Anyone interested in a trip with us? (and a quick Montana update)
We've got a few trips on the books, but we're looking at adding another GROUP trip. Wanna travel with us (or me, Rob)? I'm looking at options for 2024 now!
It’s rare that I share more than once in a week, let alone in the middle of the week, but I have two things I want to put out there into the universe. I know that for us going on adventures is pretty normal and we always have something brewing, but also know that not everybody is like that or wants to be. So, I have some questions for everyone about travel, and specifically group trips.
I also wanted to share the first of my articles from our trip to Montana last week. I have a bit to share here, and then a complete itinerary for Missoula on the blog, so hopefully that’ll be helpful as people start looking at their spring break or college visit plans.
I don’t think I’ll make multiple newsletters/publications each week a thing, but for now just roll with me. Also, I have a personal update on the state of the world at the end.
2024 Group Trips - I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK!
We’ve already got a few group trips on the books (I can’t wait for Alaska in June 2024!) and we’re talking about doing one or two more. These can take several forms, from families to couples or just a bunch of solo/friends doing a trip together. And then if there is a trip, it can be either very involved with activities together or be very loose with just being in the same destination but optional activities to choose from.
We’ve done group trips to Croatia and Mexico, with Hawaii and Alaska coming up. Here’s how they tend to go:
small group all goes to same destination
each day at least one meal is shared
guided activities are available
solo time to explore is always an option
Depending on who is interested and what style of trip people are interested in, this can be a great opportunity to visit someplace new and share the experience with others. I am curious to hear who is interested in joining a trip individually, with a friend or SO, or even as a family. Lots of options!
Why Consider Group Travel?
Group trips might sound odd to a lot of people, especially if you’ve got a family or are just an avid traveler in your own way. That’s totally fine (but I still want your input!) I was talking with a friend about adding some options to 2024 and she confirmed all the reasons people like doing group trips. Here’s where we landed with the top reasons:
somebody else does the planning and coordination
people feel more comfortable going someplace they wouldn’t normally
the cost is usually lower because of group booking
it’s nice to be able to have shared experiences
Anyways, that’s what we talked about and I’m excited to maybe add another trip to our schedule. So PLEASE, take two minutes to share your thoughts in my survey so I can work on planning something awesome to share!
PS: my bestie is leading a women’s group trip to the Big Island in February if there are any women looking for a retreat type Hawaiian experience.
Missoula - Reminding me why I love Montana
Picture it: 18 year old me ready for college and heading to Missoula and then life happens and you get stuck in Seattle and your whole life plan has to shift. 24 year old me gets to return to Missoula and wishes life would have turned out as planned. 32 year old me can’t shake this beautiful small city each time we drive through or visit. And now 41 year old me gets to visit with my own kids and have a wonderful time.
In addition to the incredible time Elliott and I had in Glacier National Park last week, we also had a fun, relaxing visit to Missoula. We walked around downtown, went hiking, visited every park and playground we drove past and just enjoyed being in Montana together. He may only be 8 years old, but Elliott loved Missoula and said he could live there if we didn’t live at the beach.
I’m not one for trying to get my kids to live out my dreams or glory days, but if either of the boys decided they wanted to go to U of M and live in Missoula, I would 100% support them and become annoying with my visits. The point of all this: I have a new blog post!!
Check out my Easy Missoula Trip Guide - You can add it to a National Park trip, a cross country drive, or you can be intentional and visit with the purpose of enjoying Montana. It’s the perfect combo of River Runs Through It and all the best parts of hipster culture. You’ll love it too!
When the World Feels Like it’s Collapsing
I’m pretty happy-go-lucky about most things in life, and I like to think that I’m not a big downer (except at parties). Right now though, it’s a moment in life that feels really heavy. As a rule I try to digest the news in small bites, I try to let bumps in my own road stew a little before acting, and I aim to take everything with a grain of salt. That’s tough right now.
Yesterday I read a note from one of my real life friends that stated that “If you’re not actively speaking out [about Palestine/Israel] you’re guilty of genocide.” There was more to it, but the long and short of it was a direct statement from her lips that no matter where you are in the world, if you aren’t 100% accurately informed about and speaking out about the most recent developments on the Gaza Strip, you have blood on your hands. And this was all very eloquent and cast responsibility on EVERYONE to be fully informed.
Yes, as adults we need to be aware of what’s going on in the world and as humans we need to help others when and where we can, but also we aren’t all in positions of power or able to lead a local, successful protest for our convictions, no matter how well informed we are. And that’s okay. It’s not okay to sit idly by and think that the problems of the world will never come to your doorstep so you don’t need to care. Finding the balance of news consumption, care, and actions/conversations is difficult.
Our family doesn’t have direct ties to the Gaza Strip and we don’t know anyone who’s come from that specific area, but it’s still difficult to see war on any scale impacting anyone’s life. I guess my point is just that being informed and speaking up when confronted with hateful speech and actions is the best action you can take if you’re at a loss of what YOU can do. Get informed, taking media coverage with a grain of salt, and speak up when you hear words or see actions that you know are wrong.
When Your Personal World Feels Crumbly
Running a website isn’t just about getting to share the stories and travel tips from being out and about in the world, it’s also got a whole business side to it. That business side includes things like contracts, website data, tracking commissions on things, travel logistics… Well, this summer Google decided to mix things up and roll out a few big updates to their search engine algorithm. Ugh, it’s been tough to watch.
Seeing website traffic shift and watching articles that bring in lots of ad and affiliate revenue spiral is tough. It’s tough to watch things you’re proud of start to flounder, and then you research why it’s happening and it makes even less sense because you are doing good work. Argh. What am I talking about?
Here’s an example: Article A gets thousands of pageviews a month (which means $$) and people send me emails with travel planning questions relating to it often, and then it drops from page 1 of search results and nobody clicks on it anymore. The $$ from it disappear, the questions stop, the work you’ve done fades off into the distance. You feel like your efforts are all for naught and there’s no purpose to what you’re doing anymore…
Anyways, that’s happening with several of my primary bread-and-butter articles and it sucks. I feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing anymore no matter how I research and try to understand updates. My solution to this is just to keep on even though my world feels like it’s crumbling. Head down, do good work, the Google gods will reward me. That must be the solution.
I don’t know how much this applies to other people in their work or daily life, but if you’re stuck in a similar loop, I feel ya. We’ll get through it. We’ll adapt and learn, or the world will learn that we really are good at our jobs and fix this flux.
Anyways, that’s what’s happening here this week. Stressful world and getting to share joy, ALL AT ONCE! Thank you for listening to me and following along. This weekend I’ll have some more travel oriented stuff to share, including some winter trip ideas and budget friendly suggestions for upcoming school breaks, so stay tuned!