Naturally, it seems odd to think those two words go together. Traveling on a whim? Is that even feasible? Maybe a spontaneous day trip or a weekend away makes more sense. It's also probably easier to pick a destination you've always dreamed of visiting and then picking a date in the future to make it happen. Spontaneous travel isn't for everyone but for us, it's one of the most exciting ways to "plan" a trip and it can be cheaper than you think... We like the idea of letting the chips fall where they may and saying "Yes, let's do that this year!" We can all relate to the "Hey, let's jump in the car and drive to {insert favorite place to visit} that's {insert estimated minutes} away!" When we lived up north in Indiana, we would take a random Saturday and drive the 45 minutes south to a mom -n- pop ice cream parlor called Ivanhoe's. Yes, there were closer places to get ice cream but there was just something special about Ivanhoe's. Thinking of all the 100+ shake and sundae combinations was enough to make any ice cream junky weak in the knees. The trip was rarely pre-planned, it was just an itch or an idea in the back of one of our minds and as soon as the words were spoken, there was no going back. It was Ivanhoe's or bust. It seems silly to equivocate a 90 minute trip for ice cream to a vacation but for us, the thought process is one in the same. When it comes to traveling, the desire to experience new sights and cultures leads to an impulse to do just that and as soon as we can. And we've discovered that spontaneous travel can be cheaper than planning out a trip years away. Not having a ridged vacation plan with a specific place in mind can allow you to look for off-season deals, both on flights and hotels, and explore a new place you might not have ever planned to visit. That was the exact experience we had with our vacations to South America, the Dominican Republic and Iceland. We hadn't planned on visiting those countries, in fact we were certain our first time to Europe would be to experience London and Paris, instead we went froze our booties off waiting for the Northern Lights to make an appearance. But sometimes, plans change and we are so glad they did! If it wasn't for our impulsiveness and a remarkably good deal we found, we wouldn't have visited Brazil or Argentina as soon as we did. And without that trip to South America, we wouldn't have met some amazing people that then invited us to travel to Iceland with them, which I'm not quite sure we would have ever gotten there without them. Sometimes the draw to do something new is just enough to encourage one to pack up the suitcase and hit the road to sights unseen. We've been lucky enough to take some incredible spontaneous trips, not one of them has been to our "Number 1" bucket list destination but the journey so far has been nothing short of awesome. Who knows if we'll ever get to London or Paris, but at this point I'm not sure we need to. These trips to countries we never guessed we'd visit have been such powerful, formative experiences that we're inclined to keep going to places we didn't expect we'd go.
My final thoughts are this, the places we've all dreamt of going, the popular travel destinations that everyone has researched and promised to visit, can somewhat be lacking the mystery of the unknown that traveling can hold. Sometimes, having a great adventure isn't possible without going off the map. So get a dartboard, a roulette wheel or whatever chance device you prefer and make your next trip one you never thought you'd take. It might end up being the most exciting place you'll ever visit. Until Next Time, C & D
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