Shhhh…listen…do you hear that? I hear it loud and clear. It is a grand adventure calling my name.

I tried to ignore it because, to be quite honest, sometimes grand adventures can be a bit scary. They can take us out of our comfort zones and plop us right down into the middle of…well, who knows what? That’s the allure and beauty of a grand adventure.

As kids, most everything is a grand adventure. Even regular family vacations can be one when you do not know any details and you are just along for the ride.

However, as we get older, it is easier just to follow life. Days happen, we work, we pay bills and before we know it, we are on autopilot.

COVID-19 and the ensuing chaos made me, and many of you I am sure, reevaluate my life and how I wanted to live it….live it…those two words sum it all up. I’m taking my life off of autopilot and I am going to truly live it.

So I have heard an adventure whispering my name for quite some time. It has steadily become louder and louder until I can no longer ignore it. Mother Teresa once said, “Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today, let us begin.”

Only God knows how long we will live. We do not choose the number of our days and putting off those grand adventures until tomorrow…well, tomorrow might never come.

What’s that? What do I consider a grand adventure? One source defines it as an unusual, exciting and rather dangerous journey or series of events. Another source calls it the most life-changing, personality-forging, fun adventure of your life. I could not have chosen better words myself.

My grand adventure begins next week. I’m sure many of you are curious as to what the hubby and I have up our sleeves. We will be taking our motorcycle up to St. Louis, Missouri where we will meet up with some of our “biker” friends. Just saying “biker friends” makes it sound more thrilling doesn’t it? This group will take Route 66 from St. Louis to Los Angeles, California…on motorcycles. That is over 4,000 miles…on motorcycles. Packing lightly is mandatory when traveling on a bike because there isn’t much room for luggage. Oh and did I mention the tents? Yes, you heard that right. We will be staying in tents. Ours is a two-man tent but we did get a blow up mattress and a sleeping bag.

I am terribly excited and I will admit a bit nervous about this grand adventure. I plan to record every possible memory with photos and videos. If you would like to come along and see the good, bad and ugly on this grand adventure, follow me on Facebook, Charlette Hilton or on Tik Tok, @charlettehilton. I will be sharing all of it there.

We leave the day after Easter. Let us begin.

Charlette Hilton is a Mother of 2, a Louisiana Tech graduate and serves as Editor and Advertising Director for The Gazette. Contact her via email at news@fgazette.com

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