Views of The Gorge, WA

I came up with the idea to write an adventure type of blog last summer as I traveled with my sister and a friend back to Seattle from a concert at The Gorge in central Washington. Seeing a concert at The Gorge is like seeing a concert in a mini-Grand Canyon. It’s life-changing and should definitely be on your list of venues to attend. We saw AFI, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and Linkin Park, all of whom put on a beyond-fantastic show.

  Jared Leto of Thirty Seconds to Mars and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park

I was spending a month in Seattle after being laid off from a rather stressful, all-consuming business career. More to share on that topic later, but now I was free and contemplating next steps. During the drive, I found myself daydreaming quite intensely. After all, we were driving through the Snoqualmie Mountains in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, a gorgeous pine tree-filled passageway with awe-inspiring beauty. Who wouldn’t daydream in this setting?

Snoqualmie Mountains, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, WA

I did everything that I could to stay in that present moment and enjoy the incredible scenery. By staying in that moment for as long as possible, I created a lasting imprint on my brain and soul. I am able to journey back to those moments in an instant. I remember the feeling of knowing that my journey at that moment was about to spark something much larger. Right then, I had an enormous sense of adventure, with nowhere to go, really. That sense of excitement told me that I could not stop there. I must keep going, no matter where that leads or what that entails.

I knew instantaneously that I could never go back to corporate America. My life was shifting me to take a different path. Yes, it would take months to formulate an exact plan but here I am: traveling forward and adventuring into the unknown.

It was there in that passageway that I realized something: I was no longer a part of the corporate American journey in its typical sense. I felt so free in that moment, I could almost take flight. Running the Monday through Friday/8-5 stress routine—not to mention the salaried overtime—suddenly seemed to evaporate out of my bloodstream. Poof! Just like that. Take this job and shove it!

I remember thinking, life is a living adventure, not a rat race. There is so much more to life. So much more for me to experience and share with others than business plans, facts and figures, analytics, and service improvement plans. Could life actually be more fulfilling than listening to angry customers, managers, and peers all day long? Huh!

So, there it happened. A desire bloomed. A dream was born.

On one hand, people had told me my entire life that I had a “different” way of looking at things. I’m a good storyteller. I can make people laugh because funny things happen to me. Plus, I’m wild and eccentric.

On the other hand, I can’t sit still, and I don’t like to miss out on things. I participate in quite a few activities (concerts, sporting events, vacations); yet, I also find myself absorbing hilarious and interesting everyday facts. Again, funny things happen to me.

I knew that I had an opportunity here. Participate in anything and everything, absorb, process, write, and share. I can travel across the country to attend several concerts; I can drive to the grocery store. Life is an everyday adventure—some big, some small. What happens along the way? If it’s funny and interesting to me, I’m sure that someone else will find it funny and interesting too.

The idea blossomed over the course of the next month, where I began to find it impossible to find a reason not do this. And, I’ve found inspiration from the universe along the way in very direct and some quite indirect ways. In the middle of one of my stories one evening, a group of friends made a suggestion: “You should write a blog!” I asked, “But who would read it??” I heard a cheering of “I would!” echo from them. In addition, a life coach in Washington directly suggested that I start a blog. And then, two seemingly random Facebook posts offered hope, purpose, inspiration, and absolute acknowledgement that this is my new path: (“Nici, you should start a website that shares where you are each day,” posted one friend. “Happy Birthday, Nici, I hope you have one of your adventures today!” wrote another.) And, of course, the fortune cookie: “You are a traveler at heart… There will be many journeys.” Call it destiny, providence, hocus pocus. I’m sold. I’m captured; I surrender. Let the journey begin.

So, please allow me to share my adventures with you in hopes of inspiring you to adventure on!

The best is yet to come…. Nici