A Year of New Adventures

Unlike most other years in recent memory, I entered into 2023 without a single resolution. I simply didn’t see the point of walking into the new year with the stress of grandiose ideals that I knew I would abandon by the second day of the new year. So this year, I decided to forego the tradition and see where life took me.

Thus far, it has become a year of new adventures. It all began in January when my oldest son called me up with a brilliant idea.

“Mom,” he said with an air of excitement that was a bit frightening. “Your birthday is coming up in a few weeks.”

“Yes, it is,” I replied.

“Do you want to go to Duluth?”

For those of you who may not be from Georgia, Duluth is a city in the metro Atlanta area. It’s like many other cities in the metro area, nice but not particularly known as a tourist destination. It certainly wasn’t the first place that came to mind when I was thinking about my birthday.

“What’s in Duluth?” I asked.

“Professional Bull Riding!” he exclaimed.

He spent the next ten minutes or so telling me about different events around the country and how this was the closest one in the southeast. He told me about this cowboy who was the best rider in the world and some bull that no one had ever ridden. He even mentioned that this would be a great opportunity for me to cross something off my bucket list since I had never gone to a PBR event before.

Now, to be fair, my bucket list is several pages long and it is continuously growing so it is a bit difficult to keep up with all the adventures and areas I’d like to see and experience, but I can assure you that bull riding has never been on that list. Not even once.

Despite that small detail, for my birthday this year, I found myself in Duluth, Georgia attending the PBR event with my son. Honestly, I wasn’t prepared for how big of a deal bull riding is. It’s a whole thing. They have cheerleaders and fireworks. They have a halftime show where these guys come out into the ring and do backflips over the bulls. The place was packed and the fans took it very seriously.

Honestly, it was a great weekend. I got to spend time with my son. We met with friends over lunch and dinner. And we got two days of entertainment and a new adventure.

 In February, I attended the Amelia Island Book Fest with two friends. We showcased our books and had the opportunity to meet with new and prospective readers. We met some really nice people at the event and had the opportunity to explore the downtown area. If you’ve never visited Amelia Island, the downtown area is worth the trip. The streets are lined with shops of all kinds. There are several art galleries that showcase the local talent. You can grab a great seafood lunch and walk a couple of blocks to get some fresh ice cream. There is definitely something for everyone.

The next morning after the event, we rode horses along the beach. I’ve ridden horses and I’ve been to the beach, but I’ve never done both at the same time. It was such a relaxing experience. It was a little chilly that day and we went early so the beach was almost empty. The tide was out. We were alone with the waves.

Admittedly, I’m not the most graceful person in the world, but I managed to get off the horse without serious injury so I count that as a major win. And while this particular adventure wasn’t on my bucket list either, it should have been. I would highly recommend it the next time you’re at the beach whether it be at Amelia Island or elsewhere.

That brings me to March. After two months of amazing adventures, I decided to scale things back a bit. I didn’t really have a lot of extra time or money to devote to an out-of-town excursion. I looked around and found several introductory classes in the area, although I wasn’t able to fit any of those into my schedule. Then, while mindlessly scrolling through Facebook one day, I saw an ad for a free online ‘introduction to photography’ class.

Sign me up!

Now, I have no intention of becoming a professional photographer, but I do have a nice camera that I’d like to use without the pictures looking like a three year old took them. (No offense to three year olds!) I was excited to see that I could squeeze into a session that morning.

It wasn’t a long class and I didn’t walk away from it as a photography guru, but I did gain some insight into the mechanics of the art that should help me create better images. In short, it was exactly what I was looking for. It gave me enough information to feel a little more comfortable with the camera without any pressure.

Admittedly, it might not be what others would consider an adventure. That’s okay. I’m not here to impress anyone. I’m not going to be the next social media influencer with millions of followers jet-setting from one exotic location to another.

I’m fine with that.  

This year, I want to build on the first few months and see where life takes me. I want to learn new things and see new places. I want to hear new sounds and taste new foods. It doesn’t have to be big to be an adventure. And it doesn’t have to meet anyone else’s expectations to become a piece of my journey. I’m traveling this road for myself. I’m determined to find my own happiness.

Now, as I’m looking forward to next month, I’ve begun thinking about the state parks I haven’t visited yet. Perhaps one of those will be my next adventure. I don’t know yet. But somewhere along the path this year, I plan on taking some amazing pictures of the memories I’m creating.