Timeless Touring

Dear ones:

Two words: curious penguins. 

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, most museums, aquariums, zoos and national parks closed in efforts to prevent the spread of the virus… and the animals who call these places home got to explore them like never before… for their entertainment, and ours! Curious animals were benefiting from the enrichment humans weren’t able to enjoy in person at that time, taking field trips with adorable results.  

Even though we’re past the seasons of quarantine and stay-at-home orders that cut off most humans from getting out to enjoy natural, cultural and educational spaces, we can still enjoy the fact that so many of these spaces created virtual options for enjoying them from home. And when we wish that self-care could include traveling to new places for some educational, entertaining, breathtaking or fun distractions, these virtual “tours” can be a resource for low-cost adventuring. 

For those of you who are nature lovers, you and your family can enjoy the beauty of many National Parks courtesy of the National Parks Foundation, including interactive games and the opportunity to become a Junior Ranger online! You can even listen to the sounds of the parks as the backdrop to your meditation time… or just for the fun of it. 

For the animal lovers out there, zoos and aquariums around the country set up livestreams and virtual tours of the animals in their care during the pandemic. The San Diego Zoo is one of many that has live webcams so the public can enjoy watching the animals in their habitats from afar, and a number of them have fun activities that can also be done from home.  

But nature and animals aren’t the only options for virtual touring self-care! Museums, theme parks and other field-trip-worthy venues also created virtual tours and interactive opportunities for folx staying home. And you can still find virtual tours of the world’s most famous landmarks, and inspirational Unesco World Heritage sites from around the world. 

Sometimes taking a break from our daily surroundings is necessary for self-care. And for those of us who love travel, or history, or animals, or national parks, we don’t need to forfeit adventure during seasons when we aren’t able to travel! Thankfully, we live in an era when technology makes it possible for us to “travel” and “tour” these favorite places (and some we might never have gotten to see otherwise!) without needing to move from our couch. Which, I guess, is the next best thing. 

So in the name of self-care, take a break today to take a trip, take a tour, take a travel (yes, travel is now a noun!), and treat yourself to some virtual history, art, nature, wildlife, landmarks, theme parks, scenery, adventure, and curious penguins! 

Peace, 

Glynn