{"id":1966,"date":"2023-01-03T13:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T18:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/?p=1966"},"modified":"2023-01-03T13:00:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T18:00:43","slug":"g-is-for-getaway-abc-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/03\/g-is-for-getaway-abc-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;G&#8221; is For Getaway-ABC Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_3012-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2200\" src=\"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG_3012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s snowing in our part of the world.\u00a0 Winter is my least favorite time of year.\u00a0 This sounds like the perfect time for us to &#8220;get away&#8221;.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Where should we go?\u00a0 Somewhere warm.<\/li>\n<li>What do we want to see?\u00a0 Something exotic and culturally different.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These were the criteria we used for planning our next adventure.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to get away and travel has been hard for the past couple of years.\u00a0 With the shutdowns caused by a Pandemic, the regulations around Covid and the subsequent supply chain and employee shortages, it has seemed easier to just stay home.<\/p>\n<p>We love to travel.\u00a0 Even during our early marriage, when we had no money, we\u00a0 prioritized getting away.\u00a0 For nearly each of the 40 years we have been married, we have traveled &#8220;somewhere&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>It has always been Alan&#8217;s desire to visit New Zealand and Australia.\u00a0 It was suppose to be his retirement gift, but that was two years ago, before the world shut down.<\/p>\n<p>Now that things are opening up again, I have begun to dream.<\/p>\n<p>When I found a super deal on a Pacific Island Cruise, I knew immediately that we would be booking it. At 29 days, this would be our longest cruise to date. We added on an extra couple of weeks of land exploration and suddenly realized we would be going on a two month journey.\u00a0 This was the longest we have ever been away from home and our family.<\/p>\n<p>There were times that we questioned our own sanity about getting on a cruise ship (these saw some of the greatest challenges during the outbreak) but as the snow began to pile up, we grew more and more excited to travel to somewhere warm and exotic.\u00a0 Part of the travel experience is taking risks and overcoming challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Vacations are a way to reset.\u00a0 Did you know there is actually a National &#8220;Plan For Vacation Day?&#8221;\u00a0 It is January 28th.\u00a0 It is humorous to me to realize that vacations are so important that there has been a full day set aside, to do nothing but plan for them!\u00a0 This trip has taken me six months to prepare for!<\/p>\n<p>Vacations are so important that Alan and I prioritize them as part of our life.\u00a0 This is a big reason we became ABC Explorers.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe your vacation will be to stay close to home, or perhaps you will visit someplace far away.\u00a0 Maybe you will camp, or travel by train.\u00a0\u00a0 One thing is for sure, travel will have an impact on you.\u00a0 Here are a few things we have found to be true through our experiences:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Getting away breaks up the monotony of our days.\u00a0 Routine can lead to predictable (and boring) results and relationships.\u00a0 &#8220;All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (the same is true for Jill).<\/li>\n<li>Travel gives us something to dream about, to aspire to save for.\u00a0 It gives purpose to earning money.<\/li>\n<li>Travel creates stories.<\/li>\n<li>Travel helps us to bond with family and form lasting memories.\u00a0 When days are busy with school activities, work responsibilities and day to day chores, there is little time to really &#8220;see&#8221; each other or to spend quality time together.<\/li>\n<li>Traveling is a great way to make new friends.\u00a0 Travelers often have a lot in common.\u00a0 The bonus is you then have an excuse for visiting new people and places.<\/li>\n<li>Travel gives you photos. Photos capture a tiny bit of life.\u00a0 They allow you to revisit your memories over and over.\u00a0 Remember, without a photo, it never happened!<\/li>\n<li>Travel allows us to be creative in &#8220;how&#8221; we experience the world&#8230;we can sail, fly, or ride a train.\u00a0 You can go by tuk tuk or ride an elephant.\u00a0 You could choose to visit art galleries or hike a mountain.\u00a0 Our journey is really only limited by our imaginations.<\/li>\n<li>Travel allows us broad introspection as we experience different cultures and traditions. We are more open to the differences in people as we understand the world which they live in.<\/li>\n<li>Many parts of the world are impoverished, yet I have often found the people to be extremely welcoming and happy. We can return from a vacation with a great appreciation for what we have.<\/li>\n<li>History, geography and anthropology come to life as one travels.<\/li>\n<li>Travel allows the mind, body and soul to rest.\u00a0 Working can be very stressful.\u00a0 Sometimes we don&#8217;t even realize how much pressure we are under.\u00a0 Stress leads to illness.\u00a0 Sometimes you just need a moment to let some steam off.<\/li>\n<li>Travel can allow you experiences you could never get at home.\u00a0 I do not live by oceans.\u00a0 I do not have penguins or elephants nearby.\u00a0 I do not have mountains to ski or climb.\u00a0 The USA is a young country, there are few monuments or buildings which date back to the period of the Roman&#8217;s or earlier.<\/li>\n<li>Travel allows us to learn new languages. Communication is universal, language is our only barrier.\u00a0 There may be great humor and humbling moments in learning to ask where a bathroom is.<\/li>\n<li>You don&#8217;t have to go far to &#8220;get away&#8221;.\u00a0 In fact there is always plenty to do, see and discover, even in your own back yard.\u00a0 Much of the time, this is an unexplored place.<\/li>\n<li>Life is short.\u00a0 We have known so many elderly people who wish they had seen and experienced more.\u00a0 They waited too long until they &#8220;had time&#8221;, then found they were unable to travel due to illness (or the loss of a partner).\u00a0 There are only two things guaranteed in this life&#8230;taxes and death.\u00a0 Travel while you can.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>So what is stopping you from designing your next adventure?\u00a0 Isn&#8217;t time to &#8220;Get Away&#8221;?<\/p>\n<p>Continue checking back often as we get ready to set sail on our Pacific Island Adventure!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s snowing in our part of the world.\u00a0 Winter is my least favorite time of year.\u00a0 This sounds like the perfect time for us to &#8220;get away&#8221;. Where should we go?\u00a0 Somewhere warm. What do we want to see?\u00a0 Something exotic and culturally different. These were the criteria we used for planning our next adventure. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,11,20],"tags":[102,195,198,287,343],"class_list":["post-1966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures","category-relationships-spouse","category-blog","tag-adventure","tag-g","tag-get-away","tag-relationship","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1966\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}