In 2003, the Montreal Expos were on the verge of either moving to a different city or ceasing operations, period. On a late September night on a Friday of that year, Marty and I did something completely spontaneous and made the 10-hour drive to Montreal. I did not want to miss the chance to watch major league baseball in Montreal, in case that wasn’t going to be possible for much longer.
We arrived around noon on a Saturday morning and booked into a random hotel. We checked out the city, went to restaurants and a bar/club. And of course, we saw a baseball game. It was eerily empty, and the encouraging shouts of even one fan could be heard throughout this domed stadium. We saw Ken Griffey, Jr. play that day (I think. I’ll have to check online to make sure). Vlad Guerrero hit a homer, and Korean pitcher Sun Woo Kim pitched the game of his short career for the Expos win. Expos ended up playing in Montreal for another year or two, but then became the Washington Nationals.
Seven years later, I find that what has stayed with me, more than the baseball game or the cute girl at the Quality Inn reception desk, is the spontaneity of the trip itself. We packed our bags in the middle of the night and drove all night to a different country. Granted, it was only Canada but I had never been to Canada before that day. We didn’t do any planning, no reviews of local hotels, weigh all our options, or anything of that sort. We didn’t even buy tickets to the game until we were at the stadium. I wonder what I told my parents? Couldn’t have been “going to Canada at 1 am, bye” could it?
Biggest difference between me now and me then is the fact that I’m married and it’s harder to synchronize days off, but even after removing that from consideration, our vacations are no longer spontaneous. We review all the best hotels and find the best value. We review all the recommended restaurants. We find a good “things to do” list and make a general plan for the day. Of course, that is a great way to really make the most of our trip, giving us the best way to not miss anything, or regret after the trip, but we do end up missing out on the unpredictables, or at least definitely reduce the odds of it.
There is something intriguing, something exciting about not knowing what to expect. With the wealth of information we have now at our fingertips, it feels almost foolish to not do any research beforehand. But I do miss those foolish days. Maybe one of these days, I’ll take a foolish trip again.
(But probably not.)
Stand Up: The Blog 