Saturday, July 4th, we took off headed east out of the city. Time for a road trip; our destination was a new resort area about three hours away. In between our doorstep and our destination, the trip was unscheduled and uncharted. We decided that whatever interesting thing, person, or place popped up along the way, that would become our plan. We'd just keep an open mind and see what we'd discover, or not, along the way.
The first thing we discovered, about 45 minutes into the trip, was a stalled car at a stop sign out in the middle of nowhere. My husband called out to the passenger, "Need some help?" to which the gentlemen replied, "No, we're good." As it turned out, the man we stopped to help was someone my husband knew, a customer, in fact. We waited to make sure they really were okay and then continued on.
We stopped at a small rural town that was getting ready for their 4th of July parade. A few vendors lined one side of the county courthouse yard. I bought a new dishcloth (handmade of the finest craftsmanship according to a woman named Dorothy) for $1.75. And an Eileen was selling baked goods and jams. Bought my youngest daughter a small loaf of banana bread for a buck. Then, Eileen proceeded to tell us about a lovely Amish variety store we should visit "plus, they have a greenhouse and a cheese store nearby." We went. The variety store was as lovely as Eileen from the courthouse yard had offered. I spied a beautiful hibiscus, large and blooming; the young lady announced it would be $7.00 -- no discounts on the hibiscus today.
We continued wandering through the countryside and old back roads, heading in the general direction we needed to get to the resort. Pretty soon, we realized we were lost. Finally, we stopped at a farmhouse and announced to the farmer...."Um, yeah, we're lost" to which the farmer replied, "Yup, you are...have had quite a few of you lost folks come around today." He smiled and laughed and told us how to backtrack and what roads to avoid because of detours, roadwork and once again, we were on our way.
As we were eating a late lunch at the beautiful new resort, we met a woman who told us she was visiting there because she needed to "get away" -- everyday she goes to work wondering if today is the day she'll lose her job. We met a lovely couple who the night before had camped at a state park, only to get drenched by heavy rains. They were staying the night at the new resort, telling us that as "walk-ins" they were charged only half the room price since they hadn't booked in advance. Good to know.
Perhaps you wonder where this post is going, or its career and job search relevance? It does connect. As we were driving home, I was thinking about the good, fun and most of all, relaxing day we'd had and these thoughts drifted through my mind:
- You don't always have to have a plan to have a great time
- Be open to new things, new people and new experiences
- Sometimes you have to wander to realize that you're headed the wrong way
- Meet someone new and maybe they'll offer you a little tip about something good
- Ask people who know more than you do about something and their insights may prove helpful
- It's okay if you get lost because you might meet a nice person who will turn you around and put you back on the right track
- When you get lost, stop sooner than later, and ask for directions from a reliable source
- If one road is closed because of a detour, find a new route to your destination
- If someone is broken down in their car, or life, or whatever, lend a hand; offer to help and then go ahead and wait a little bit to make sure they really are okay.
Oh, and one other thing...less than 10 bucks will buy you a new dishcloth, a new hibiscus, and some really good banana bread.
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