Trip vs. Vacation

We've spent the day planning and booking travel for the next year or so. Some are trips and some are vacations. While these two words might be used interchangeably by others, they are not the same in my opinion. A trip involves doing stuff, seeing things, and being on the go; our summer driving adventure was a trip. A vacation, on the other hand, is all about relaxation; spending spring break in Hawaii was a vacation.

I do tend to say "trip" as an umbrella term, but when I think about it, a trip and a vacation are two very different things! I guess it sort of seems weird to say, "On our recent vacation, we ..." rather than "On our recent trip, we ..." when telling a story? Maybe that's just me!

Either way, I'm happy to go. Wherever! Whenever! We've got some big plans and I'm excited!

Happy Tails to you!

Boundaries

Just a reminder for my teacher friends as the school year gets underway...

Happy Tails to you!

Strive to be THAT teacher...

I had the pleasure of attending a local conference today and listening to our new superintendent share her vision for the school division. It was an incredible speech and she shared this quote with us, which I have not stopped thinking about all day:

Her message was about the role teachers play in creating opportunities for students and how every kid needs to know they've got someone who believes in them. Who sees them. Who roots for them. Who is proud of them. And how for some kids, there's an army of those people, but for others, it's a single solitary teacher. And how we should always strive to be that teacher for our students.

I loved her speech and her words will propel me through the tough, long days of the new year school year!

Happy Tails to you!

New Year, New Room

I went to school today to get a look at my new office so I'd have an idea of the amount of space I'll be working with. It's the sixth room I've been in during the years at my school and I hope I can make it as cute and colorful as my previous rooms have been! The pic below is is what it looked like today; hopefully I'll have an update soon! I still don't know how it's already time for the new school year to get underway!

Happy Tails to you!

You Do You

I saw this quote somewhere a few months ago and it stuck with me because it sums up how I feel pretty nicely. I don't know who to credit for it, but it's such a great sentiment!

Sometimes I worry that this blog will be perceived as "braggy" when I post about traveling, but my intention is never to share in a boastful manner. This blog serves two main purposes: 1) to capture our experiences in the same manner as a journal that we can revisit and refer back to; and 2) to keep family and friends who are far away informed about what's going on in our lives. As far as any travel posts go, I hope there's a third purpose, and that is to inspire people to get out there and see things! One of my favorite things about IG is following travel accounts and learning about cool places to visit, and I love thinking that this blog could do the same thing for someone else! My favorite messages are the ones where people tell me they read something on my blog and they tried something or went somewhere because of it!

Travel makes me happy. Checking off items from crazy lists brings me joy. Sitting in a car for a month drive around the country is my idea of fun. I get that not everyone considers that a good time! Guess what? That's absolutely ok! I'm a big believer in the idea of "you do you" because I am all about chasing happiness in my own life and I want others to do the same! 

Everyone defines "success" differently, but whatever it means to you, I'm rooting for you!

Happy Tails to you!

We have a teenager!

Ginny turned 13 today and she had a great day - several car rides, lots of treats, and a cheeseburger for dinner! She might be moving a little more slowly these days, but whenever she hears the plastic bag of shredded cheese, you'd never guess she's a senior!

So grateful for every moment we have with her!

Happy Tails to you!

30 in 30: Wrap-Up

I kept track of a lot of things over the course of this trip! Here are some of the numbers!

hotel keys from the trip

Total Miles / Our Own Car: 10,260

Total Miles / Alaska Rental Car: 1,118

Total Miles / Arctic Circle Rental Car: 407

Total Driving Miles: 11,785

Total Miles / Flights to and from Alaska: 2,888

Total Miles for the Entire Trip: 14,673

Total Number of Interstates: 32

Total Number of Alaskan State Highways: 4

Total Number of U.S. Highways: 10

Total Hotel Nights: 29

Number of Different Hotels: 23

Number of Different Hotel Chains: 13

High Temperature / Real Feel: 111°F

Low Temperature / Real Feel: 38°F

Lowest Gas Price: $2.69/gallon

Highest Gas Price: $5.49/gallon

Number of Gas Fill Ups: 52

"New" States for our 2021 Quest: 30

Total Number of States: 38

Final Thoughts:

It was surprisingly difficult to find post cards in some places! I was trying to send my niece and nephew a post card from every place we visited and I fell far short of that goal (although I did send them as many as I could!)! One time, I asked about post cards in a gift shop and the lady told me, "We don't sell those; you can only get them at the post office." What?!? I was sure travel centers like Pilot, Love's, and Flying J would sell post cards, and while some of them did, many of them did not!

I have two huge thank yous that made this trip possible! The first is for my mom, who took care of Ginny for us for the entire month. While we think Ginny is a complete delight, it's still a lot of work to take care of her for such a long period of time. There is no one else we'd trust with this task, and we don't take for granted how wonderful my mom is for always being willing to care for Ginny while we travel! The second thank you is for our fabulous neighbors, who watched our house the whole time we were away! Knowing they were keeping an eye on things and would call us if there were any problems was so reassuring!

Do you see that "driving miles" total for our car plus the two car rentals in Alaska? C DROVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE 11,785 MILES. I did not drive at all on this trip! He is amazing! Not only did he plan the entire trip, but he drove the whole time! The amount of work that went into organizing a trip of this size is beyond unbelievable and it was a smashing success because of all of that work C did ahead of time. I am soooooooooooo lucky!!!

Throughout the trip, I got some messages jokingly asking if C and I were sick of each other yet. My response was always the same...are you kidding me? How could I get sick of him? He is my favorite person on the planet and we had 30 days of each other's company for uninterrupted conversation without the distractions of real life, so it was a dream come true! He was as hilarious on the last day of the trip as he was on the first day and I choose to believe I'm an outstanding dj and snack manager!

We repeatedly made this reference from The Bourne Identity:

Yes, we do think we're pretty funny!

I would do this same trip again in a heartbeat! We created so many awesome memories that we'll be recalling for many years! As usual, we spent the final days of the trip discussing and planning upcoming travel, and we spent today unpacking, doing laundry, and booking hotels for our next trip. One incredible adventure completed, with more on the horizon!

Happy Tails to you!