It all started when…
a pair of decision-fatigued friends asked me to plan them a surprise vacation.
A true surprise can be somewhat tough to find these days. It’s often our job to predict, plan, fine tune. We’re told to revise, double check, triple check, make the next “right” move. Even vacation planning can feel like a job because of all the decisions required to have the “right” experience. So of course I was eager give my friends the best gift I could think of - a break from deciding!
I watched my friends gain such energy from being surprised. They were so happy to be on a true adventure into the unknown together. It seemed like by changing travel into a surprise, they could relax and enjoy the trip even more!
The mission of freewheel travel is to use the element of surprise to help people find joy in the present moment.
Take a break from deciding, start freewheeling!
FREEWHEEL TRAVEL is a project of HERE NOW, LLC.
HERE NOW, LLC was started to foster growth, resources, and energy for utilization on projects that promote freedom, creativity, empathy and equity. The company is based on land previously cared for by Anishinaabe and Lakotah people, currently known as Minneapolis, MN.
a little autobiographical essay
by Heather Rich, founder, freewheel travel
Mistakes have the power to turn you into something better than you were before*
What follows is a retelling of some of my first adventures, complete with twists and turns, getting lost, and found.
I travel, I don’t just take vacations. My ideal experience away from home includes settling into a place, digging in, seeing as much as I can and meeting people. This doesn’t mean I don’t move around while I travel. It doesn’t mean that I don’t relax. It means that while I’m in a new place I want to LEARN from it and it’s people. I don’t know what started this view of travel and exploration. It feels like that’s been my mindset for as long as I can remember, but I’m sure it started somewhere. The German class trip in high school? Three weeks immersed in strange and beautiful Europe. It wasn’t enough for me to go on the buses and planned tours as a group. I immediately wanted to talk to the artists selling watercolors on the streets, sneak out at night to bars, meet people, drink giant beers and run between the squares under the light of the stars. We got lost in Dresden, the alcohol content of das bier surprising our little lightweight systems. But we got unlost just as easily. Turns out if you open up and talk, ask for help and use GPS, more often than not, you can get yourself “home.” We snuck out of the “dull” marionette show to run, physically run, up the hillside in Salzburg to the fort. The goal: watch the sunset over the river. Who’s idea was that? I don’t remember, so I sort of suspect it was mine. Maybe that’s where it all started. It just took three weeks in the German speaking countries. Three weeks of freedom and I caught the travel bug, the drive to get lost in a new unknown place, to get to the highest point for the best view.
Since I caught the bug, I’ve been insatiable. I always want to get to the top. I want to see it all. And I prefer to be around others who want the same thing, who will collaborate for the purpose of finding fun. For me, the ideal travel companion is one who will instigate a bit of adventure, push the limits, and absolutely say “yes let’s go!” if not “yes, and let’s go further!” This is who I strive to be for others.
Feeling out of my comfort zone is actually more comfortable to me. Being forced to meet new people and solve problems makes me feel alive. I like to research a bit before I go somewhere, but I truly enjoy surprises and the scramble. The goal is to walk the fine line between preparation and total spontaneity and enjoy what comes up. I really think that my “mistakes” or decisions to “get lost” down certain unlikely paths have been beneficial to me. The decisions that I’ve made got me to this exact point in life, a place I think I’m meant to be.
*(Quote found online from a website called “Kushandwizdom”. Seems legitimate.)