It’s no secret that the best days spent are outdoors and traveling.

More often than not, the best day inside, anywhere, is still less enjoyable than a not-so-great day outside. And that’s why we at Grand Trunk exist: to aid in the grand adventures of life.

When we think of adventure, it’s generally on a grand scale. Most of us in the workforce get two weeks of vacation. Two weeks! That’s not a whole lot of time, but what really matters is how we choose to use those vacation days.

If you want to take advantage of the power of travel this year and every year, here are a few ways to make that happen.

Pick a destination, and focus on it

Without a goal destination in mind you’re just working towards an abstract idea of "travel."

Image of a road map

Pick a destination, find a photo, and hang that photo everywhere to remind yourself what you’re working towards. And then, as soon as possible, put time on the calendar to go there.

Budget throughout the year

Two weeks before a trip isn’t the time to start saving your pennies and working overtime to pay for this trip. Set aside a fund to help pay for travel, accommodations, food, and activities while you’re on vacation.

Now those are just a couple of ideas to get you thinking about making some big travel happen. But what if you can’t feasibly drop $1,000, or more, on an airplane ticket to go to somewhere overseas? Having two weeks of vacation can give you the opportunity to go on a ton of micro adventures throughout the year.

Take small trips, often

By taking a lot of small trips, you can see more of the country that’s near you. Holiday weekends become your friend because you can turn a three or 4 day weekend into a five or six day weekend by using a couple of your vacation days here and there.

Inside of a car, looking down the road

Whether you want to go on a small adventure or a big one, your priorities have to remain the same; travel. A lot of what you do while you’re not traveling will determine how much travel you can do in the future. For instance, those drinks at a bar can add up to a tank of gas for some rad climbing trip with your friends. And those meals out could add up to a plane ticket to the country you’ve always wanted to visit.

Priorities, that’s what travel comes down to. The amount of vacation days doesn’t matter because we all know that you can do a lot with a little. But making the conscious effort to prioritize your preference of travel will always be the determining factor as to where you get to go and get to experience.

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Austin Wilson