Finding a little happiness, fighting fascism through the mail, and tourism slipping away...

I'm finding it hard to balance

Time is legit flying by, and I don’t know if it’s because we’re keeping busy or because we’re disassociating, which there really is a fine line between. Today is kind of newsletter-lite, in that I am having a tough time focusing on the here and now because the doom scrolling is so easy to fall into and I have been minimally productive in my daily life. I’ve read a lot about the methods of fascism and how society breaks under it, and one of the things that keeps coming up is how the people are worn down by continuous bad news and distractions, and that’s really affective on me.

When I focus in on our own family and our lives, things are actually phenomenal and I’m so thankful. It’s such a contrast to get to live our life and then tune into the news and immediately remember that our existence can absolutely change in just one day. I hope none of us has to face that. So I’ve got some things to share today that can hopefully combat the current regime and give hope some action. And I have travel stuff to share. Thank you for reading and lending me your ears/eyes each week as I share the smatterings of my brain. I love that I get to reach people all over and share this slice of my thoughts and life.

What I’m working on: a full plate that never ends

Even if I didn’t feel productive this week, I was a bit. It’s funny to think of what I had hoped to accomplish and what I actually did, but I can’t beat myself up about it. I actively took breaks to go outside and work in the garden or go for walks, and I stopped working as soon as the kids got home to spend time with them. I’m not sad I ran my week differently. I think I just need to manage my focus better when I’m in work mode. If I have big success on that this week I’ll share what I did differently.

Here’s what’s new:

• 2TravelDads.com - My website redesign launched!! I love the look, how easy it is to navigate and that it’s faster. If you work with websites, you know things like a website redesign are a pain, and this roll out is going smoothly. Also, I’m splitting my working time between 2TD and then our AK, HI and Florida Keys sites, so I’m in a rotation of completing something for each of these. The only thing I got published on 2TravelDads.com this week was our guide to visiting the Empire State Building. That might not sound thrilling, but it’s actually a big ticket item and something a lot of families plan for, so it’s worth writing about. Also, since I’m really digging into everything NYC, it’s a part of a bigger project.

• MyAlaskaTrip.com - Our trip to Fairbanks last month so comprehensive and provided so many experiences to write about even with everything I’ve gotten published both on our Alaska site and 2TravelDads, I still have 14 drafts to finish. What I did get done was writing about snowmobiling in North Pole, AK and updating everything on our site about Denali National Park since Holland America announced some changes with their travel program and the McKinley Chalets now becoming the Holland America Denali Lodge. I can’t wait to see what changes.

  

• TheKeysExplored.com - I love working on this website because we’ve spent so much time in the Keys and this month’s trip was really epic. I’ve gotten two articles published but have 31 more in drafts to complete. So far this week Night Kayaking Key West and the Flamingo Everglades Backcountry Tour are both live. Realizing that ever trip to the Florida Keys includes a stop at one of the four National Parks, I’ve started working on guides to those places as well. It all fits together!

• MyAlohaTrip.com - I have 17 drafts to complete on here but this week I was able to get through all the photo editing and a lot of the proofing, so hopefully I’ll have some fresh publications in the next few days.

• StAugustineExplored.com - I don’t like writing about restaurants because the experience is very subjective, but I also know that so many people really research food when they’re traveling. This week I made a list and notes about our favorite places to eat all around town, from downtown to the beach, as well as restaurants that everyone talks about but we’ve never gone to. We’re going to actively try to play tourist at home and knock out one restaurant article per week, which may not sound daunting, but for me really is. Wish me luck!

My own thankfulness for the week

Yesterday was a day that really made me think about how thankful I am for our life. We woke up in our nice house in our beautiful, safe neighborhood. As I watered the garden I could hear the ocean and birds. We got to enjoy our farmers market and be a part of a happy, weekend community ritual. In the afternoon we played in the pool and worked on house projects. I ran into friends at the hardware store and we planned a bbq for today. I got to pick up my bike from our neighborhood bike shop and ride it home, stopping by the park to say hi to our kids who’d ridden their bikes there to play pickleball. Then I went home and we continued to dink around the house, working on stuff while the cats laid about, enjoying their peaceful existence. We wrapped up the night with a trip downtown to visit a newly opened restaurant and made it home before dark, enjoying a quiet night before going to bed. Safely and comfortably.

I’m exceedingly thankful that we have this sort of life and I know that it’s very rare today. I’ve been trying to actively look at our daily lives, mentally comparing them to what they could be with just a few small changes to our country. And that’s why I am always being vocal, in writing and real life, about things being shifted into the bad place.

I’m also thankful that Chris shaved off his mustache.

NYC Recap - Fun, Friends and Protests

Last weekend we got to spend three days in New York City together. I have to go to NYC every year for work and have started bringing the kids with me, so the three of us have had lots of time in the Big Apple together, and we’ve gotten to see lots of Broadway shows together. This trip all four of us actually got to go and we had a blast! Chris actually hadn’t been back in NYC since our last full family trip in 2017, so this was all so fresh for him.

We kept it low key, hanging out with friends and doing some very New York things. We visited the Ghostbusters fire station, enjoyed the NYC Easter Parada (hilarious), went to Central Park and the NY Public Library, and got to observe and briefly be a part of two protests. Yes, there was a standing protest AND a march happening in New York City during our visit. It was so good to be in the middle of that energy, of people organizing and demonstrating against the T*ump regime. From signs and standing peacefully to marching with a drum line and chants, it was amazing to be in the middle of.

Note: if you have the opportunity to join a march or sit-in / stand-in in your town, do it. We’ve been traveling each time St Augustine has had one and hopefully the next one we can be a part of.

The other big part of our New York City trip was getting to see some Broadway shows. Between watching for ticket deals and having connections, we’ve seen some cool ones over the years, and this time that included SIX, Chicago and The Great Gatsby. I’ve gotta say, The Great Gatsby is one of the coolest shows I’ve ever seen, and it’s hopefully going to be around for a long while. It had Sarah Hyland (Hailee from Modern Family, who was an absolute powerhouse in it) and the overall production was stunning. Chicago was great, but the lead of Roxy didn’t belong in the show. Her performance felt like an understudy for a community theatre production. SIX was amazing, as usual. We got to do the stage door and Elliott was able to get autographs from the entire cast (it’s his favorite show).

Overall, our time in NYC was really fun, special, and way better than when I go by myself for work. I’m so thankful that I get to travel with my family :)

My Tips to Be Functional

Hopefully other people are doing better at being a positive force and being active for good this week than I’ve been, because I feel like I’m standing in the Swamps of Sadness watching Artex sink, and I’m starting to sink. I have some good stuff to share too though, so I’m not a complete downer. I am tried and true at putting on a happy face and faking it until I start to feel that way, so as terrible of a coping mechanism as that is, it’s kind of working for me right now. And that’s my first tip: fake it (within reason) to make it.

I know that we all have to put on a happy face far too often, but it really is important when it comes to teaching yourself to keep going. A lot of us have friends, family and pets that need us to be present and able to be a part of their world. Sometimes you have to fake it or temporarily ignore what’s happening around you to be able to take part in life. There’s nothing wrong with doing that for a short time, as long as you can still keep a touchstone on reality and check back into it to make a difference or personal progress from time to time.

The other tip for being functional when things are feeling really difficult or meaningless is to change how you’re managing yourself. For me, this looks different than anyone else I know. For me it means putting my tasks, notes and personal wins in writing in a prominent place. I keep my tasks in a spreadsheet that I can always see; my notes go in a tab that’s always open on my computer; and my personal wins go on a running list I keep at my desk so that I can remind myself that I’m either doing good or accomplishing things. When your brain is all over the place like mine, I have to find ways to reel it in, and this seems to be helpful.

Actions to Fight Fascism TODAY

There is a big movement going on right now that harkens back to the good old days of manual mail and actually getting in touch with our leaders. A big action we can all take, and this takes just five minutes a day, is to write ON PAPER to our leaders at the state and national level about what we need from them. This can include statements of standing up against deporting children, arresting judges, not following court orders, taxing the rich, keeping access to healthcare a priority (as I tell myself it’s a priority for somebody), or whatever issue you see affecting your family and community.

Writing on paper and sending it to your leaders costs you as much as a postage stamp. These letters have to be opened by the office of the representative. They have to be seen, even if just as a visible, physical reminder that our representatives are there for REAL PEOPLE and not just corporations and orgs lobbying them for their own interests.

Another thing I’ve been doing is emailing my contacts and the leaders of the destinations we’ve worked with in the past and either urging them to do the right thing for ALL THE PEOPLE they represent or calling them out on bending the knee proactively, thus alienating people. For me, these are tourism boards and PR firms who are pulling their marketing towards the Black or LGBTQ communities. This includes destinations that are referring to the “Gulf of America” in their materials and websites. Yeah, big callout here: Collier County, Florida is both actively calling the Gulf of Mexico by the incorrect name AND they’ve removed their LGBTQ travel content from their websites and social media. Shameful to see the work we’ve done with them in the past just disappear.

If you see this happening, even if you don’t work in tourism, SAY SOMETHING TO THEM. I always like to remind the decision makers for destination marketing that “the gays have money” and that intentionally alienating them or erasing them from their destination imagery has an impact and our community spends significantly more per traveler than other demographics, so they’re just hurting their own locale whom they’re supposed to be supporting.

Travel and Tourism IS BEING HURT by this Administration

I will never not be surprised by people who think they aren’t going to be impacted by the policies and statements of the government, and that includes tourism. Goldman Sachs released a report showing that more than $90B is projected to be lost in tourism due to international visitation going down. While you might be saying that the US economy is much more than tourism, do you know how many millions of people work in tourism that are supported by international visitors? This is HUGE.

I’ve had three different destinations tell me that they are having to do mid-year budget adjustments because the international tourism projects are so severe for their areas. Even destinations here in Florida that think they’re untouchable are seeing projections that reflect both a huge drop in international visitors AND domestic travelers who are actively choosing to not visit our messed up state.

One tourism board shared with me that they have already seen a 25% drop in foot traffic over last year and that based on this and other factors, they’re going to have some significant spending cuts. Federal cuts to programs and projects are having a big impact too, as funding cultural development and activity is a HUGE tourism attractor, and not getting the funding for that immediately drops the tourism revenue that can be brought into a destination.

There’s a whole domino effect that’s happening in tourism because of the administration’s tariff war, thoughtless commentary, stupid international actions and policies, and just the overall vibe that’s been placed on the USA. Consequences are real when people in power aren’t acting in the best interest of the country.

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I have more to say, but I think that’s it for today. I hope some of this has resonated with you, that you find ways to try to make a difference or make your voice heard, and I hope we can all find some peace among the chaos. Be safe, stay healthy, and be kind.

Have a great week and thank you for tuning in!