Are you bored with your home town? Certainly there's comfort in going to your favorite restaurants, shops, and local parks. You know what to expect, right down to what entre you're going to have for dinner. But is it still fun? My husband and I make a point of having at least one fun date each week that often takes us out of town. Some people think that they need to have a whole weekend to get away, or that it's "not worth the drive," unless they've got some specific event to travel to. Sadly, they've lost their adventuring spirit and see "fun" as yet another task on their to-do list. If this sounds familiar and youre recognizing yourself as one of those people who never gets out of their routine (a.k.a. rut) because "it's too much work," or you dont have time to plan then I want to inspire you to take even a half-day off and live a little.

In our case, we like to choose places that are 2-hours away, or less. For us, that might mean a sophisticated day in the city or a drive to a small restaurant on the Pacific coast. For instance, last night we drove down to Palo Alto, home of Stanford University, and had a perfect date strolling around downtown. There's no shortage of restaurants there, but we highly recommend Lavanda for its light Mediterranean food and chic dcor. For the evening, we let ourselves imagine what it would be like to live there. What homes do we like best? What would it be like if we had our offices in this town? Where will we go to dinner next time we visit? In short, we let ourselves dream about new possibilities.

So you see, a good one-day adventure isn't really about what you do when you're there. It doesn't matter whether you've planned all the details or travel on impulse. You can make the journey alone or with someone you love. What is important is that you open yourself up to new surroundings and new experiences. Get yourself out of your usual environment, and you'll awaken new thoughts about your life and what is available to you. Feeling inspired again is the best souvenir of all.