''Olly, what was your favourite holiday?''
I stare my captor down, full of defiance.
But they have a gun to my head and I have a very difficult decision to make…
A Difficult Decision
When you have traveled a fair bit, it’s bloody difficult to single out one place as your definitive favourite. When people casually ask me this question, I often wonder if they appreciate the mental trial they have just sentenced me to. It’s as if my brain is a pinball machine and they have just fired in five balls simultaneously. Its mayhem in there; a cacophony of noise and dizzying array of images that temporarily consumes my mind.
OK, it’s not that stressful. It actually makes me feel very fulfilled and privileged, as I reminiscence on so many great memories. However, selecting a definitive favourite is tough in a ‘middle-class-problems’ sense. It’s like inviting a young child to browse the pick-n-mix and fill up the largest bag, only to afterwards reveal they can only spend 50p. That’s absolutely heartless. Thanks Mum. My only other comparable experience of being so riddled with uncertainty would be when Professor Oak warned me I could only choose one of three starter Pokémon when I had just turned 10 years old.
I’ve probably left you high and dry for long enough. You might already have scrolled down to avoid my ramblings up to this point in order to find out what my choice was. If you did, I’m kind of upset, but I’ll get over it. Well, drum-roll please, my favourite place is…
Yosemite National Park, California*
*choice subject to change due to common whimsical, fickle or otherwise short-sighted changes of heart. I am, after all, only human. I am 23 years old, and in spite of flinging myself far and wide, have so much more still to discover.
Huh? You already guessed from the photo slideshow? Oh well.
The Allure of Nature
I decided against selecting one of the many headline cities I had visited. I’ve explored London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Beijing, Las Vegas and San Francisco. I’ve seen handfuls of man-made wonders. Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the Camp Nou, the Coliseum, the Great Wall of China, the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, the Golden Gate Bridge. I thoroughly enjoyed myself exploring these cities. On each occasion, it’s like knocking back a jagerbomb and cheering ‘’let’s get on it!’’*
*please drink responsibly.
I’ve opted for an experience which is more centred on relaxation, peace of mind. Following hot on the heels of my previous analogy, I would describe this experience as the satisfaction of enacting a much anticipated moment to unwind: cracking a cold beer at the end of a long, tiring day. Crucially, this experience can still be inspiring.
At the heart of my decision lies my love for exploring nature, revelling in its beauty and rising to its challenges. Here’s a few words that get me really excited. Mountains. Waterfalls. Bears. Valleys. Forests. Bears. Here’s a few activities that get me really excited. Hiking. Cycling. Climbing. Kayaking. Snowboarding. Sledging. Bear Tracking.
I think that of all the places I have been, Yosemite had the most profound affect upon me. I was awed by its majestic beauty, by its silent confidence, by its transparency and honesty. I felt liberated by nature, free from the invisible shackles of modern technology. Yosemite is my queen and upon her I bestow a peasant’s crown. I felt completely at peace whilst I was with her, disarmed of any suspicion, fear or disapproval. Oh, and there are bears in Yosemite.
Whenever my mum goes on holiday, she always claims in the moment that she would ‘’love to live here’’, before admitting afterwards that sentiment was most likely a fleeting fancy. I feel that way when I travel too. With Yosemite, it felt different. I genuinely felt I could live there for a long period of time. If Yosemite sweetened the deal, offered me a PS4 and the installation of a flat packed football stadium and English pub (usually sold separately), I would be very tempted. But seriously, you often feel a vacation is nice but you wouldn’t want to spend say more than a week longer away. With Yosemite, I could happily have stayed a couple of months.
In fact, I was so inspired by Yosemite that I have dreamed up an ambitious goal to visit every national park within the US. There are currently 59 to tick off the list (I’m at an impressive 2 down, 57 to go), spread across 27 states. I started with Yosemite in California, then dipped my toes in the Grand Canyon in Arizona en route to Texas.
Yosemite is absolutely enchanting. For a few fleeting days I forgot about my tablet, my phone and social media entirely. The breath-taking beauty and serenity of nature had seized my attention and as I plunged in, there was no end in sight. I rambled along trails through shaded forests, emerging into a grove of giant sequoia trees in a scene reminiscent of when intrepid explorers ventured into Jurassic Park. I wound my way up hills with the sun warming my back and the songs of birds to encourage me, to discover at last I had reached the pinnacle. My reward was a sweeping view of the valley below my feet, with sheer granite cliffs rising up from the forests below.
Have I succeeded in wetting your appetite for adventure? Yes, I agree, now we are cooking on wood. Well pop the kettle on and I’ll take for a trip down memory lane.
Next Up:
'My Yosemite Adventure: To Bear or Not to Bear'
Read Here