planes, trains & automobiles

A week ago I was in Melbourne, Australia. Where did the time go? One month ago, I was creating my packing list and making sure all the details for our trip were in order. At the end of last year, Sam and I decided to pull the trigger and go on our bucket list vacation to Australia. We traveled to Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne. This was hands down the best trip we have ever been on, and we have been to some pretty cool places. It's weird to think it has already been a week. It feels like it was yesterday that we were debating between which cafe to go to for breakfast or watching the sun set at the beach. It also feels like it wasn't real at all, like it was a dream and we woke up when we landed in Denver. It is a surreal thing, going on vacations. Especially dream vacations. The entire time, I kept telling myself, "you are living out your dreams right now!" and "take in this moment because when you are back at work one day you will wish you could be doing this!" There were so many surreal moments that I couldn't believe were real life. My IG definitely looked like a highlight real for those 10 in paradise (use the hashtag above to see all the pictures we took)! Vacations make you think about a lot of things. They make you appreciate the important things in life and make you want to shift priorities around. You think things, like, a week ago I was stressing out over a report I needed to get to my client, and today I'm sipping on an Aperol Spritz on the boardwalk of the Sydney Harbor. What is life?? It's like an out of body experience. Some of you may be laughing at me thinking that I am over-thinking this or that I am taking this too seriously, but I'm not kidding when I say that this vacation was life-changing.

I have traveled to several over-seas destinations with Sam over the years. We have explored Italy, Japan and Australia to name a few. We have learned so much on each of these trips. We planned our first trip to Italy on our own, from air fair to Airbnb to train tickets and excursions. We had NO idea what we were doing. We got into arguments over where to eat, how to spend our days so that we took advantage of our time in each city, how to navigate when we didn't speak the language, how to ration our currency over the 13 days we needed it to last, etc. It was stressful. It was fun. It was frustrating. It was an adventure. It was a learning experience. It was dangerous. It was spontaneous. I can say that we came out of that trip with some amazing photos, crazy stories and a long what-not-to-do-list. Looking back at that first trip, we have grown so much. We didn't have one disagreement on this trip. Or at least not one that led to a fight and wasted time. We were both so good at being flexible, rolling with the punches, understanding when we were hangry or tired and recognizing when a situation could turn into an argument, but not letting it go there. I was so proud of us and how much we had grown. Now I say all of this because I believe that traveling with your spouse out of the country is such a learning experience. You get to navigate hurdles together as a couple and get great practice at just "figuring it out". You also get to make great memories and hopefully enjoy some amazing food along the way, but the lessons you learn will go with you as well. Bonus!!

This vacation really put a lot into perspective for me. I got to put myself first for 2 weeks straight. I got to be adventurous and not have a plan, which is the opposite of the way I live my day to day life. I got to get out of my comfort zone and scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef, which was scary but fun at the same time (also not my style). I would like to think that vacation brings out the "real me". Maybe I'm not really a safe, planned out, organized perfectionist. Maybe I am a dare devil, spontaneous, laid back thrill seeker. When I had no cares in the world, I was game for just about anything. I was FREE.

Overall, traveling to different countries has taught me to value and embrace different cultures. It has taught me to be versatile. It has shown me that I am pretty calm and able to come up with a plan in an instant, when I need to. I don't break easily under pressure or panic when in a stressful situation. I am proud of myself for these things! I don't want this blog post to sound like vacations are hard and I was able to overcome this one, because it was NOT!! That's not the point. Hear me when I say that vacations are eye opening and should be taken more frequently. Book the flight. Spend the money. Just do it! You won't regret the memories, even if they don't go as planned. You can thank me later!

dreaming of the sandy beaches at Bondi,

Kaley