Thank-full Season
Welcome to the season of gratitude. A season to celebrate our abundance—socially, emotionally, and physically.
📸 credit: Jovan Vasiljević @jovanvasiljevic
As I sit frantically typing, observing the snow swirling outside, mentally preparing for my busy weekend of attending the local ski swap/holiday wine tasting/hiking group meetup in addition to chats over coffee with friends/dancing together to celebrate the Full Moon/planning the Holidays/etc., I realize how much I have in my life to appreciate. This weekend my dance card is fully booked and I’m savoring it all. How could I not?
Thank you, dear friends, for being in my life. Thank you for dancing with me, hiking with me, hanging out with me, road tripping with me, and cheering me on. I still have so many tales of our adventures to share through my written words, and for that, I am deeply grateful. Our time together is what matters the most to me. I hope you don’t just know that fact but feel and understand it to your core. In honor of all of our sweet adventures together, I’m going to outline one of my favorite ways to say I love you to my friends. Can you guess what that may be?
Planning Trips
Yup. I adore planning adventures for us. Something to look forward to, something epic to enjoy while it’s happening, and something to look back on with fondness. Road trips are usually my go-to; however, I’ve been known to take us on a wild boat ride to a Canadian island, train ride down to Portland or up to Vancouver (yep, Canada again), snowshoe treks up to a cabin, and made you take long flights to get to me.
We’ve frolicked through woods, across ridgelines, snowshoed along forest service roads or pushed through two new feet of fresh powder, hiked up and over state lines, soaked in hot pots, enjoyed bonfires, explored trails and flowers and farmers markets in wonder, coasted in dog sleds and homemade sleds, posed by rocks/on rocks/in trees/on statues/in and around famous buildings/throughout parks of all types/on mountain summits/in botanical gardens/on sidewalks/with dinosaurs/on beaches/across bridges/by waterfalls/and endless other things to pose next to, attended random high school musicals, and obviously eaten lots of interesting things together. What have we not experienced?
Again, thank you for the laughter that stole my breath and made my cheeks and tummy muscles ache. Thank you for joining me on my whimsical escapes. Thank you for bringing me joy, love, and adventure. Thank you for filling my life to overflowing. Below, I’ll elaborate on a hand-full of 24-hr whirlwinds we pulled off together. (Don’t worry. The longer week long adventures are sure to get their own post.) And because you love them oh-so-much, here’s a gallery capturing snippets of our revelry:
Vernal Break:
Get it? Hint: Vernal = Latin for Spring. During Spring Break in 2019, the RA RAs road tripped to Vernal, Utah to take pictures with dinosaurs, hike through snow to caves where we could utilize all our cool dancer poses, peruse the local DI, attend the best musical we’ve ever seen, eat pure sugar and road snacks and a bad diner breakfast. All within a very precise 24-hr timeline. Apologies to Dani for the post-holing while my snowshoes were in the trunk. At least sledding by the empty roadside made up for it! Sorry to the wild animal chased down by a larger wild animal that we appreciate not seeing. Or being eaten by. Thanks to the audience who fully supported our cheers in support of the high schoolers rockin’ it on roller skates. Thanks to dance for teaching us how to properly and improperly pose in front of cameras. This whirlwind of a Vernal Break was worth documenting.
Tanya leading her bday hike thru the Enchantments
Tanya’s - Fancy met Rugged that weekend. First, we overnighted in Leavenworth. Steak dinner and a hot tub soak. Then, we all went backpacking into the Enchantments along the rocks overlooking Lake Colchuck beneath Aasgard. You taught us how to conjure Camp Robbers and we made you a Thanksgiving dinner via Jetboils. Oh, and how could we forget the fun ride to the local fire station?! Upon returning to the trailhead, a police officer accidentally locked himself out of his patrol car so we gave him a lift. A dream come true for you, Tanya!
Bday Weekends:
Mine - Braving the ride in a catamaran during a gale, thus forced through the inner passage to our weekend in Victoria, B.C., we indulged in high noon tea at The Empress, a personalized photoshoot of each other in the park, and dinner overlooking the bay. Thank you, Lauren and Tanya!
The Empress in Victoria, B.C.
Lauren’s - A scavenger hunt to all your favorite foods in Seattle. Donuts, Japanese noodles, vegan grocery stores, and more! It wasn’t just about the food though. We enjoyed exploring new spots and spending time dancing together around all the sculptures in the U District, Ballard, and Fremont. All vegan and all fun. Who knew vegan cupcakes could taste so good?!
Tanya’s 2017 birthday backpacking tour
These are a tease for what’s to come. Lately, I haven’t held the ability to plan trips in advance. I hope that motivation and drive finds me again soon. Over the winter, I aim to plan and organize a Women’s WellMess Retreat for the end of next summer. Where would you like to retreat to? What adventures are you most interested in me organizing for us? Who do you know that could teach us a thing or two or possibly guide us on some kind of fun adventure? Reach out with ideas: lkyoung@sprightlyendeavors.com and let’s see what fun we can whip up to satisfy our whimsy!