For last year's Summer Guide, I wrote an essay about having, and appreciating, a simple summer as work and grad school kept me close to home. I spent a few days visiting my sister in Seattle during my short spring and summer breaks, but otherwise spent my limited free time reading and being out and about in my neighborhood.
Earlier this year, with grad school behind me, I started thinking about what this summer would look like. I knew budget-wise a big trip was out of the question, but I still wanted to make up for my lack of adventures last year.
This was in the back of my mind when, in May, a freelance assignment took me to the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale for the first time (read more on the museum's Solstice at Stonehenge event in on page 74). About an hour into the four-hour drive to the museum, I realized I was having the kind of adventure I hoped I would have this summer, one that brought new sights and experiences my way, all without leaving the state.
I had the chance to admire the patchwork of browns and greens that make up most of Eastern Washington's landscape, as well as a few new-to-me towns the trip took me through, plus I got to have the Columbia River and the Washington-Oregon border as travel companions for the last hour of the trip.
Once I arrived at the museum's campus, I stared in awe at the snow-capped Mount Hood in the distance and at a bald eagle that soared overhead just minutes after I stepped out of my car. All that beauty before I had even set foot into the museum, itself a destination more than worthy of the lengthy trip down.
Driving home, after stopping by the nearby Stonehenge Memorial, I couldn't help but think it was serendipitous to be assigned to write the Road Trips section of this year's Summer Guide. I had been looking for just that — a guide for how I could make the most of my summer with little more than a craving for an adventure and a full tank of gas — and, through my research for the section, I ended up with a list of ideas for trips that would satisfy my desire to explore without breaking the bank or, if I'm being honest, taking me away from my cats for too long.
It's easy to put pressure on yourself to have the perfect summer, but "perfect" doesn't have to mean extravagant. Getting back from Goldendale made me realize that even small adventures can be sensational, and I'm already looking forward to the next time I can head off in a new direction and see where the road takes me. ♦
