Socially Distant Traveling

I like to consider myself to be a fairly adventurous spirit. And in the last few months, as I’ve found myself with a little bit more time and curiosity on my hands, I’ve become more fond of traveling to new places and trying new things. However, with the global health crisis, frequent travel isn’t exactly safe or encouraged.

This idea of slowing down and staying put can be very hard, especially for those of you who are like me and enjoy interacting with people and places as much as you can. While upholding social distancing is clearly the best way to help ourselves and our communities in combating this disease, it makes you wonder how you can satisfy this need for adventure without actually being able to go anywhere. It forces you to be a little bit more creative.

Lucky for you guys, creativity is my speciality. After some thought, I actually found that there were a lot of ways for me to “travel” without ever getting on a plane or packing a suitcase. And even though watching a documentary about the Amazon rainforest isn’t exactly the same as traversing through the jungle yourself, with a little imagination, it can be just as fulfilling. So here are five ideas for practicing Distant Traveling.

Digital Traveling

Just because you can’t travel physically, doesn’t mean you can’t still indulge in a little digital adventure. Any time I go somewhere new, I love taking photos and videos, documenting every aspect of the trip. Consider piecing together a couple digital memories from vacations you’ve taken in the past. Relive your latest backpacking trip or your childhood trip to Disney World. Or maybe there’s somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, but haven’t had the chance to yet. With just a little bit of research you can find traveling videos on YouTube or documentaries on streaming sites. You can explore some of the wonders of this world all from your living room sofa.

Outside Adventures

Social distancing doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stay cooped up in your house all day. Lace up those hiking boots and take a solitary trek up a nearby mountainside. Or maybe a walk on the beach. If you don’t normally spend a lot of time out and about connecting with nature, now’s your chance to start. This is one of the safest ways to still get out in the world and explore something new. But please remember to venture out responsibly.

New Perspectives

Tulsa is usually a pretty active city. There are always people walking down the streets and hanging out in coffee shops. Which is why I found this desolate version of Tulsa so intriguing.

Only if it’s still relatively safe for you to do so, and you go alone and maintain a respectable distance from others, consider grabbing your camera and taking some pictures of the once bustling parts of your city. Examine how different everything looks and appreciate the stillness.

Of course, I did this for art’s sake. If you don’t feel comfortable, no need to give this idea a try. Remember, safety first.

Alone Time

Along with my growing sense of adventure, I’ve been trying to find ways to be more comfortable spending time alone. These days we’re all finding ourselves spending a lot more time alone, maybe more time than we bargained for. But I think this poses a unique opportunity for us to get away from the hectic responsibilities of our everyday lives and to focus on the things that we enjoy doing—reading, baking, sleeping, and more.

Plan a Trip

Okay, I can acknowledge that I may be the only one that enjoys planning the logistics of an upcoming trip. There’s just something about booking flights and planning activities that I find so intriguing. Whether or not you’ve got some unused vacation time or just want to get out the country once things have settled down, planning a trip is a great way to occupy your time. Not to mention, you’ll have a fun and relaxing vacation to look forward to.

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There are more ways than one to maintain your adventurous spirit—you just have to get a little creative. How have you been curbing your need for travel during these social distancing days? What kind of things have you been filling your day with? Let’s share all the ways we can keep ourselves entertained!

Speaking of keeping ourselves entertained, starting this past Monday, I have been and will be posting a new series titled “The Moment I Realized…” on another platform called Vocal.Media. This series will focus on various stories in my life where I discovered that there were more ways of thinking, connecting, and living than I originally thought. These short articles will be posted every other day for the next two weeks. While I very much enjoy publishing work on the blog, Vocal.Media allows me to share this series with a broader audience while earning royalties for views. Reading the content is free, so if you’d like to indulge yourself in more of my work, head on over!

I know recently I’ve thrown quite a bit of information at you regarding how to access all of my work. Hopefully it isn’t too difficult to keep up, and hopefully you consider venturing onto my other platforms and continuing to support my work! Thanks for reading!