Free-Birding in Italy’s Dolomites
There are trips that entertain, and then there are trips that awaken something deeper. Returning from my recent adventure through the Italian Dolomites, I feel lit up from the inside out— grateful, grounded, and more open than ever. It wasn’t just the breathtaking views or the alpine air that shifted something in me… it was the people, the perspective, and the power of saying yes. To me, life is all about seeing new things, experiencing new adventure, and meeting new people… this trip checked all those boxes!
As I’m a newly empty nester, or free-birder as many have began categorizing those of us whose kids have left home, I told myself that this year I would say, “Yes.” I decided that if I was invited on a trip or an event that sounded interesting, I would enthusiastically agree to join along. So when this very random trip essentially “fell in my lap” earlier this summer, I couldn’t go against what I’d proclaimed.
When I say random, I mean random… the Backroads trip consisted of 13 women from the Bay Area, plus my friend who invited me and me. My friend was invited by two of her college friends who live in San Francisco and knew the organizer. I imagined that this would be a group of women who were all friends and that I would be the outsider. However that could not have been further from the truth…
Yes, these women all had a connection via kids or neighborhood; but they were not besties. Everyone was completely open to meeting new people, no one was close-minded, and everyone bonded in a strange yet beautiful way.
In a world that has become so polarized in so many different ways, it was beyond enlightening to feel nothing but a sense of camaraderie and a shared sense of adventure. Our days were spent climbing the Dolomites with breaks at the most adorable Rifugis (huts on the mountain) while chatting about everything under the sun. Each day brought a different route and several different climbing partners. I quickly realized that there was no one I didn’t want to walk alongside.
Our Backroads leaders guided us and encouraged us gently… oftentimes sharing their knowledge of the area, the complicated history, Alpine cuisine. I learned a tremendous amount about so many things, and about myself. For someone who wasn’t overly enthusiastic about what I was “getting myself into,” I couldn’t have been happier. I left with a renewed sense of admiration for those of us who are brave enough to say “yes” to an unknown and unfamiliar adventure. There is so much beauty to be found in trying new things and stepping outside your very comfortable zone.
This wasn’t just a hike through the mountains— it was a walk into a new season of life, and a reminder that connection, courage, and curiosity are always worth packing. To my fellow Free-Birders out there: say yes to the next thing that excites you, unnerves you, stretches you. It just might lead you somewhere unforgettable.
