#RSRSeesTheUSA Day 7: TN-AR
One of the things I love most about traveling is happening upon things that you didn’t seek out.
To that end, I woke up in my Airstream airbnb this morning in Memphis and decided to stop by The Peabody hotel to watch the Duck March. One of the staffers at the Mississippi welcome center first mentioned this to me, and while I missed it yesterday (went for barbecue and a stroll by Beale Street and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel instead… you know… walking in Memphis), today I decided to catch it before I leave Memphis behind.
But this morning was the Duck March. Wacky and wonderful, and I’m glad I was able to catch this random little tradition, even though I didn’t have much time to explore Memphis.
It’s interesting to see how this rhythm is feeling now that I’ve been going for a week. In most cases, I only have one night in each place, and then I’m off to the next stop, so I’ve intentionally not approached these stops the way I normally would when planning a trip. I’m not looking up what to do in each place ahead of time, and instead asking for recommendations from people I encounter as I go.
This works best as someone who’s OK talking to strangers, which I don’t have a problem doing, especially when I’m in travel mode. This lack-of-planning approach helps me avoid FOMO, which is a huge risk for me, particularly in new places.
I know roughly where I need to drive to for my next stop, and that morning or the day before I’ll find a place to stay in that area. It’s that style that let me shift plans from staying overnight in Knoxville to Asheville, which is how I got tiny house+hot tub (and a seriously delicious turmeric espresso drink the next morning). It’s what got me the duckies this morning, which I’d never even heard of 36 hours ago.
This last-minute travel style doesn’t always come naturally to me (I’m a planner by nature), but it’s what happens when I give my spontaneous, easily-excited side the reins. And that intuitive side of myself is one I’m trying to actively encourage these days.
When I let my spontaneity urge take control, it’s much easier for me to see something as seemingly minor as a parade of ducks in a hotel lobby or a random local coffee shop as a highlight of my travels. I take more visceral pleasure in the little aspects of my travels when I don’t have as demanding an itinerary. I’m more in the moment, and I’m more attentive, and I’m more apt to look up and notice things like an excellent Facing History and Ourselves mural in Memphis or the fun juxtaposition of this penguin sculpture and the moon in Bentonville.
Cloud of the day: this beauty over Bentonville at sunset, where the one little contrail in sharp contrast to the softness of the clouds made me think about brushstrokes
