With all good intentions, I haven’t posted jack in several days, leaving me feeling somewhat deflated as I fall asleep each night. When I began this crazy journey, my initial goal was to write and publish an entry every day. And while I’ve found fodder to be easy to come by as I roll down the road, my ambition was less focused on the need to write and more so on the right now.

Let me be clear: I’m not talking about the I-want-it-and-I-want-it-now era we seem to have collectively adopted over the last half century, for which Ray Kroc can surely be blamed (I say with tongue loosely planted in cheek). I’m not about the gimme, gimme, gimme – at least not as a single adult when I have to pay for everything myself. And I don’t mean ‘dream it today and get it tomorrow’, although who doesn’t dig that idea? 

The right now I’m talking about is steeped in attention and appreciation. It’s about slowing down. It’s about setting down the camera, taking in the view and enjoying what’s in front of me.  

This has been a catch 22 for me. As I’m traveling, rather than seeking out interesting and exciting things to do for the hell of it, I’ve instead found myself seeking out interesting and exciting pics and videos for Trippin’ with Trixie. This is, after all, an eventual stream of income for us, and I need content, content, content. 

But I’m not interested in artificial, and the more I sought to snap pics or take videos specifically for biz rather than us? The less I wanted to.  

This was, of course, fortuitous in the end. This is less a travel blog, after all, than it is a blog with traveling. (Click here if you’d like to see the Trippin’ part of our trip!) And waking up to what I was missing along the road by having my eyes permanently affixed to my camera? Yeah, sites to see, imagine that – and without a filter, but seen through the lens of my own experience. And this change was helpful, allowing me to see rather than merely view. 

I’ve had to talk myself away from the camera several times. At one point, a herd of 150+ elk was passing the road twenty feet in front of my car. My phone was affixed in its holder on the dashboard, and I simply hit record. I watched in both silent reverence and enthusiastic praise as they apprehensively pulled themselves from the safety of the bushes and followed the lead cow. I appreciated what was in front of me – laughing and crying as I was graced by something moving, something significant – although the elk just wanted to get across the damn road safely. I expected things would come out just fine on my camera. Or maybe not, and I was still better for the experience.

So, I’ve adjusted my goals some as a result of the first few days of my trip. While I felt that my lack of posting was an obvious sign of failing to follow through, I now realize that the moments that create this journey are mine. Some of them are quiet, sentimental moments, some of them are foul-mouthed and rowdy. And allowing for them does not negate either my ambition or my objective. And with that? My focus is on me, Trix and the adventure in front of us. Woohoo!