One of the first things I notice at the beginning of my travels is the big blue sky. It’s the same sky that’s above us everyday but it’s taken for granted. I’m not sure if it’s the urban haze or the confining walls of urban living that allows us to forget to look up and ignore something so large

There’s something liberating about looking up and enjoying the clouds. It reminds me of being a child when I would look up and let the imagination run wild, creating a story from the shapes above. It reminds me of simpler times when more time is spent outdoors than indoors, free of obligations and work. The effects of confining walls are really not felt until I’m reminded of what I’m missing. Open skies means open lands - clouds dance in unison, morphing from shape to shape, growing and shrinking, free to do as it pleases. It symbolizes freedom.

I guess in essence that’s what an adventure is about. It’s about freeing yourself from your everyday life. Restrictions exist even in many standard vacations. But I’m on the open road. I set my own restrictions. No guide is going to tell me when I need to be back on ship or when dinner is served. I’m on the road. No gates, no borders… just the open road under the open sky.

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