While we absolutely LOOOOOOVE New Hampshire, we knew that our biggest downside would be leaving our family and our friends. I’ve talked about this before and we weren’t wrong. But, what does one do when you are new to an area, have no kids in sports/extracurricular activities and most of the people you work with live 30min+ out of town? Well…….You figure it out—-THAT is part of the adventure.

This part of the adventure is not my favorite part—-I don’t care for small talk and putting yourself out there is vulnerable and HARD. BUT, as humans, we are social creatures and as much as I like to be a homebody, I realize the importance of socialization so………..we’re doing it. We are working on making FRANDZZZZ dang it!

Hubby has the AA community and as he plugs into meetings, he meets more people which opens up all kinds of local knowledge, activities and budding friendships. We joined a dinner cruise last week and it was fun meeting some new folks, putting names with faces as well as enjoying some yummy food and scenery of the lake at night. (Word on the street is Steven Tyler from Aerosmith has a house on the lake and frequently shops and greets at the local grocery store. I’ll be on the lookout.)

We are also making new connections at Church; our neighbors go to the same church as well as some of the folks Hubby has met. One of the gals I have met a few times at church was through a Facebook group which is another way to meet people now—-weird, but nice to see social media used for good stuff.

Another Facebook group—a women’s hiking group—introduced me to a traveling nurse. Our hiking plans were rained out so we met for coffee and chatted for a couple of hours and will try again for a hike this week. Another social media intro. What a time we are living in.

Bandit also has a few new friends. We’ve found a boarding/doggie day care spot near our condo and he’s been a few times now—-when you no longer have kids available to pet sit, you resort to other means. He plays, I get photo updates and when I pick him up he eats dinner and crashes—I’d say it’s a success so far.

I also ventured out to a new trail with Bandit and my AllTrails app. It was a good test. I did get off trail—there are a lot of trails connected to the one I was on so it happened easily, BUT, I managed to figure it out and navigated us back on trail. A great experiment and a beautiful day for a new spot to adventure in.

As challenging as it is, it is worth it. Exploring new areas, meeting new people, all part of the adventure. If we don’t step out of our comfort zone, how do we ever get anywhere?

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, I’m saying it’s going to be worth it.” Anonymous

Until next time, peace!