THANKFUL FOR: TRAVEL

I have been fortunate to travel my whole life and honestly it never gets old. Seeing the world from your own set of eyes is one of the best gifts anyone can give you, in my opinion. As I began to make my summer plans this past spring it was obvious I was going to be doing some fun traveling and I am so grateful that my parents have allowed me to do that. 

As written in a previous blog post, I have been really taking a chill pill this summer as far as writing has gone, but because of that I never really did sum up the rest of my journey abroad for 5 weeks. I am still in shock that I was able to go on that trip and see all the amazing things I got to see. I am already dying to go back to Italy. I also can’t stop using some of their phrases. It is pretty funny! After Italy my grandparents met me for some extended travel in Europe. It was so wonderful to see their smiling faces when I met them in Berlin. We traveled to Berlin and Prague together as a gift for my 21st birthday, which is actually one week from today, and it was the best gift they could have given me. I would much rather see amazing sites and make unforgettable memories with my JanJan and Bia, then open a gift and use it a few times only to struggle remembering what said gift was when the next birthday rolls around. I will cherish those times for the rest of my life. 

So over a span of 5 weeks I visited: 
Rome
Florence
Venice
Paris
Cinque Terre
Tuscany
Siena
Berlin
Prague
Barcelona
and several smaller places in Europe. AHHH I am almost ready to go back!!! 

When I got back to the states I will admit it took me a while to get back on track. My sleeping schedule was all mixed up and it was harder than I thought it was going to be. I was home for about a week and a half until it was time to take off on the next adventure. This time last week I was gazing up at the rocky mountains taking in what actual summer weather feels like. Every year my grandparents give us a trip together, the 8 of us, and this year we went to Colorado Springs, CO. At Christmas this past year, when they usually read a poem disclosing the destination, I was really not that excited about Colorado Springs to be honest. I mean I wasn’t going to complain because… TRAVEL… but I had only ever been during the winter time to ski so I was really not sure what it would be like during the summer. As time went on I did a little research and questioned friends, which made me excited for this vacation. If you have never been in the summer…GO. It is a completely different place, in such a good way. I mean everything is so happy to be in the sun it is just beautiful. There were a crazy amount of adventurous things to do in Colorado Springs and I was crazy about it. 

We all went white water rafting on the Arkansas River and I am like 99% sure it was one of the best adventures our family has ever been on. We laughed and laughed, but at the same time had so much fun. I will share some of the photos below… It was an incredible experience! You would just go over these huge currents–it was crazy!! Water would be everywhere and you would paddle hard and laugh. Laughing is key! 10/10 would recommend white water rafting!! 

My mom, aunt, and I also had the chance to go zip lining through the Colorado Rocky mountains and seven falls national park. It was one the craziest things I think I have ever done, but I would do it over again right now. There were 5 different lines we went on and one of them was 6 football fields long and had us going 45 mph. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! The views while zipping were crazy beautiful. One time I looked down at a water fall and saw all these tiny ant looking things… THEY WERE PEOPLE Y’ALL!!!! If you can’t tell, I am still not really over it. Nothing like it! 

Huge thank you to JanJan and Bia for taking us on another fun family adventure in Colorado Springs. I wouldn’t trade these times for anything! Oh and the Broadmoor hotel is one of the best places I have ever stayed. The service was outstanding and not to mention the grounds as a whole were breathtaking. One of these days I will have to visit again! 

Lots of adventure also means having to have lots of faith. The first time I jumped off that platform and zipped down the canyon I had to say a little prayer. But man how cool is it that God creates such beautiful  places with such amazing ways to view it. At times this world may seem full of bad things, but times like this remind me that our God is alive and He is fighting to keep the good in the world. 

Travel is good for a lot of things. Travel is good at making me thankful. Until the next adventure! 

Yours Truly,
Southern and Thankful