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Colorado Rocky Mountain High…I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky…you know the John Denver song!
Sing with me!
Yep, I was belting that while we were driving from Los Angeles to Colorado on our recent road trip. Love me some Johnny Denver!
Colorado Come to Life is another saying on my Vision Board and it is really true, Colorado did really come to life for us on this month long road trip. I loved it! It is a pretty spectacular state and I am a sucker for mountains and you really can’t beat the Rockies! I wrote about our rocky beginning (pun intended) in a previous post, Let’s Hit the Road. Nothing like a little drama to start a good road trip.
This was a trip for Scott and I to continue with some of our mini-experiments, which included:
In our Post FI Life, we have been trying to be more easy going and adapt with changes. I am a planner by nature and this trip I was trying to put a little more attention on planning less and being open to more. We had a general timing of where we needed to be, but we left a lot more time available to be able to meet up with friends on the spur of the moment, have a free day or plan things around the weather.
I think this is a good practice for me. Set some loose guidelines and then see what happens and be willing to change if needed. There is certainly less stress and it opens the day to some spontaneity.
While in Colorado, we did pet sitting for friends and through Trusted House Sitters, which were both great sits. We had fun with dogs, cats and rats!
Yes, the cats and rats were both in the same household! What were they thinking?!?
The pet sitting gave us time to be close to our growing group of friends that live along the Front Range by Denver and Boulder. Being in this area for nearly 3 week, it was easy to drop in for lunch or bring some ice cream and spend some time with our friends. I really realized that you just need to be close and make frequent visits with people. I have a girlfriend from high school that lives in Denver and she said that she has seen me more than some of her friends that live in the area. It is a good lesson to remember, you need little bits of quality time with people you want to continue to nurture and deepen friendships.
Okay, we are not really homeless.
We have a home, but it is rented out right now for at least the next 3 months, so technically, we don’t have a home to go back to. Is that really being homeless?
Since we did a longer term rental with our condo, we knew that we would be bouncing around a bit and wanted to test that out. It is certainly disruptive since we are not staying in one place for more than a few weeks. That part is a bit hard. It is hard to really settle in. My sleep is being a bit disrupted since I am in a new place and the bed or pillow is not the most comfortable. But going back to the first mini-experiment I am trying to, “Practice being more flexible”.
I had a friend ask if not having a home base right now was hard?
No actually. That has not been too bad of an adjustment. We are not ready to give up our condo yet and knowing that we will be going back to it at some point later this year is comforting. None of what we are doing is permanent, so I am okay with this level of uncertainty and all the moving around we are doing…so far.
We decided that this would be a big year of travel and wanted to test out different types and ways of traveling to see what we like best. Check out my post about our “traditional” vacation type of travel when we went to Hawaii earlier this year. Since we tested that approach, this trip was more of a driving road trip from Los Angeles to Colorado. We ended up driving over 4,000 miles on this trip and are really thankful my Ford Fusion with over 170,000 miles has held up!
We definitely would like a more comfortable car, but driving for 4-6 hours a day is pretty manageable. What we found on our drive back was, if we switched drivers every hour or so and got out, stretched and walked around, which was much less tiring. Since we have the time, making our drive days shorter and taking the opportunity to stop at interesting sites or places was so much better than just bombing down the freeway.
Slow drive travel was definitely a win on this trip. Yes, it might be more expensive since we were staying in more hotels along the way, but totally worth it physically! AND we got a room at the Virgin River Casino again for $27 per night, so that was a win!
We really enjoyed Colorado, not the hot days, but the higher elevation areas especially. I love being in the mountains. More leisurely driving is fun since we would stop and explore places was better. Surrounding yourself with friends and having meaningful conversations is recharging. We need to do that more often. Being without a home base is a little disruptive, but temporary and just going with the flow is a good thing.
So, I am enjoying this Year of the Snowglobe and continue to shake things up in my Post FI Life! It’s fun and exciting and you never know what is going to happen! Colorado Come to Life was an adventure!
Check out my YouTube Channel and a video of me twirling around Independence Pass like the Sound of Music!
Colorado Rocky Mountain High…I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky…you know the John Denver song!
Sing with me!
Yep, I was belting that while we were driving from Los Angeles to Colorado on our recent road trip. Love me some Johnny Denver! Colorado Come to Life now!
Our 42 Changes to FI is a checklist of financial and lifestyle changes we made to help us move closer to financial independence.
It’s summer and everyone is going on vacation, especially to the National Parks it seems. Forget that gas prices are over $6.00 a gallon in California and pushing into the $7.00 range if you need Premium. Love my Ford Fusion with 170,000 miles! So, Let’s Hit the Road!
I grew up in the 80’s with Linda Carter being Wonder Woman. I used to twirl around screaming Wonder Wooomaaan and pretending I was Wonder Woman, all the while striking a pose with my gold bracelets. I think Wonder Woman is for the Birds!
What do you think of when you say Hawaii? Walking along an exotic sandy beach with warm water lapping over your feet? Drinking fruity pineapple cocktail drinks under gently swaying palm trees? Snorkeling within volcanic reefs and frolicking with Hawaii’s green sea turtles? Yep, that is how I pretty much think of the islands of Hawaii and it is not too far off the mark. Here are my Top 3 Maui Vacation Highlights.
I am 13 months in from quitting my job and I am still logging in about 10 hours of sleep a night! Boy did I need to sleep!
The Need to Sleep quote stuck out for me when I was creating my vision board. I am surprised that I have not been working for over a year now and my body is still requiring a lot of hours of sleep.
4 Responses
What a fun trip! And I love the idea of trying new types of travel and experiences (like renting your home!) to see what you really enjoy. I can see the “freedom” in your faces in the photo. 🙂
So true! Thanks Patti!
Was a good time, despite the “terrorist cats”!
That rat looks more adorable everytime! 😉