Travel Issue 2024 {Editor’s Letter}
Happy
Moments
As I reflect on these trips, shared on the following pages, my mind drifts back to hazy mornings where the sun has just started its drift into my cozy suite. The light pierces so poignantly that the lush greenery outside begins to glisten as its heightened by the sun, the smell of rich local coffee is so permeating that I can taste it on my tongue, and the breeze poetically wafts the sheer curtains to a flutter. The bliss of waking up some place new feels restful and resorting. I didn’t realize how soundly I would sleep until that day. Not what I expected, but somehow it’s healing.
As founders of a brand intentionally created to connect people who have a love for their city, but more so, a love for exploration, arts, culture, and people, we work nealry 24/7. Our small team are feet-to-the-ground many nights, weekends, and any other moment that anyone needs something; “we’re here to help.” It is our mission to connect people by sharing authentic and deeply moving stories while supporting local artisans and business owners and, in turn, to grow in appreciation for one another and inevitably fall in with this slice of Austin we call home. In addition to building a brand in an ever-growing audience of change-makers and creatives, Will and I parent a two-year-old, two middle schoolers, including a child with special needs—meaning the doctors and therapists appointments are frequent as are the soccer practices and football games. There isn’t a second of this life we’ve built that I would change. But rather, there often becomes a need to escape the daily tasks to invest in a slower way of life, a state of mind that cuts through the busyness and fog like a piercing ray of sunshine to wake us up to these beautiful moments and people right in front of us.
I am well aware that travel memories will eventually boil down to a series of moments sealed in a bottle like a treasure map: staring a giant humpback in the eye with genuine curiosity in Hawaii, tasting a pint of Guinness with friends in Dublin, the fear pulsing through my body as I jump into the Caribbean Sea with sharks, the crisp wind whipping my hair on a speedboat in Lake Como, our son jumping the waves during a rosy golden hour in Cabo, exploring ancient churches perched over lochs in the Scotch Highlands, hearing the bustling of local chatter as we ferry to various Asian islands, sensing my smallness as we kayak under towering icebergs in Alaska, running through Queen Mary’s Rose Gardens in London as the rain begins to fall fast and heavy, hearing the delight of my kids’ squeals as we stumble upon a momma bear and her cubs crossing the road just feet from us in Yellowstone.
Perhaps all we can hope for is an accumulation of these magical moments scattered over the years is the ability to access them and replay them in our minds in order to time travel to a chapter in our book titled “happy moments.” Or perhaps these “happy moments” change us. Perhaps we allow them to sink so deep that they create a greater sense of connection to the people we share them with and to the landscapes we behold. What if we allow them to impact our souls to a greater appreciation for life itself and the people placed in it, to shift our perspectives and impact our daily interactions: our gratitude, our words, our connections, our intentions?
I believe, over time, these series of moments—connections and experiences—are healing to the soul. But for now, as I close my eyes to fix my gaze on the beam of sun that casts its morning shadow in my hotel suite, I see a songbird chirping overhead as if to say “good morning.” Indeed, it is. As I breathe in the serenity that surrounds me, she takes off. Her wings are outstretched wide; the sun on her back. Her graceful intuition leads me to believe she’s touched that heavenly realm—cast her eyes on jaw-dropping landscapes and encountered beautiful people—many I’ve yet to experience. Now, on the following pages, you have the opportunity to also escape the daily tasks and solidify your own magical moments in time allowing them to shift your perspective.
Enjoy making happy memories!
Ashley Bowling
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
A lot of helpful information was given in this post; I appreciate it.