how to plan better, organize better, and think more clearly.
By taking our work with us doesn’t mean it’s all work and no play. In fact, it seems like it is easier to separate the two. All too often, we go through life working so hard just for two weeks of rest and relaxation. Why not design a life to really enjoy and experience it? For Robert and I, that takes the shape of exploring any remote part of the country we can.
My favorite office spots this year included: Goosenecks State Park, UT; Valley of the Gods, UT; Rockhound State Park, NM; Mesa Verde, CO; Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN; and Clear Lake, IA.
We never knew what visitors would come see us in our office. I loved seeing the deer, ground squirrels, chipmunks, and the coyotes. I even loved being startled by a snake who decided to slither in front of me as I was talking on the phone with a client. You never know what you’ll experience a workation.
