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About 3 years ago my husband Chris was at the end of a stressful season at work and desperately needed a vacation. The only problem was how tense Chris was and how resistant he was to take a break. I was wrapping up my transpersonal classes and learning to trust my intuition more and more at the time. Knowing my Sagittarius husband likes nothing more than the fresh air and a good outdoor adventure, I felt pulled to do something to bring his inner self back into his awareness.
Unsure if we were in any position financially, I talked him into letting me buy him lawn tickets to a concert by one of our favorite artists for Father’s Day. “Just say yes, and…” I told him. It just so happened the musician was playing at a venue in the same city Chris had been working in the previous summer. I knew he missed the area, so I got us tickets for a show 8 plus hours away. I then proceeded to find a campground near the venue to spend a nice long weekend out of state.
With the kids being older it was beginning to become easier to trust them to look after the house, pets, and each other so Chris and I could start to explore our world more and begin to travel for short stints at a time without them. They were more than on board to help out and divide and conquer around their work schedules. With things easing up at work, Chris was much less hesitant when the concert weekend finally came around at the end of August. We packed up the back of our Outback with our teepee tent, beach chairs, and a suitcase full of Life is Good t-shirts and hit the open road.
Now my kids will be the first one to tell you that “vacation mom” is way more prone to saying yes to experiences and things then “regular mom”...this little trait usually drives my husband a little crazy because trips can often stress him out. This happened to be the first one we had taken together alone in such a long time, so I pleaded with him to just relax and go along with whatever happened for the next few days with the same, “Yes, and…”, attitude that began our adventure. He was reluctant, but agreed.
Once he relaxed into the idea of having fun, it seemed like the freeway opened up and we were the only 2 travelers on the road, a very strange occurrence for the I95 corridor on a Friday in the summer. We made such good time chatting and making wish lists for the weekend that when we knew of a Friendly’s an hour ahead of our campsite, he was all in for a snack and Ice Cream break. We grew up in an area full of these yummy franchises only to move where there were none, so for us, this was a very happy stop off. The interesting part was that because of the order we made and the time of day we were there, our ice creams were free! ("yes, and..." magic)
Giggling to the car like we just got away with something, we drove to our campsite to set up before the concert. The family owned campground was off the beaten path, and I felt called to stay there when searching online a few months earlier. Upon checking in with the lovely proprietor, we discovered that they were retiring and that it would be one of the last weekends they were going to be open. We had our pick of any site we wanted and the bathroom was pretty much exclusively ours. I felt so lucky to have the privilege of visiting this beautiful place before it was no longer an option. How blessed to be one of the last people to get to stay there.
We set up our site for the first time in Guimond camping history without a scuffle, and headed back towards town to enjoy the show. Now this area is also known for one of Chris’ favorite treats, Deathwish Coffee, and Chris was discussing his desire for one on the way to the venue. He mentioned he’d like to grab one in the morning as we were entering the gates. Now, unless you’ve hung out with my family for a period of time, I can understand your skepticism when I tell you that on the other side of the ticket area was a food truck for…Deathwish Coffee and as a promotion they were giving away free coffee at the event. The joy on Chris’s face as we walked to the lawn area for a night of good music was worth the whole trip alone, but as you probably guessed, our weekend of “yes, and…” was only just beginning.
My intuition was a beacon of synchronistic and perfectly timed moments. We ended up finding “perfect” seats in an already crowded area not too far from the seated spaces and close to a monitor so we could see the acts with ease. We sang along to all the songs because we knew them all and made “friends” with our neighboring concert goers, who happened to be locals and gave us great food recommendations. When I asked Chris to walk back to the car slowly and hang back so we wouldn’t get caught up in the post concert chaos, he said “yes, and…”. We then spent a delightful hour catching up and playing cards under the stars instead of sitting in bumper to bumper traffic with him becoming increasingly aggravated in the car. Relaxed and sleepy we easily headed back to the campground for a good night's sleep.
The next day we snacked on trail mix and juice while we made a base plan for our local day of fun. After another card game in the fresh air we headed out for coffee and a day around town. We relaxed into each moment while sitting in the park, walking around shops, and finding an amazing tea and honey bar where we ordered some delicious freshly brewed ice tea that we enjoyed while resting our feet in a beautiful brook. We sat under beautiful willow trees and took deep long breaths as families of ducks waddled and swam past. I watched as slowly my husband came back into his body and the twinkle returned back into his eyes.
We then went to a local hot spot full of trails we had visited before and upon going a little further around a bend we had once thought was the end of the road, we instead found a geyser with a walk around to a beautiful spot along a river that eventually led to a mini waterfall. Nature was surprising us with her gifts and my husband surprised me by “yes, anding…” his body in for a wade in the water. It delighted me to see him in such joy again.
We closed out that day with another game of cards back at the campsite and an evening enjoying snacks around the campfire under a blanket of tree branches and stars excited about what the next day of adventure would bring. It started with a trip to a local market for a coffee and car breakfast, while in the store we found some delicious fresh bread, cheese, and Mediterranean snacks like artichokes and olives, peppers stuffed with prosciutto, and even roasted garlic. We tossed our wares into our cooler in the car and then headed off for a beautiful mountain drive and hike.
A beautiful way to start the day, we enjoyed the sights from the top of Mt. Equinox and even hiked a bit to see some scenic views of the states that surrounded the area. Famished after our morning of fresh air and exercise we found the perfect pull off to stop and have a scenic picnic with food we just happened to have pre stored in our vehicle. It was so great to enjoy that delicious bread dunked into the excess olive oil from our marinated treats while we rested our feet on the soft patch of grass and watched the clouds drift across the tops of the mountain range.
We then spent the afternoon in local bookstores and syrup shops getting souvenirs for the kids and grabbing items we couldn’t get locally from independent small businesses. In one shop I even found a pair of shoes I had been eyeing for some time in my size at 75% off. On the way back for our last evening under the stars, I suggested we take a slightly longer route based on a nudge and stumbled upon a chocolate emporium where we found some gelato and another great sitting area right on the edge of my husband's favorite river. It only took about 12 seconds before he was all in, swimming like a kid at camp.
On the drive back discussing dinner, we both admitted we were in the mood for some wood fired pizza. Utilizing Google's rating system we found one we were willing to wait to get to, only to discover it was around the corner from our campground after our GPS got us there. The hostess sat us in a beautiful garden in the back of the restaurant where we enjoyed one of the best meals we have had to date. Oh and did I mention it was BOGO pizza night 🤪. As we relaxed in the twilight at our table next to the eccentric yet whimsical wildflower and fairy garden we laughed and chatted about what an amazing and magical weekend we had been blessed with.
Even though we had to go back to “reality” the next day we were armed with something we have yet to forget. Now when we find ourselves in a funk or we begin to see the shimmer start to fade from our faces, we know to pull each other back with a few moments of, “yes, and…”. Sometimes its as easy as eating breakfast outside on the patio instead of in the house, getting in the car and going for soft serve, dancing to yacht rock in the kitchen, or even setting up the tent in the backyard for the weekend. But there are still times when it’s finding a new camping spot, going to the beach for a day, or even planning a national park trip on the other side of the country. Whatever we feel called to or can manage to plug into our busy lives, we both now understand the power of, “Yes, AND…” and it has made a big difference!