Mile Marker 50 Mile Marker 50 Mile Marker 50 Mile Marker 50 Mile Marker 50

Trip 1: What I learned in Burlington, Vermont

1024 768 Mile Marker 50

It’s official. I am out of my comfort zone. Trip number 1 is in the books. My visits to 50 places I’ve never been the year I turned 50 kicked off with a surprise trip. I know. It was hard for me to grasp too. Actually, it turned out to be the PERFECT way to kick off this journey.

These trips are about embracing the unknown and celebrating a future I don’t yet see so why not let a surprise travel agency pick the first location. 

Pack up and Go sent us to Burlington Vermont. We hiked, biked and shopped until our feet hurt. Oh we decided we will be getting an ornament every place we go… we found the cutest one here to remember our bike ride around Lake Champlain. It’s a Fair Trade retailer-even better!

If you missed any of our updates here’s a recap of the whole trip. 

 

As a TV news producer for more than 25 years, I may have a few control issues. Here’s what I learned about letting someone else do the planning.

I CAN let go.

That’s a big part of this trip. Letting go of what I thought my life would be… letting go of the need to plan everything… letting go of expectations. If I let go just a little I find more grace, more beauty and unexpected opportunities. 

Talking to strangers can be fun.

I’m a bit of an extroverted introvert. I talk up a storm if I know you but, if I don’t, I tend to keep quiet. I’m not good at small talk. I find it awkward to just strike up a conversation (If you talk to me first though, I’m all in.) But I wanted these trips to stretch me so I asked Uber drivers about their lives, made small talk with cashiers, and leaned over in a James Beard Semi-finalist restaurant and asked someone what they were eating!

For some, that might not sound like much but for me, it is baby steps.

Asking for help won’t kill you.

I’m not good at asking for help but I’m getting better at it. This adventure is forcing me to ask friends for help with my dog, my child, and keeping my life afloat. 

As always with social media there are things you don’t see, like the selfies you took before you took the one you posted, getting lost along the way and for us…  a security incident at the airport! I’m posting a ‘What you didn’t see’ video exclusively on my YouTube channel for every trip!

So here we go. One trip down… 49 places to go… no turning back now….