Much Needed Vacation

I got to go on vacation for the first time in years last week. And let me tell you, it was not the type of vacation I saw myself going on and enjoying when I was younger.

Let me give you some backstory.

For a good stretch of time during my childhood, I was a tomboy. My Dad loves to tell the story of how I would enjoy being outside on the 8 acres of land we owned in Oklahoma, where I would pull my socks over my jeans to prevent bugs from getting on me and tramp around under the trees or mow the lawn on the riding mower.

I couldn't tell you exactly where the switch happened, but I became...well, bougie. I didn't want anything to do with the outdoors, I didn't want to sweat, and I preferred outings that involved food and air conditioning. If I couldn't reasonably wear a dress and maybe heels, I was uninterested.

But the most peculiar thing started happening to me a few years ago. I started going for walks, mostly to help clear my head, and realized that I enjoyed being out in the fresh air with the sounds of birds and insects around me.

After meeting my boyfriend and learning of his love of the outdoors, I decided to go on a hike with him. That hike was so much fun - I couldn't tell you what influenced it more, the company or nature - and I decided that I wanted to go on more hikes.

Fast forward to last week. Our whole itinerary was centered around outdoorsy things. Hiking in the mountains, going into caves. And I was excited. I got hiking clothes. My boyfriend bought hiking boots for me. I had my clothes laid out three days in advance. I grabbed my sunscreen and sunglasses to be prepared for the outdoors. (Though, both of us forgot allergy meds - the pollen in the south is no joke!) I even got my hair braided a week early so I wouldn't have to fool with it.

And yet, even though we did those two main things, there were so many more impromptu things that I never would have done when I was in my twenties, mostly because they were outdoors.

We stayed in a cabin in the woods, surrounded by other cabins but also offering stunning views of the mountains. On the balcony was a hot tub, which we got to enjoy a couple of times during our stay. Despite my firm dislike of bugs, the balcony became my favorite place in that cabin - listening to bird songs and watching fat bumblebees lazily drift around me. I even fell asleep one evening looking out at the stars in a rocking chair.

The next big adventure, which, I'll admit, had me terrified, was going ziplining. Something about trusting to a cable and a harness while zipping hundreds of feet above the ground made me seriously uneasy. But with the encouragement of our guides, I made it through all seven lines down the mountain. In fact, I was only really scared for the first one. The rest was a breeze, and I was able to enjoy the mountain views.

After a stop-off at the quirky Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, we headed out to take a tour on a helicopter. I wasn't nervous about this one, and our pilot pointed out different ridges and mountains in other states that we could see from our height.

Then we went to our final destination, and arguably the one that I'm the most proud of - Mammoth Caves.

We opted to take the longest tour - truthfully, I almost decided against it because we had to be there by 9:15 to pick up our tickets, and I'm not a morning person at all - which would take around 4 hours. But we did it, and I'm so glad that we did.

We grabbed hoodies in the gift shop after seeing signs that the caves would be around 54 degrees and thinking that our windbreakers wouldn't be enough. Then we listened to the safety briefs from the guides, hopped on a bus that took us to the entrance, and headed down the first steps into the caves.

The temperature dropped almost instantly, and we found ourselves glad of the hoodies. The first stretch wasn't bad; the ground was fairly level, and we walked at an easy pace. We would stop at intervals and the guide would answer questions and tell us the history of how the different sections of the cave were discovered. After a while, I became very glad of those rest times.

The caves themselves were absolutely incredible. Rock formations, patterns, slopes, underground rivers; there was no end of things to look at. (Though my boyfriend had to remind me to stop looking at my feet for fear of tripping and actually look around at the caves.) At one point, the guide turned off all of the installed lights to let us experience the silence and darkness naturally in the caves. Then he lit a candle to show us how explorers in the 1800s would have explored the caves.

As we moved forward, alternating between a concrete path and flight after flight of stairs, we found ourselves ready to shed the hoodies. While it was chilly at first, our constant moving warmed us to the point where we were sweating profusely. It certainly was a workout, and I found myself desperately looking ahead to see if our guide had stopped yet. I could feel a familiar burning in my calves, and I was trying my hardest to not sound like I was gasping for air as we continued (judging by the way my boyfriend kept checking on me, I think that I failed).

When we finally reached the end and came back out into daylight, I was exhausted. Yet I also felt a surge of pride in myself.

You see, a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to make that hike. My fitness level was nowhere near where it is now, and I probably wouldn't have even chosen that tour for that reason. But even when we were looking at our options, I knew that I could handle it. And it makes me even more excited for other adventures that we can have because I plan to keep working out and getting stronger and building my stamina.

All in all, this was a much-needed and much-enjoyed trip. I wasn't thinking about work, or personal drama, or even much about my novel. It was a great time to just relax and enjoy my surroundings and spend time with my boyfriend.

My stepmom asked if this meant that I was no longer bougie, and I emphatically answered "No." However, I will admit that I am slightly less bougie than I was before.

Slightly.