Wanderlust and Disappointment

We recently visited Finlay Park in Columbia South Carolina. It's a beautiful park with many sitting areas. You can enjoy the breeze and the sun set while listening to the squirrels scurry across trees and the fountain splash water on the man made lake. Although it's cooler weather made for an excellent break from the heat and humidity of Charleston, we did run into some disappointment on this wander. We went here specifically to see the waterfall fountain they had created. We did some research before leaving, but during our digging didn't see that the fountain had been broken for a year. Sometimes you can do research and still not know how things are until you get there. That's part of the wonder of travel as well, your eyes are opened to how things really are.
That brings me to the second, but different, disappointment. During the research phase of our wander we saw comments that the homeless utilize the park and what we saw when we got there broke my heart, but in a way also revitalized it. When you walk the park there are the expected locals and kids that have nowhere to else to go. When we came to the second stage they have we saw at least two lines of people sleeping. You could tell by the state of their clothes and the bags they were carrying they have been homeless for awhile. While walking through we saw what appeared to be a recent vet scoping out a place to sit with only his pack and some water. He looked as though he had been without a roof over his head in awhile. We also saw the homeless in the tree seating for the grass island stage.
These are the people touched by disappointment, by hard times and forgotten futures. Seeing them reminded me that the human spirit, although crushed, can be revitilized when we help each other. So, I was reminded that when you travel through this life to help your fellow man. Don't be part of the disappointment that others go through, but instead be part of the rekindling of the human spirit that exists in us all. You can do this by volunteering time or money to outreach programs and through prayer God can lead you to the right place. I think it's important to remember when we wander that disappointments are part of life, it's what we do about them that determines whether it's a lesson or a pit.

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Introverted Traveler | Travel IS for everyone a response to Sian Ferguson on Matador Network

I think what bothered me the most about this article was the negative tone of it all. You can't, you can't, you can't; when people have been over coming you can'ts for as long as the human race has been around.

1. When you don’t come from money, the idea of travel rarely ever crosses your mind.
Response: I do not come from money. I have been so poor that many times I ate once a day and I have also been homeless. I never believed anything was out of my reach. If anything the poverty levels that i experienced drove me to work hard to reach my goals. If that meant working extra shifts or sacrificing what I want in the "now" to reach those goals, that is what I did.

2. “Traveling on a budget” doesn’t always cut it.
"At this point, you might point me to a guide on how to travel on a budget. For sure, some of those money-saving tips are super useful – but they seldom cover airfare, passports, and other unavoidable costs. They also don’t account for the money you lose out on when you take time off work to travel."
Response: Traveling on a budget DOES always cut it. You must take your budget and add travel in. You can reasonably predict what it will cost you in gas and food to do something. There are several ways to budget for travel. I met a couple who saved a pay checks amout of money to cover the bills while they were gone so they didn't have to worry about being able to pay them. Then saved for the travel event itself. They traveled every 2 years to wherever they wanted. Think about where you can save money and then put that money aside toward your travel goals. Another way to do this is to live simply and save as much as you can for several years. That's only 3 ways, but there are more and I may do a video on that.

3. The ability to travel depends on your level of privilege.
"Having a disability, whether physical or mental, can make it incredibly hard to visit new places."
Response: *buzzer to the negative* I will give it to this writer that disabilities make it difficult, I would however, draw the line at incredibly hard. Again, this is just one more hurtle for you to overcome. Many if not all places that you can visit are handicap accessable. They are also handicap accomidating as long as they know you are in need. As far as the transgender issue; don't go places that would be detrimental to your health to go. There are places I will not go because I am a woman and just don't want to risk it. We all have to make those decisions. I would love to climb Everest; will I? No. Why? Because my asthma and physical ailments prevent me from doing so. Staying safe is just as important as the other things I have discussed in this video. Planning your trip is a must, but that doesn't make it incredibly hard. I personally know several people in wheel chairs that participate in charity walks, travel state to state and have been across the pond. If you set your mind to things, plan and save you can make your goals happen. Will you be traveling every week? Probably not. Will you get to where you want to go? Definitely!

Link for reference: https://matadornetwork.com/life/lets-stop-pretending-travel-accessible-everyone/

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Downtown Summerville | Third Thursday in June

Third Thursday is a monthly free admission event that gives the community a chance to gather and small businesses a chance to flourish. It also gives wanderers like us an opportunity to relax and get our wanderlust out =^_^=

Important tidbits:

1. Location: West Richardson Ave in Downtown Summerville
2. Bathrooms?: You can use restrooms in certain establishments, but there are no port-a-potties set up.
3. Wheelchair accessible?: Yes! You should be able to get everywhere
4. Water fountains: No
5. Doggies ok?: Yes! On a leash and you must pick up after them.
6. Find out more or buy tickets: http://www.summervilledream.org/third-thursdays.html

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