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I warn everyone in advance, I will probably bore you all stupid with this trip. I haven’t even been yet and it’s inside me😂😂

It’s the most exciting thing to happen to me in a long, long time and I feel like I know what to do to get the most from it. When I was younger sometimes I crammed too much in or tried to document too much so missed out on the live event. Not this time.

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You’ll be making 3 trips: the anticipation trip, the ‘being there’, and the aftermath trip, savouring all the tastes and musing about golden days and blue seas.

Not boring, just tell us about them all, Julie, so it’ll feel as if I’m there as well 💙💫🌷🌊

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author

Yes it’s so exciting for me yet i also feel a sense of calm. 25th is when I go! 🥰☀️🔥✨🧚🏻

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Good strategy. Bon voyage and look after yourself. Looking forward to hearing all about it! x

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A week today!!!!!😍

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Bring it on!

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I'm putting together a trip myself, you really nailed the fun of it. I'm leaving most up it wide open for whatever happens, the plans in sidewalk chalk part gave me a buzz. That's exactly it. Have fun and enjoy yourself!

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Yes, I am doing the same, don’t want to set anything down ‘in stone’, just play and sketch. The best way. I dislike itineraries. Ooh you’re planning a trip too! How exciting! Where to?

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Anticipation is an underrated pleasure! So true. Women know this:) … journeying has so many phases. All of them are wonderful… but anticipating and remembering are especially satisfying!

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Captain Cook made me laugh!

Please take loads of videos and photos of your trip!!

I love that artwork from your fairy oracle deck 😍

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I definitely will do!!! Thanks x

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This is a lovely piece! I love your description of anticipation as a "lozenge made from strawberry sunsets, mint skies and cool water." It perfectly captures the sweet and exciting feeling of looking forward to a trip. The detail about the chalk drawing is great too - a whimsical way to imagine your upcoming adventure. You've convinced me that anticipation deserves to be savored!

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author

Thank you for your kind comments. Very much appreciated:)

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Sounds wonderful...looking forward to reading your adventures. I bet you'll have a magical time!

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❤️ thank you

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Absolutely right about the anticipation. Have a fabulous time Julie.

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Here’s hoping 🤞🥰🧚🏻✨❤️

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Love this! Anticipation is exciting; the joy of the journey, not destination…then you’re there, caught in the awe. Last but often the best, savoring it afterward. Thank you for this beautiful way of preparing…you words and quotes perfect! Look forward to traveling along as you post about it! 😊🩷

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author

Thank you. A week today I will be in the clouds! Yay!!!!!😍

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I love anticipation--always exciting to have something to look forward to!

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author

It applies to everything doesn’t it? Not just travel.

A date, a meal…..

Basically, anything positive you await.

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Absolutely! Looking forward to a meal always brings joy

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Wishing you a most wonderful trip!

The Galapagos are incredible!

Say hi to the blue footed boobies for me!

🙌🌸

Oh... if you get a chance to swim with the turtles and penguins, do it! You will defrost, i swear!! Hahahaha

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Have you visited then?

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Yes! You will love it!

And if you stay in Equador, you will see cypebara all over the city.

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Happy birthday and Bon Voyage!!🙏💜🙏

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author

Thank you. I love Spring . So much possibility and wonder in the air!🧚🏻✨

A trip just makes it even more so!

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Oooooo I LOVE anticipation and you described it so beautifully! I can't believe you get to go to the Galapagos! AMAZING. I hope you find the balance of taking it all in and taking pictures! (I would be a maniac with a camera. or. I'd freeze, cry, take in the moments, smell the air. Then kick myself when I got home and realized I didn't take pictures! ha ha! Enjoy every moment and God keep you on the journey! ox

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I have learned from my mistakes there.

Whilst I have a desire to document, the desire to be in the moment and truly experience is greater. So I shall be recording but that will be of secondary concern.

Once years ago I went on a whale watching trip in New Zealand and i spoilt it for myself by snapping pics in a frenzy along with other tourists instead of taking in the magnificent sperm whale before me.

I got back and just had some mediocre shots of a back and a tail or whatever. I kicked myself for not being present.

I learned though. And now I know that the pictures that thrive in our minds, are the ones when we put down the camera.

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100% agree! You made me laugh about the tail and back pictures and running like a mad woman. It's very hard to be a photographer for a living as you are expected to get great shots and be everyone's "pocket documenter" (as we call my husband a "pocket electrician" - at your service 24/7! - just pull me out of your pocket!) -- however, much changed in me since 2020 and I have learned the art of putting it down and taking it all in. Now I have the favorite pictures I never took locked away in my memory and that's okay with me. I plan, as I always have, without kidding, to accept "when" I will take pictures and when I won't. Try to strike a little balance. I also think video is sometimes better here and there for wonderful memories. It's so exciting and once again I wish you the best time! ox

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author

I think the good thing about Galápagos from what I hear, is the wildlife is so abundant that you have time to do both. 🥰

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Perfect! It will be there for both :) One day of completely taking it in and a few hours on a day to take a few pics. It is nice to document and, of course, you will write a piece here and we must see a picture :) Looking forward to it! Goodnight from SoCal :) ox

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So fascinating, your differentiation between anticipation and possibility! Your writing is truly glorious, I savored the way you wrote this!

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author

If there’s one thing that lights me, it’s travel. I can wax lyrical about that all day long! It’s a passion.

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founding

“The limit of man's knowledge in any subject possesses a high interest, which is perhaps increased by its close neighborhood to the realms of imagination.” - Charles Darwin, the voyage of the Beagle.

Darwin’s observations would have been nothing without his imagination. This is why writers and poets are so important. They don’t just experience in the now - they anticipate, they reflect, they squeeze the juice out of every moment.

I hope and I know you’ll have a fantastic time.

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author

Oh I am definitely squeezing the juice out. Lord knows when the next fruit is coming. 😂

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Enjoy your anticipation time and hope your holiday is everything you wish it to be.

Happy “significant” birthday too! 😊🍾🥂

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Oh i feel such a strange but magical feeling of sedate joy today, Madeline.

It’s really lovely 😊

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I wish you all the joy in the world for your birthday trip. Yes, the anticipation is a significant part of that joy.

(Did you know there’s a push been started to reinstate your bluebird account?)

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I heard something yes but I am not hopeful sadly. I did it so many times already and so did others. But it’s really touching that some people still care. It makes me smile.

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