Sitting in traffic at 3:30 PM on a Wednesday doesn’t sound like the start of a spectacular 24 hours, but that it was. Idling amidst the several hundred cars on Interstate 80, I listened to a podcast that I’d been unable to get to earlier in the week and exited the freeway for a stretch break when I wanted to. Upon reaching my destination, I took a walk to dinner at the place of my choosing. These are all incredibly simple pleasures that I would have overlooked just a decade ago, but now they are priceless snippets of time in a life that is tilted heavily toward tending to the needs of others.
What was this little jaunt? It’s what I call a solo adventure and I’d been dreaming this one up in it’s vague, non-detailed form for a few months without even realizing it.
Taking Stock
The months of endless Northern California rain, heavier-than-normal workload and travel by my husband, and the feeling of being on a hamster wheel of family life got me down a bit this year. In my past life of full-time work and travel the days were still heavily tilted toward care taking, but I also had the built-in mental breaks that work provided. It was a stressful existence that I’m not rushing back towards, but it did offer moments of calm in a hotel room occupied only by me. I got to thinking about how to recreate snippets of time for myself and made a list of what I felt like I needed without editing. Here’s the list:
- a full day with no commitments to anyone but me
- no household duties
- access to nature
- doesn’t break the budget
- and a place that’s both familiar and novel
With this list in place I began the search for my self-imposed retreat and earmarked a date just one week away. I thought big at first and toyed with the idea of driving to Yosemite National Park – one of my top 5 favorite places on Earth – but the roundrip travel time of 9+ hours seemed a bit much for a 24 hour trip. I also thought that I could check all the boxes on my list by doing a local sort of stay-cation, but the reality is that I’d likely be pulled into my familiar routine and that’s not novel (box 5 of my list). I finally settled on a place that fit the bill within a 150 mile drive – Nevada City, CA.
Solo Retreat
Nevada City is an old mining town at the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills. The downtown is an official historic district dotted with gold rush era buildings and historic homes. Now a variety of shops, eateries and pubs inhabit the old structures which cater to both the eclectic locals and tourists. Nevada City and the neighboring town of Grass Valley caught my eye a few years ago and our family has been retreating to the area ever since.
Familiarity with the area, coupled with it’s access to nature and quirky restaurants had me taking a closer look for my 24 hour getaway. Once I found a hotel room for under $100, I was in!
I present to you a day in the life of my solo adventure:
6:58 PM – checked into the quaint and cozy Outside Inn. And not a minute too soon. I love that I received a call from the innkeeper at 6:45 prepared to give me after-hours check-in instructions. Her genuine excitement that I was within 10 minutes of arriving provided a welcoming feeling that I just don’t get from the big corporate hotels I generally frequent.
7:20 PM – after a brief chat with the innkeeper, I unloaded my single bag and quickly unpacked the scant belongings needed for the evening. I made a quick check-in back home and then set off on foot to procure dinner.
7:30 PM – my brief walk downtown ended at Three Forks Brewery where I ordered a beer and mushroom pizza (breaking my dairy-free diet for the night). The mostly-organic fare is locally sourced and is just so delicious. The vibe is casual and fun with locals and visitors easily interacting. I finished my beer and 1/2 of the pizza before I was on my way back up the hill to the inn.
8:15 PM – arriving back at the inn, I had a moment of “wow, I haven’t been alone in a while” – in a good way. I relaxed in my twin bed (how cute is my room) and did something I rarely do. I watched TV. I’m an avid reader and hardly ever turn on the television at home so it felt a bit frivolous and luxurious to turn the channel to whatever station suited me. After 1/2 hour of HGTV I was down for the count.
6:54 AM – I’m awake and it’s after 6 AM! This is late for me. I consider a few options for the day and ultimately decide to head to Grass Valley for the morning.
7:45 AM – Out the door, car loaded. Drop the keys into the lock box and drive the 10 minutes to Grass Valley.
8 AM – Coffee + project time. This trip was in-part planned to catch up on some projects I’ve been interested in kick starting. The goal was to clean up digital clutter and construct some scaffolding to make my goals + intended habits easier to reach. It turns out that spending an hour and a half in a random Starbucks was what I needed.
9:30 AM – closed my laptop and drove 10 minutes to the Empire Mine State Park. The 2-mile hiking trail near the old mine was the perfect spot for some nature immersion without the trepidation that comes with hiking alone in a new location. (I’ve visited on multiple occasions and took a family hike here recently.) The scent of pine in the air reminded me of summer camp back in East Texas and gave me a warm feeling of familiarity. I purposefully hiked in silence for part of the time and listened to a podcast intermittently. It was the soul-filling time I’d been dreaming of.
10:45 AM – back to Nevada City. I found street parking near an independent bookstore and wandered in. I rarely buy books as I’m a library gal, but I found a magazine that looked like the perfect browsing material for brunch, so I scooped it up and headed up the street.
11 AM – settled on a new spot for brunch that was recommended by the hotel – Heartwood. The hearty rice bowl filled with local, seasonal delights was the perfect post-hike meal. The casual and work-friendly, yet hippy vibe ticked the box of having a truly novel experience.
Noon – wandered around town a bit before jumping into the car and heading back toward Sonoma County. Stopping at a few spots along the way, I ended up making it back in time to go out to dinner with my family. I felt honest gratitude for seeing their faces and marveled internally how just 1 day away truly refreshed my soul.
I feel like I squeezed some real goodness out of my solo adventure and plan to make it a quarterly thing. It won’t always be a night away or 7 hours of driving, but it will meet the criteria I set above. Soul feeding sounds pretty woo-woo, but that’s exactly what I did and what I need. And I’m grateful for it.
3 Comments
I love, love, love the idea of a solo getaway! It would force me to focus on myself! However, the extrovert in me hates to be alone! I need to chew on this, because I think the pros far outweigh the cons.
As a fellow extrovert, I hear you loud and clear. It’s actually hard work to focus on myself and not seek out conversations with fellow coffee shop goers and bookshop owners. It really was worth it, though.
This sounds amazing. I think I’m going to copy you!!! Thanks for the inspiration.