make it count

Dear Ai, bees have six legs. Love, Charlotte

At the end of summer, bees nestle in Dahlia flowers, soporifically yet painstakingly poking at every floret in search of pollen, absorbing as many nutrients as they can before the long, cold winter. It’s not the typical bee frenzy you’ll see on a hydrangea or an azalea bush. There must be something in that Dahlia that puts them in a sleepy state, and they are so peaceful and still in those moments that I can practically pet them. I haven’t spent enough time with them when they are in their Dahlia naps to figure out if they are having little bee dreams, but they definitely appear blissed out.

With busy schedules, obligations and commitments, it’s difficult to find the time to park in a place and rest. Time marches forth. We can’t always get what we want when we want it, we seize the opportunities and milk them, making every moment count.

This blog started while traveling on one of the many mini (“micro”) vacations I took with my partner in the summer of 2024. We are both extremely busy — with my work and his studies — so we cram in as much activity as possible into short bursts on weekend downtime. Our trips last somewhere between 18-40 hours depending on the weekend (40 when we are lucky, 18 when we are not!). We’re on a tight budget both time and money-wise but we share a love of nature, physical exertion, good food, and culture, soaking it all up in every way we can find it. We like to jump into a place and discover its corners and best parts. We developed a knack for doing that in record time without feeling drained for the hard week of work before us.

I hope jaunt.space will help you discover the art of the mini-getaway, from tools to help you find deals and schedule maximizers, to community reviews of places to go and equipment to bring. As they say across the pond, “Keep calm and jaunt on!”. Well. Not sure they say that, but they should.