Finding Creativity Through Adventures!

Finding time to take artisan dates is key to recharging creativity. Some of the key ways that I recharge my creative muses is through having adventures. Some of the adventures consists of simple local trips like exploring a gift store downtown or standing in front of a chocolate bar display at the grocery store and studying the packaging. Bigger adventures consist of travel.

Melissa and I have worked together at Nunn Design for many years. She has been a key support in my travels both at work and personally. Over the years she has house and kitty sat (although my kitties usually sat on her!!).

When I heard that she had a dream of traveling overseas, I was grateful to be of support in fulfilling her dream. It has been so much fun to watch her as she has planned her great adventure. Even as a seasoned traveller myself, I have learned a lot from her.

I hope you enjoy learning from her process too!

– Becky

Planning My Journey to Scotland!

by Melissa Williamson

Hi, I’m Melissa, and I’m excited to share my journey of planning a trip to Scotland!! For years I’ve dreamed of visiting Scotland, a land of rich history, kilts, castles, cathedrals, kilts and Harry coos! Despite my longing to travel overseas, I haven’t done it yet. I’ve been across the US, to Alaska and Hawaii, but nothing international. I’ve waited for people to travel with, put off getting my passport, and assumed everything was above my budget. But this fall, I’m finally going!

Earlier in the year, I told Becky I wanted to visit Scotland. Not only was she excited and supportive, but she offered her airline miles to purchase my flight to the UK! Becky’s emotional support and gift transformed my wishful thinking towards concrete planning.

In a conversation with Becky, she mentioned that a month-long visit is ideal to truly experience a place. Once the idea of a month was in my head, I started looking at logistics. Thanks to my flexible work arrangement with Becky, a month-long trip became possible! I am grateful.

I Started Keeping a Trip Journal
Combining creativity with planning has made the process enjoyable for me. I use my sketchbook to brainstorm and visualize my trip, to take notes and help my squirrel brain come back to details.

For the past six months, I’ve immersed myself in all things Scotland. Studying maps, checking routes between areas, and taking notes in my sketchbook. I’ve scribbled down details quickly, then re-organized the information in a fun way, adding stickers or other fun junk.

Arranging My Flight to Scotland (+ Ireland)
I was able to arrange my flight to Scotland with an extended stopover in Ireland! While looking at return flights, I noticed they all had a 21-hour layover in Dublin, Ireland. I thought, why not make the most of it and see a bit of Ireland too?

I found out, reading this article, that I could extend the layover without extra cost. So, instead of just 21 hours, I arranged for a 6-night stopover in Dublin! I booked a hostel in a female dormitory for my Ireland leg, and I’ll explore Dublin and take the train to see a few sites! (Did you know in the movie Princess Bride they filmed the “Cliffs of Insanity” at the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland)?

Using Helpful Resources:

I used several websites, apps, groups to plan different aspects of my trip.

Facebook Groups & Forums: Facebook, always algorithmizing, figured out that I was interested in Scotland – and Scotland travel groups started showing up in my feed. Those were a very useful tool in my process! I joined a few groups, browsed their questions, searched within the group when I wanted to know opinions on a town or activity, and asked questions myself. The community there was full of tour guides, Scottish locals, and people who travel there every year, so very helpful.

I also discovered many Solo Women Travel groups filled with great information for traveling alone, meeting up, and resources to pet and housesit to extend stays!

Google Maps: The idea of traveling overseas has become less scary with the technology we have nowadays! The Unknown I used to fear is less “unknown” now. I searched all over Scotland on Google Maps, checking out attractions, castles, museums, routes, places I wanted to stay at and saved them to lists. (I’m looking forward to walking a street in Glasgow in search of a cat named Freddy – because he is listed as a tourist attraction in google maps!)

Booking.com: I used this site the most to book places, usually paying a little more for free cancellation for the flexibility to change things or cancel. I noticed that prices were sometimes cheaper through the app instead of the web, so be sure to check the differences!

Rome2Rio: I learned of Rome2Rio in a Scotland Travel Facebook Group. You can enter your points A and B to travel between and it will list all the public transportation options and prices.

Facebook/Instagram/Social Media: I find it helpful to follow pages and profiles for places I want to visit, pubs, festivals, city pages, etc. I followed one festival profile religiously to make sure I would be aware when certain tickets went on sale! I’m looking at you Larg’s Viking Festival, Festival of Fire tickets!

Dropbox or Google Drive: Saving ideas, lists, calendars to the cloud has also been a big part of organizing, especially with my squirrel brain. When I see a good suggestion in a travel group, I’ll take a screenshot and throw it in my “Scotland” folder. Then later I can add it to my calendar or journal to plan further.

I also have a Google calendar just for the trip, it makes it easy to see how long I’m staying in an area, tours I booked (Rabbie’s tours came highly recommended), and travel days.

Thanks for reading! I hope this information inspires others to break down an idea into manageable steps, using methods that work for you, and turning it into a plan!

Thanks Becky for being supportive and always nurturing my creativity.
– Melissa

Tips?

Enjoy your summer! What are you doing to recharge your creative muses? Do you have any travel tips for both of us?

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