Visiting unfamiliar places can make for hard planning. What activities are actually worth doing and which ones are tourist traps? Which areas of town are safe and which ones are sketchy? What hotels offer deals to attract tourists and which ones also double as pay-by-the-hour?
As we traveled to Orlando recently for a doctor visit, we were faced with these questions. Not wanting to do the theme park adventure, but still wanting to experience something fun as a family, I searched the internet. So many places seemed inviting and fun, but could descriptions, ads, and pictures be trusted? Were the people who rated these activities being truthful or were they bribed? Were they of the same mindset as me or were they frivolous with their money?
Needless to say, we ended up visiting the Orlando Science Center and it was amazing. Dinosaurs, flight simulators, kinetic hands-on adventures, a miniature rainforest, and a bonus illusion show from Jason Latimer, the host of Impossible Science. The science center was well worth visiting and I was pleased with my internet research. The hotel, well, let’s just say it was not the same result.
Sometimes that’s how life works too. Hard times storm in and we enter into a completely new place. We make decisions without knowledge of where we are headed. And we charge ahead, site unseen.
Often, we research as much as we can. Videos, articles, and personal calls fill our days. But no matter the knowledge we gain, nothing shows the truth like finally getting to that place and experiencing it in person. That’s when we truly find out what the place looks like. It’s when we know if it’s what we prepared for. Or we realize just how unprepared we actually are.
We aren’t always ready for new places or new things. And no matter how much research and preparation we complete ahead, something is bound to surprise us and not go like we planned. Life is often site unseen, and we have to move forward anyway.
No matter what comes our way this week, let’s make sure to stay flexible when those unseen sites come into view. And try to go with the flow and not shut down completely.