Somewhere in my adventurous and independent 30s, I created a birthday tradition with myself. I aimed to challenge my fortitude emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally.
Every year I concoct an over the top plan and, of course, I always have to outdo myself.
I’m a firm believer in spoiling yourself on your special day and if you can help it…. never work on your birthday! This is your excuse to be selfish.
From cruising, to sunset sailing excursions, hiking remote trails, full day spa & massage, breakfast in bed from my nieces, dude ranch life and the granddaddy of them all in 2020 (trekking the Grand Canyon 16mi from rim to canyon floor to rim in a single day), it is my day to just be happy partaking in my favorite things.
Only one day in 365 each year is solely yours, so make it count!
Have you ever rolled into a new town & felt an immediate connection? This wave of delight warmed over me upon descending into this “down under” retreat.
With a free afternoon ahead, I barely squeezed into the local bike shop ten minutes prior to closing early on a Sunday night and begged the rep to let me keep the bike overnight. Luckily, I must have been persuasive and I set off along the quaint waterfront boardwalk with the wind in my hair.
I weaved along the picturesque bike & hike trail basking in the first rays of sunlight we had seen in a week. The good vibes were prevalent everywhere, as tourists & locals alike were all partaking in outdoor activities. I hopped off multiple times to happily waste my afternoon away.
I even found a break in thick brush to find a sweet haven amongst the crater-like wading pools covered in moss, where I parked my wheels for a long while to decompress. With the volcanic hills rising dramatically on one side and water lapping the shorelines as far as the eye could see, it was an unforgettable stop on this trip of a lifetime.
Even though I was stalling, I finally made the uphill trek to the mountain bike park in the Sticky Forest for some fast-paced, single track fun. Then raced downhill back to the harbor area to indulge in some local gelato – cookies & cream + sea salted caramel waffle cone while the seagulls desperately tried to steal my hard-earned snack.
After the short break, I zipped off around the other side of the lake trying to beat the late sunset from ending my spontaneous joyride. Before I knew it, I had logged 30km, legs were shot and was smiling ear to ear.
To say I’ve become an expert travel unpacker is an understatement. I’ve hopped on 20 adventure trips over the last 13 years and we typically are on the move every night to a new, exotic town ready for exploration.
I can pack or unpack in 5 mins flat.
With one big hikers backpack and a small day bag, I unzip the bigger ~15lb sack and pull out the small vacuum bag from the top. My minimal toiletry bag gets propped on the bathroom shelf. Shoes get stowed. Plug in my EarPods and phone to recharge. Take all the pillows off the bed and plop down.
The end.
The key is having two vacuum bags, with the first being only 5lb to only hold clothes for sleeping and the next 2 days. This allows your full bag to stay mostly intact, so you can spend your time tooling around your temporary home instead of stressing out about stuffing everything back in constantly. Make sense?!
For multiple night layovers, I do actually spread out to rearrange the mix of apparel. This natural ebb and flow has done wonders over the last few years in keeping travel days mostly stress free.
My other trick is to pack my bags the night prior to departure. I’ve never been a morning person, so stuffing the sacks are my least favorite part of traveling as I typically don’t have any extra room to spare.
Also here are a few other essentials that I don’t leave home without anymore:
No phone or Wi-Fi reception for two days… sign me up!
Completely escaping the grind is my kinda trip and I couldn’t wait to be transported to this remote paradise in the southern half of New Zealand’s north island.
After a strenuous and successful 19.4km trek on the infamous Tongariro Alpine Crossing, we arrived just prior to dusk to our own main lodge and rustic individual cabins.
First order of business was a hot shower to decompress and dig into homemade chili con carne and brownies, while gathering around a campfire to revel in our accomplishment.
The sky put on a dazzlingly display amongst the cascading raindrops, like a rainbow had been snapped in two spewing out all its best elements.
I even started a new book while snuggled into my bunk and enjoyed the freedom to let loose in my own slice of heaven for two nights.
We enjoyed a bush safari to a hilltop five star restaurant, kayak adventure to a hidden waterfall and slot canyon, 11km kayak paddle float and jet boat back to our accommodation.
Who knew a forced slow down and being in the middle of no where could be so therapeutic and such a blessing?! I surely did but still needed this reminder to truly appreciate the opportunity to simplify.
Can you believe I actually don’t enjoy your typical city walk?
But get me out into nature on a trail and I’m a totally different person. Some would even say a maniac, as I’m instantaneously giddy and jumping off every rock I can find.
An overwhelming sense of calm consumes my entire body and I instantly feel at peace. There is just something about a pure, undulated natural environment that recalibrates my core. It is very therapeutic.
I always am up for a difficult challenge. They are are worth doing even through the inevitable huffing and puffing just to push over that next ledge or fork in the path.
And best taken one at a time. Don’t jump ahead. Just stay in the moment.
No matter how much research you do prior, there are more times than not, surprises along the journey. They can be wonderful or terrible, but should not be avoided. They are the spice of adventure and might just be creative fuel to light up the next opportunity.
Is it life or just another trail to conquer?
Your call….. but I bet both will be equally rewarding to just keep going and forge your own path.
Halfway around the world, one of the great treks to conquer is 19.4km in the Tongariro National Park. I had booked a three week kiwi tour with this being the #1 must-do activity on the itinerary.
What’s the odds that we were halfway around the world when the biggest rainfall ever and flooding hit the north island? So it was with a heavy heart when our guide shared our day hike was cancelled due to high winds and rain in the region.
But as luck would have it, he DID reschedule for the following day and we couldn’t believe we hit the sweet spot within a 5 day window without a ray of sunlight visible. We certainly didn’t take it for granted!
Our group of 12 enthusiastically set out across the expansive crater floor and enjoyed stretching our legs. Through rugged peaks, we trudged forwarded through gradual and frequent inclines including a few boardwalks as well. And I’ll never forget the baron wasteland and dirt path extending straight as far as the eye could see.
I wanted to attack the hard uphills in solitude and at my own pace, so I plugged in my headphones and zoned out during the tough stretches. These uphill tests are always a great gut check and proof that I should have trained a wee bit harder. Nonetheless, I power through and come out on the other side a stronger person (both literally and figuratively).
After a ridiculously tough 80% angle stretch of incline, we were rewarded with an absolutely stunning view of the red crater. The deep blood-red cut in the landscape took my breath away!
Then immediately following the highest peak, the 3 emerald blue lakes came into view and I knew instantly this overlook was where I wanted to pop a squat to enjoy my lunch in silence.
I purposefully stalled at these breathtaking and boldly colorful pools of water for ages just trying to savor the moment. And I even stuck one of my Fearless Adventures blog stickers on the mile marker sign amongst tons of others as a reminder of this awesome spot.
A small group trudged on from here to finish the second half of the trek down the mountain. At about 16km, I had had enough while the symphony of aches & pains started to creep in. Every step along the never ending switchbacks was a struggle to keep going, but we finally emerged from the densely populated forest with cheers from our travel mates.
With a celebratory beer and team photo at the trailhead, we all reveled in the accomplishment and couldn’t swipe the ginormous smiles off our faces.
When was the last time you did something for the first time?
It is my new mission to find an over the top experience for each of my close friend’s birthdays. So in mid December, which is typically forgotten amongst all the holiday chaos, we found a hidden gem tucked between the two busy Orlando expressways.
We met up at Alaska Farms for our own dose of weekend good vibes and laughs. With a princess tiara and obnoxious sash, we set up Robin’s mat dead center of the outdoor yoga pavilion to get loved on by mini goats. And they delivered!
Even though there was very little yoga being practiced, the instructor earnestly tried to keep us focused while the other two helpers pranced around the room waving branches of leaves and animal cookies that the goats eagerly followed. They climbed on our backs and snuggled up for a little extra attention, but ultimately chased their next snack.
The goats all had their own unique sweaters and names, so we all naturally picked a favorite (mine was Snoball) and narrowly escaped prior to a few accidents on our recently vacated mats.
The farm was then open for a short tour of the stables, prior to laying out a picnic spread we had brought along to enjoy a mild FL winter afternoon with our BFFs. We laughed, ate, drank and ultimately landed at a close by bar for one last toast to the birthday girl! 🥂 🐐
It’s a 4hr drive from the launching point of Queenstown to reach the elusive & remote Milford Sound. This day on the itinerary is one of the highlights when basing out of the adventure capital of the world, even after the uncomfortably early wake up call of 6:15am. Does our guide know that we are actually on vacation?!
It is rumored that there are 366 days of rain in this pristine piece of the world, but nonetheless, eager tourists flock to behold this otherworldly location featured in Lord of the Rings.
The majestic drive into the valley is thrust between rugged, volcano spires with waterfalls cascading down the open face rocks at every turn. First stop is at Mirror Lakes, where even though it is drizzling, we can still see a small glimpse of the reflections radiating off the perfectly still bodies of water.
Next we traverse through Homers tunnel that was built entirely by hand over 1200m purely for tourism as a gateway to this national park.
Our necks are all tilted upwards trying to grasp the magnitude of these rocky giants, while our jaws were on the floor at the breathtaking beauty of this mostly hidden landscape. We pull into the compact dock area and quickly board our vessel to be transported into the wild for a two hour joyride.
Immediately upon departure, a cascading waterfall appears around the first bend and serenity ensues. Our timing was impeccable, as the clouds parted for all but 10 mins of our journey. We were told this was very unusual and certainly took advantage of basking in the sunshine on the upper deck, despite the slight chill in the air from the fierce winds coming from the Tasman Sea.
My favorite sight was the massive waterfall that heaved water off the side of the cliff and dissipated before ever reaching the shoreline. There were numerous flocks of birds gracing us with flybys and even a few baby sea lions sunbathing on nearby rocks.
The grand finale was a closeup practically underneath the amazing Stirling Falls, which is one of only 2 permanent waterfalls in the region. The spray was a welcome surprise, as our captain pulled us alongside the towering cliffs to show the sheer magnitude of the landscape.
The cruise expired before we could even blink, and we gravitated back to our transport to snooze away the return voyage and onto our next adventure.
I get asked quite often what my favorite destinations have been and I always struggle with an answer. Reason being, I dive into each adventure with a completely different mindset. Each meticulously designed trip has served a different purpose in my journey.
Sometimes I may be in desperate need of an escape, while others it may just be a quick holiday or perhaps a physical challenge. More often than not, I follow in the footsteps of fellow travel companions as our web of past experiences all weave together and spit out a laundry list of “must do” sites.
But there are a bunch of trips that were so profound that they rocked me to my core. These destinations were so majestical and inspiring that they changed my perspective on life forever.
While I can’t realistically put these top 10 in any particular ranking order, these were all truly trips of a lifetime:
Machu Picchu, Peru – my 1st extreme adventure
Everest Base Camp – triumph thru being sick to the top of the world
Mt. Kilimanjaro summit – very emotional as only 2 of our group of 8 made it
Jordan – Petra, Wadi Rum desert, Dead Sea
Swiss Alps – Mont Blanc trek hut hopping
Hawaii island hopping – 2 trips & equally as amazing
Utah & Arizona hiking – Sedona, Kanab areas, Big 5 National Parks, the Wave
Egypt, Greece & Turkey multi sport 6 weeks adventure
35+ cruises – my early years’ ticket to seeing the world
Bali – a week of recovery & exploration
Wherever your spend your time off, I hope it brings you as much peace and joy that I have experienced and that you keep yearning for more.
Be fearless in your pursuit of your own happiness!
Upon arriving into Auckland, New Zealand mid-day on a gorgeous Sunday in late January, I hopped on the Skydrive double decker bus to head to city center and dive into a new adventure.
Our travel group met up at the hotel and hit the ground running on our 22 day journey by visiting the All Blacks Experience dead center of downtown. We were immersed into a cultural experience and deep dive into the proud history of the country’s national sport of rugby.
Being the sports jock, I surprisingly had never been exposed to this sport. The interactive tour was very well done and informative, as we even got to step into the players’ shoes to kick, pass and run. But even more powerful to me was the rich team culture that they live and die by.
These are the 15 team mantras that created such a powerful, dominant brand & vision:
1. Pride in performance – do the little things
2. Self improvement – no complacency
3. Play w/ a higher purpose
4. Take responsibility & own team improvement
5. Be humble, hungry & smart – mentor
6. No dickheads – team first
7. Dream big – embrace fear of failure
8. Prepare to win – emphasize training
9. Be aware – decision making under pressure
10. High performing teams – honesty & authenticity
11. Strong sense of community & belonging
12. Sacrifice for team – high standards
13. Shared team culture – legacy
14. Your character is more important than your reputation
15. It’s your time to make a difference!
It’s rare to be a part of a high-performing team and winning culture, so these lessons are applicable in all walks of life. Definitely something to aspire to!
FearlessAdventures 