a little cameo

After a long time humming and harring about what to do for my birthday, I finally booked an adventure.

You see, ever since I spent my 25th birthday straddling the equator in Ecuador, I have vowed to go away and do something exciting for my birthday. I used to expect others to make my birthday special for me, but after adopting this new philosophy I found that the only person my birthday is special for is me, and that it’s up to me to drive the celebrations.

So my birthdays have involved parasailing on the Gold Coast in Australia, kiteboarding in the Philippines, cycling around Rottnest Island in Western Australia, climbing the Sydney Harbour bridge, visiting Angkor Wat in Cambodia and swinging in a hammock in Puerto Escondido in Mexico. Sometimes these trips have been alone, and some have been with friends or family, but they all involved me taking responsibility for enjoying myself on my birthday without the need for birthday wishes or gifts.

I had been looking at stacks of Grand Canyon rafting tour websites, trying to find the best deal and best adventure. I would have loved to do a week-long trip but my travel budget couldn’t quite extend that far, so I settled on a shorter 3 day trip. I was worried that I wasn’t going to find one that would have availability over my birthday in a week and a half’s time because these trips are usually booked way in advance, but the first company I called, Arizona River Runners, had an opening and they were super nice on the phone.

So now I’m booked on a tour that includes a flight to the canyon rim, a ranch stay, a helicopter flight to the canyon floor, a whitewater rafting and camping trip and a jet boat across Lake Mead. I’m pretty darn excited.