Escapade. Eight letters, three syllables, endless possibilities. Even the word itself is fun to say. Go ahead, say it out loud – escapade. We chose this word to be part of our blog’s name as its definition captures everything we want this blog to be – full of excitement, daring, and adventure.
Over the years, our family has had its share of escapades. From our early days as just husband and wife enjoying a long weekend in Ocean City, New Jersey or a two week trip to Florida, to family vacations with first one child to the Great Smoky Mountains, and then with two, three, and eventually four children to places like Disney World, the Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Mexico, and Rome, we have enjoyed immensely our travels. Regardless of the size of our family or our destination, our escapades have been all we had hoped for and so much more. Sure, at times we’ve encountered challenges and the unexpected along the way, but we always found a way around them and never let them stop us in our quest for a great adventure.
My wife and I have now hit or surpassed 60 years of age, but even as empty-nesters approaching our “golden years”, our passion for excitement, daring, or adventure – another escapade – is as strong as ever. As a matter of fact, recently my wife Beth joined our daughter Michelle and three other much younger friends skydiving for the first time. In our case, we want to make the “golden years” the “emboldened years.”
So why, you may ask, are we starting a blog? A good and legitimate question. You see, I recently retired after forty years of service in local government. To celebrate this occasion, Beth and I have decided to undertake a 3 month escapade visiting the forty-two United States National Parks that we have yet to see (excluding the parks in Alaska and Hawaii). Since we will be on the road for over 90 straight days, we need to have a convenient and efficient way to keep our children, friends, and family updated on where we are and how we are doing. A blog seems like the perfect solution.
As we discussed this, Beth and I realized that our adventures may be of interest to more than just our immediate family and friends. Perhaps chronicling our National Parks tour, and our other escapades for that matter, may be a way of introducing more people to excitement, daring, and adventures of their own. Perhaps our stories will embolden others to throw off the mundane routine of everyday life and take up a quest for more . Life is short. We hope through our posts to encourage you to make the most of each day. To seek out excitement, daring, and adventure. To undertake with boldness your own escapades.
Beth and I invite you to join us as we embark on our National Parks Expedition. Buckle up, the escapades are about to begin.