Experience Gifts and 2020 Travel Lessons

As frustrating as it was, 2020 taught me so much about exploring my tiny corner of the world. During lockdown, I read a book about loving where you live (This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are by Melody Warnick) and learned all about the power of walking, community, and investing in that community. Even though I've lived in North Dakota my whole life, before 2020, I had never been to a state park.

Ben (now husband, then boyfriend) and I like to give each other experience gifts for Christmas. The first year we did this was 2019. We each planned a little trip for each other. Ben's

a big golfer, and I'd never been to Medora or Theodore Roosevelt National Park, so I planned a trip to Medora, North Dakota. We golfed Bully Pulpit (cheaper if you go before Memorial Day, which we did; it was freezing) and explored the park. Ben planned a trip to Winnipeg, Manitoba (less than 3 hours from us). We did all my favorites, shopping at IKEA and Chapters bookstore, eating Kawaii Crepe, and wandering the Forks.

For 2020, we decided we'd plan monthly experiences. I got the odd months, and Ben got the even ones. Many of these experiences never got to happen because of the restrictions, but one thing we did and prioritized was visiting state parks. I had purchased a season pass and loved getting to explore all the little parks near us. We even ended up getting engaged at a park near our home town.

Growing up, I remember feeling like North Dakota, especially the small towns I spent my time, was so boring! There wasn't mountains or beaches, national sports teams, or even tourists. I thought I had to travel to do something noteworthy. However, over the last two years, I've learned that's not true at all. No matter where you live, there's things to do and love. Everything can be a memorable experience with the right mindset and a little bit of intentionality. For example, every summer, I make a big deal of posting up on my porch. I don't do anything noteworthy, but I make it an experience by waking up with the intention of bringing my books, notebooks, and coffee out to enjoy the quiet morning. With intentionality, we make things like cleaning out the fridge and eating leftovers fun by packing up all our things and having a picnic by the river near our house. We all can create experiences like that in our ordinary days. I'm thankful that 2020 taught us about appreciating the small beauty of our homes.

In 2021, our experience gifts looked different again. We have a baby coming in May of 2022, and we're just not sure what our life will look like after that (please don't remind us that we won't sleep; we get it haha). Both of us, without discussing it, got each other a taste-testing experience, which will be perfect for a night in. We are also excited to try out the Adventure Challenge: Couples Edition (a book of scratch-off date ideas) this year.

One more thing 2020 taught me regarding travel is the importance of seizing the day. Having lost both my parents before they were retirement age, I learned that our lives are what we make them. My parents traveled abundantly in the ten years of their marriage before they had kids. What a GIFT that they did that since their lives ended earlier than planned. I want to model my life after that influence. I want to see all that I can and soak in all the adventure that I can.

-J