I have decided the summer of 2023 is to be My Summer of Going Places, Doing Things, and Taking the Pictures to Prove It. Pithy, no?
To that end, I’ve combined a few of the maps I’ve made over the years into one giant New Jersey Summer Adventures map. It has a long list of “Quaint NJ Towns” based on a few Internet articles that I compiled back in 2021, when I was looking for somewhere interesting to go on a solo overnight trip. Plus I’ve been slowly adding national, state, and county parks that I’d like to go to (or have been to and wouldn’t mind going back to). Other attractions that I’d like to capture with my camera are also on the list. It’s still a work in progress, but feel free to take a look, if you’re in the NJ area and are looking for something to do!
(There should be a map displaying below, but if you don’t see it, you can click here to load it in a new tab.)
Novelty makes time slow down
I love my life and my routines, and the predictability of my daily rhythms. But let’s be honest: when every day looks the same, time can seem to pass very quickly, and I would prefer it if my days didn’t whiz by me unnoticed.
If I spend 8 hours working my day job, have a little supper in front of the TV with Neil, and then retreat to my bedroom to watch British mysteries and knit (or to do whatever it is I’m currently into), that day is going to go by quickly. And it is going to blur together with all of the other days where I do the exact same thing. That’s my usual. And while I enjoy it, it doesn’t make one day stand out from the others.
But what if, instead of supper in front of the TV, I take Neil to a garden in a national park, where we wander around taking pictures of old stone structures and old growth vines, and pink flowers? And then we go out for a bite to eat at a casual restaurant next to the water, where Canadian geese are gliding by with a couple of their babies? And what if I take a bunch of pictures while we’re there?
That day is going to stand out in my memory. That day is going to seem like an unusually long day. In a good way. And the evening is going to feel more significant than the eight hours of work that preceded it. So much so, that I might even forget that I worked at all!
So, yeah. Having some new experiences once or twice a week makes time slow down in a way, and I am here for it.
Pictures make the party last
So, let’s say that national park trip actually happened. And we did eat supper next to the water, and we enjoyed watching the goose family glide by. And let’s say that I took pictures of all of those things.
The next day (or even later that night), I’d have gotten the pictures off of the camera (or the phone), done my edits in Lightroom, and saved the best images. Now they’re going to show up on various screen savers around my house. I’m going to make a few of my absolute favorites into desktop backgrounds that I can enjoy while I work. In a few weeks, maybe I’ll get back a roll of film that had more photos from that night on it. I’ll probably blog about the experience and add all of the best images to a gallery here.
And sometime down the road, when I’m feeling a bit wanderlusty, but stuck at home for whatever reason, I can flip through the photos I took on this adventure, and re-feel all of the feels I got when I was actually there.
Perhaps this is an oversimplification, but I always feel that the success of an experience can be measured in how many great photos I come home with. It’s been this way for me ever since I picked up a camera and resolved to learn how to use it properly.
The “Adventure Fund” makes it easier
At the beginning of this year, I started a budget. I have never done this before, because we’ve always been lucky enough to have just enough money. We’ve had enough to be comfortable and cover our needs, but never enough to actually have any savings put away. Or to dream big about fixing up the house. Or to feel comfortable planning expensive travel. That has never bothered me before, but recently I started thinking that maybe I wanted those things: a new bathroom sink, a trip to Scotland, emergency savings. I decided a budget would help me get there someday, in a couple of ways:
- I would have to pay attention, which, if nothing else, would curb any impulse buys a bit
- Keeping track of each outflow would illuminate where the money is actually going, help me to see our true expenses, and identify some areas where we might want to be more strategic if we can
- Budgeting might allow me to redirect a small amount each month towards a specific dream vacation, home improvement, or other nice-to-have thing that has always felt too expensive to pursue in the past.
I’ve been at it for nearly six months, and I couldn’t be happier with the way it is going. It turns out, I like being on top of my finances. I like keeping track of inflows and outflows in granular detail. Who knew? LOL! I always imagined that budgeting would be a chore, or too restrictive, but it hasn’t turned out that way. It’s not about sacrifice, so much as about paying attention and rolling with the punches. It’s about being honest with yourself. There’s an awful lot of flexibility built into this method I’m using. I’m making slow, incremental progress towards my savings goals, and it hasn’t been as hard as I expected.
Anyway, I realized last month that we should have an “Adventure Fund:” a budget category we could seed with a few dollars, dip into it when an opportunity presents itself, and then top it back up as we’re able. So often, chances to do something new come along, and we think, no. That’s too expensive. We can’t justify the ticket cost. Hotel rooms cost too much. We might need that money for something else. Whatever. But with an Adventure Fund, the money is set aside specifically for that purpose.
If I want to spend $30-ish per person for tickets to a Balloon Festival, I can do it, as long as there’s enough in the Adventure Fund. If I want to say yes to a road trip for something that feels a little crazy with one of my kids, I can do it, as long as there’s enough in the Adventure Fund. That’s exactly what the money is there for. And at the end of the month, if we have anything left over from the grocery budget, or the takeout budget, or whathaveyou, we can replenish the Fund with that excess. (And if we don’t have leftovers, maybe we can top off the Adventure fund next month.)
That’s not to say that all of my planned (and unplanned) adventures this summer are going to require money. So many great things to do are free. Just take a look at that map at the top of the page to see what I mean. But I think the Adventure Fund is going to be empowering. I like the idea of prioritizing new experiences, but I’m more of a thinker than an action-taker. Anything I can do to remove an obstacle to action is probably a good thing. At the very least, I won’t be able to use “uncertainty about money” as an excuse to hesitate. I’ve never in my life been more certain about how much money I have, and what I can and cannot afford to spend 😁
Go have some fun
Here are a few interesting links to follow, if you’re thinking along the same lines as me:
- The Art of Making Memories. I read this book by Meik Wiking a few years ago, and I loved all of the tips for creating experiences that you will remember. He’s a happiness researcher (yes, that’s a real job!) so he’s got some science to back up his suggestions.
- How to Cheat Time, Experience More and Live a Happier Life. a video by film photographer Cody Mitchell about the inaccuracy of the phrase “time flies when you’re having fun.”
- You Need a Budget. Here’s the online service I’m using in case you need some help in this area, too. This came highly recommended to me, and I dragged my feet, but I eventually signed up. I haven’t regretted it. They have hundreds of helpful videos and articles, all free. And there’s a 34-day free trial, all of which I have taken advantage of myself.
Just so you know, there are affiliate links in this post, but as you know, I’d have posted about this stuff with or without the potential to earn a few cents. More info here.
So, how about you? Do you have any great plans for this summer? Are you planning to take lots of pictures? Are you good at having adventures, or do you need a little push out of your cozy comfort zone sometimes like I do?
