Monday Mood: I Waited Too Long - Don't Put It Off

I waited too long, and now something on my travel wish list will never happen. Don't let his happen to you, take a few minutes this week to think about what you really-really want to see or do while you can, and sit down, make the plans, book the travel, spend the money. In the end you can't take the money with you, and sooner or later something will make your dream - impossible.  I know, I have let this happen. I coulda, shoulda added three days to last springs trip and checked this one off of my list. But I didn't.  I can't use the excuse that we didn't have the money, our earning days are behind us, there is more than enough in the accounts to have made the trip. I can't say we didn't have the time, we are both retired, our time is our own. We were gone for a month last spring, another three days wouldn't have made a big difference. And we changed planes in Iceland, on Icelandair that famously offers a stopover in Iceland for the same airfare as changing planes there. But I blew it, and now sadly it will never happen. Things happen, things change, things that are unexpected, and beyond our control. Go and do it now, or regret it later. 

So what happened? I have wanted to visit the black sand beach with the basalt stone cliff at Vik in Iceland for years. The basalt cliff was formed by lava flowing into the sea thousands of years ago, forming geometric blocks, stacked high into the sky, trapping a narrow volcanic sand beach between the cliff and roaring ocean surf, often with ice washing up on each wave. People traveled from around the world to see this beach, but no more. A couple of weeks ago, the cliff collapsed in a landslide onto the beach. The rocks are being cleared off of the beach, but the basalt cliff is gone, replaced by a muddy hillside. This very rare geological formation is no more. I waited too long, and I really have no valid reason for waiting. 

We did try to go there back in 2021. We were driving from Geysir* to Vik, and drove into a blizzard, heavy snow and 40 mile per hour winds, it was so bad that trucks were getting stuck in the roundabouts. We turned around when we could find a safe place to do so, and followed a local driving a tiny Toyota back toward Reykjavik, driving out of the storm in about 40 miles.  The hotel in Vik was kind enough to allow a last minute cancellation, the roads were so bad that people couldn't leave Vik, or get in. 

But that was five years ago, two years of which I have been retired, and we even changed planes in Iceland last spring, a perfect time to have made the trip. I blew it. 

What is on your wishlist? Stop making excuses, make plans and go now, while you can, before something makes it impossible. 

* Go stay at the Hotel Geysir, it is amazing. I am so glad we did that.