There are mountains upon glaciers of travel tips for folks looking to have an adventure. Traveling tips for adventures on a budget, adrenaline junkies looking for that next rush of life, Instagram-worthy sights, or foodies scouring the world’s menus for the best dish they’ve ever tasted. There’s an abundance of quirky travel paths one can set forth on.
But, just as there are many travel tips, there’s also a spectrum to travel itself. So, where do the people in between those traveling experiences land on the vast scale of adventure? What about the people who want to take things slow, enjoy a cup of coffee, and find a hidden local gem? You’ve come to the right place if you found yourself nodding in tamed excitement to that last sentence.
Ah, yes, that’s where dawdling comes strolling onto the stage of quirky travel, taking its time, of course, and is ready to show you the whimsy and cozy ways of dawdling. Grab yourself a tasty drink of choice and get ready for some exploration explanation.
daw·dle
/ˈdôd(ə)l,ˈdäd(ə)l/
verb
waste time; be slow.
move slowly and idly.
What Is Dawdling?
As the handy definition above shows, Dawdle is to move at a slower pace than those around you. I also like to think that when one dawdles, they are more likely to be in the moment and appreciate little things around them that someone in a different mode of travel may have easily missed. Of course, there isn’t a ‘wrong way‘ to travel whatsoever. It just depends on your preferences!
My husband and I coined the term ‘Dawdlers‘ when we first got together after discovering through late-night summer walk talks that we were both kids who lived in the clouds and dawdled about. So, the self-appointed nickname was sprung to life, and we dubbed ourselves The Dawdlers.
But what is dawdling, and what does it have to do with traveling tips and being on Lake Superior?
Although my husband Matt and I loved the name, Dawdlers, it wasn’t just the name that became a big part of our lives. We also seamlessly and subconsciously incorporated it into our love for quirky travel together and making memories.
We’re both more on the slow-pace side of enjoyment; it’s the little things for us, so as strange as it may sound, the concept of dawdling came about so naturally that we didn’t realize we had formed something together until our family and friends brought it up to us with smiling faces and curious eyes.
So, if I had to give my definition of what dawdling is on a quirky travel terms basis, I would say this:
Dawdling is adventering without expectations and experiencing your surroundings in a local perspective. It’s more so the little things that are valuable rather than ‘big ticket’ items.
We’re grateful for the dawdling adventures we’ve had together and the ones we haven’t experienced yet. Many of our favorite adventures together took place on Lake Superior; in fact, that’s where our first out-of-town adventure took place! We love dawdling about on Lake Superior because there are so many beautiful towns close together, you can hop from place to place, coffee shop to coffee shop, and stroll through the downtown areas with a sparkle in your eyes and happiness fluttering in your stomach.
You never know what you’ll encounter on a dawdling adventure! To prove that point, on several occasions, when my husband and I went on a day trip to a town, we accidentally came on a weekend when a big event was happening, and we got to be a part of it!
Once, it was Lumberjack Days in Stillwater, MN, and another time, it was SunDrop Dayz in Shawano, WI, where Sundrop was created and is still manufactured today!
Coming upon big events like this doesn’t happen every time we explore a town we haven’t been to before, but it’s choosing to take a trip to that town and experiencing it with an open mind that genuinely makes ‘have a day trip‘ into ‘have an adventure‘.
But let’s take a deeper dive into this form of quirky travel and truly understand what it is by looking at the Dawdling Essentials to have an adventure you’ll cherish for years to come.
Dawdling Essentials
There are essentials that you pack when you’re going to have an adventure or specific traveling tips you keep close to your wanderlust heart, and now there are a few Dawdling Essentials you can carry along with you if you find them groovy for your lifestyle!
Everyone has different things they like to experience when they travel, such as boundaries or preferences, so please keep that in mind as I list the Dawlding Essentials from my perspective. They are versatile and entirely open for tweaks with whatever works best for you and your quirky travel!
- No Expectations: This is an excellent tool for any time you have an adventure, especially a dawdling one! If you go into a day without preconceived ideas or expectations, you’re more likely to be open to the experiences that come your way and to appreciate them even more deeply because you weren’t expecting them. For example, we recently went on a day trip to a town we both hadn’t been to before (I picked a city within an hour’s distance of where we live, put it in the GPS, and surprised Matt with where our day destination was) and I truthfully didn’t know what to expect. I was completely surprised by how bustling and cute their downtown was! We had a wonderful dinner there and got to dawdle through their shops and parks. Going into that experience without expectations made it perfect because I wasn’t disappointed by my own expectations at the end of the day.
- Have a Starting Point: Every dawdle should begin with a starting point, and then you can dawdle from there! This helps give a little structure to your dawdle but also allows for the freedom to, you know, dawdle! We usually pick a local coffee shop as our starting point; it sets the vibe for the rest of your quirky travel adventure, and you can get a good feel for where you are. Plus, you’ve got your drink of choice to fuel the rest of your trip, and you’re supporting a local coffee shop. It’s a win-win!
- Experience Local: Speaking of local coffee shops, experiencing local is the central pillar of what makes a dawdling adventure. Something special is engrained in a local establishment/event you can’t feel from a chain shop/restaurant. There’s a one-of-a-kind charm when you step into a local bookstore or when you order the local’s favorite dish at a restaurant that’s been in that township for generations. By choosing to experience local, you’re part of that local establishment’s history and future. Support local wherever you go!
- Pack Lunch/Snacks: We love a good road trip snack; I especially love baking something specifically for a trip! But this comes in handy when traveling on a budget or wanting access to snacks/food whenever you’d like. Some of my favorite dawdling memories with my husband are packing a lunch, getting to our destination, and finding a cute park or beach to lay down a blanket and have an impromptu picnic. Utilizing these travel tips can also help you feel less guilty about going out for dinner during your dawdle if you are traveling on a budget. Having a picnic together is pretty hygge as well!
- Romanticize/Appreciate: Along with experiencing local and no expectations, this may be one of the most critical Dawdling Essentials, which is to romanticize your experience and appreciate the surroundings you are traveling in. Your state of mind contributes SO MUCH to the experience you’re going to endure, so if you’re thinking something like, ‘This place is so cute, it’s like I’m in a movie!‘ versus something along the lines of, ‘My feet hurt and we should have stayed home’, you may find that you’re creating a beautiful memory and elevating your dawdling experience. Appreciating the ‘little things‘ during your adventure is essential too! You don’t have to confide your dawdle to the sidewalks of downtown. Try checking out their local parks, libraries, walking trails, and other goodies that are not only free but offer a space to craft your own moments and experiences. Your adventure is what you make it, so I urge you to go into it with an open mind and a thankful heart.
I know there are millions of traveling tips, but I hope these Dawdling Essentials make it onto your Travel Tips Essentials List!
Everyone deserves a wholesome, quirky travel experience; it’s also an excellent reset for when life is becoming overwhelming. Sometimes, when either of us, or both of us, are feeling burnt out, we carve out time to go on a little dawdle together, and it’s always the perfect medicine. And those dawdles don’t have to be out of town necessarily; we’ve taken plenty of dawdling afternoons in our own downtown area! You can have an adventure in your own backyard as long as you’re open to it.
Now that we’ve covered the Dawdling Essentials, let’s mosey on to how to start dawdling yourself!
How Do You Dawdle?
With the Dawdling Essentials in mind and a lighthearted spirit intact, you’re well on your way to having yourself a good old-fashioned dawdle! But let’s break it down so you can have a confident start on your dawdling experience.
Whether you’re going on a dawdle with your partner, a pal, mom, or pet, the best way to start is by picking a destination. This will help you determine if this is a day trip sort of adventure or a weekend experience.
Next up, decide on your starting point! As I mentioned, we usually pick a local coffee shop as our starting point because they are typically around other shops and walking paths we can dawdle on after getting our drinks. But your starting point could be anything from a bookstore to a hike! I know it can be a little nerve-wracking to some to have an adventure without a set plan, but you can think of it as a loose ability to create your own adventure. Like those classic choose-your-own-adventure books!
Lastly, my favorite of the travel tips I’ve brought up is to go into your trip with an open mind and be in the moment. It’s in those moments of appreciation and unexpectedness that our experiences are defined. It’s the moments we remember the most. The greatness about dawdling is that it’s already embedded within the activity, and you’re more likely to live in the moment rather than by an itinerary.
Don’t get me wrong—I love an itinerary when it’s in a group setting. But when you’re on a partner/solo dawdle, leave the itineraries in their draft setting and explore the great possibilities that only come when you’re dawdling about!
Can You Dawdle Alone?
Can you dawdle alone? Absolutely! All of the Dawdling Essentials apply whether you’re on a solo dawdle or have a travel buddy.
I encourage you to romanticize your adventure and be open to the doors of quirky travel experiences that appear in front of you. When you set your mind in a no-expectations zone and choose to have an adventure, you never know what kind of memories are in store. Isn’t that exciting?!
Thank you for reading about the dawdling experience; I hope these travel tips serve you well the next time you choose to have an adventure.
Please share your travel tips and adventures with us on our Loving Life On Lake Superior Facebook group; we’d love to see you there and on our On Lake Superior Facebook page! I look forward to seeing your dawdling adventures and travel tips there. Until next time, enjoy yourselves and the beauty on Lake Superior!
