An Adventure at our Doorstep

When's the last time you made a spontaneous decision to escape the city and take a little overnight adventure? I assume it hasn't happened in a while. Sometimes it's hard to get away because all our silly commitments in life seem impossible to break free of. In a recent post on the Art Collective blog, Mary Aveno wrote a great post called "Do It Live", about why breaking out of our daily routines for adventures is exciting and important. In honor of that theme, I would like to remind everyone of an awesome journey they can take that hardly involves any planning. This is a trip to the great city of Montreal! Montreal is like a European city and it's less than a two hour drive from here. It is a perfect destination for an overnight vacation to escape the monotony of Burlington life.

This past Saturday, my friends and I decided at 2:00pm that we were going to go to Montreal. A half hour later we were on the road, and by 5:00 we had arrived within the city limits. For a long time, I've felt trapped in Burlington because I always have homework and a job to worry about. I was going slightly crazy. But when the random idea of going to Canada was brought up, and actually followed through with, I was released from my shackles and relief sunk in the second we hit the road.

We spent just a night exploring a new city, bar hopping, and having great times in a foreign world. When we got back to Burlington sunday afternoon, I was able to appreciate Burlington again; I felt refreshed.

I'm not going to lie and say a trip to Montreal is a cheap endeavor, but it also doesn't have to be super expensive. If you have friends there, then that's awesome, go visit them and have a free place to stay. If not, you can stay at a hostel for relatively cheap. Either way, money should be no reason to hold you back!

Do it, live! Who cares if it's a little pricey, YOLO! Money will come back, your youth and freedom will not. These may be the last years where you have the option to adventure, don't let them go to waste. They also may be the only years where you live a half hour from Canada's border. Go to freakin Canada where you can drink on the streets, and any college student can legally drink! Don't get held back with plans, just go. Maybe even go this weekend. You'll be happy you did.