Today we were lazy. We parked by the beach, tapped into some free Wifi, and settled in. Eric made coffee. The bed: never made. (Or should I say the table was never made?) And guess what: I DON’T FEEL BAD ABOUT IT. Yes, I scrolled my Facebook newsfeed! Yes, I stumbled around on Instagram, double tapping anything that struck my fancy! And it was wonderful.

I feel as though there’s too much competition, too much envy, when it comes to traveling. I don’t often allow myself such idle, online indulgences because languishing about on a pile of pillows with my iPhone doesn’t allow me the opportunity to #liveauthentic while I #exploremore.

Oh, the shame!

I also get a fair amount of “So jealous! Wish I was there instead of here!” which makes me feel guilty if I’m not spending every moment exploring caves with arty backlighting or sitting on any variety of scary, high-up ledges gazing into the distance. (HASHTAG MAKEPORTRAITS.)

 

This isn’t a competition, and it’s a game no one can win. This traveling thing should be about more than the artistic caliber of your Instagram feed, or your ability to be the one-up guy at the bar back home. (And be real: no one likes that guy.) There’s a time to play, a time to rest, and I don’t want to be another foreigner confusing my ideas of self worth + relevance with my ability to buy a plane ticket + take a pretty picture.

The consequences of this silly, little mindset has been a decent weight of anxiety. Every choice you make comes at the expense of every other potential option. Every hike you skip, every roadside stand you drive past, and each admission you decline to pay is an experience you’re missing out on.  The fact that you’re opening up options for alternative adventures with the choices you DO make is often overlooked, lamenting what you’ve passed by.
It’s maddening.
It’s ridiculous.
And it’s why today was so damned good. This mindset I’ve found myself slipping into lately–competitive, anxious, guilty–wasn’t invited. No shits were given. I set my own pace. And everything was cool. The end.

-K

Now how about a bunch of pictures that we’ve snapped over the past few weeks that still haven’t been posted? Yep? Okay, you win.
^ This was the hike that followed that one wheel of cheese and bottle o’ wine.

^ Rocky Mountain Trail

^ Something that happens regularly in the morning: coffee by the water.
^Something that happens irregularly in the never: yoga podcast in the forest.

^Furry little beasts + a neat-o chasm.

^ Hiking in Milford Sound. Eric is on the left, I’m on the right. Promise.

^ Cruising out of Queenstown

^ Pretending I’m good at handstands
^More Milford Sound

^ Peaked outside the curtains. Grabbed my camera. Managed a pretty pose then danced around in the surf. Our backyard while camping in Brighton Beach outside Dunedin.

^ Lighthouse!!!

^ One of the better houses we’ve seen. Most of the ones we’ve seen so far have been inaccessible, covered in fence, practically demolished when decommissioned, or are little more than a buoy. Praaaise!

^ One of Eric’s snaps from our waterfall weekends in the Catlins.

^ More Brighton Beach goodness.

^ Yeeeeep.

^ Another lighthouse! (Covered by a fence, disfigured with the decommission.) Enjoying it from afar, hot coffee in hand, while we peacefully trespass. Our attempt at night photography at 430AM failed. We settled for this alternative instead.

^ Inside the train station in Dunedin: my new favorite NZ city.

^ Boop. And you thought I was done with the Brighton Beach set.