The joy of newness
And how to find it, even someplace you’ve already been.
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Drinking a Russian River Brewing Pliny the Elder IPA during a Russian River float trip was definitely new.
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On the one hand, I love visiting places I’ve never been. Everything is unexplored, different, new. So much possibility. So much stimulation.
Newness has a special quality. It’s more alive than sameness. More kinetic than repetition.
On the other hand, there are places I love so much that I want to go back.
Repeat destination: Santa Rosa, CA
55 miles north of San Francisco
94 miles west of Sacramento
One of our favorite destinations has long been Santa Rosa, California. We first started going while living in SoCal. We were tent campers then, driving up with friends to visit breweries.
Our first stop was always Moylan’s Brewery in Novato. Then on to the main attraction, Russian River Brewing in downtown Santa Rosa. Eat pizza, fill growlers with Pliny the Elder IPA and camp at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. (Don’t forget your designated driver.)
We went every October for a long weekend, several years running starting in the late ‘00s. Mostly the same itinerary. Mostly the same group.
Then life started happening. The couple who originated the trip had a baby. We moved to Seattle and could no longer easily drive there with our camping gear.
Yet, I still wanted to go. Although, could we really justify flying given we’d been there so many times already?
We could. We did. Because I started looking for ways to make the same destination new again.
3 ways to find newness in a place you’ve already been
1 Vary where you stay
We’d already camped in the Santa Rosa area, so staying in a hotel was new. Try Hotel La Rose for some historic charm and walkability.
But, that newness only went so far. The trip really started to feel fresh again once we started venturing outside of town.
Here are some questions to help you find a new place to stay in a destination you’re revisiting.
Where’s a remote, out-of-the way place to stay?
For us, it was River’s End Restaurant & Inn in Jenner. Just north of where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean on Pacific Coast Highway. Stunning.
We had driven out there on a prior trip, and I was eager to stay for longer than just a day.
What town — or side of town — have I not seen much of?
We’d been to Sebastopol for a bite at HopMonk Tavern, but staying there on a return visit was new.
It gave us time to explore on foot.
We stumbled on a charming farmer’s market. Miniature ponies with rainbow tails and a steaming hot cup of bone broth. What a great find.
Do I have a reason and the means to splurge at a more upscale place than usual?
Not that you need a reason to treat yo’self. You can upgrade your lodgings simply because you want to.
We did on yet another return visit, taking advantage of off-season rates to spend two nights at Solage Resort & Spa in Calistoga. While I had visited the spa once with a friend, I had never stayed. Divine.
2 Do something new
You can still hit your favorite spots — we go back to Russian River Brewing every trip. Just leave time for a little something new. Plan it in advance if you want newness to be a sure thing. I find doing hours of research during my trip takes away from the experience.
What’s an outdoor activity or locale I haven’t experienced?
Maybe it’s a different hiking trail or a different area of a park you’ve been to before. Or, a hot air balloon ride.
For us, it was a 16-mile float trip on the Russian River, with Burke’s Canoe Trips.
After years of going to Russian River Brewing, we were out on the actual river that gave the brewery its name. (We even took a bottle of Pliny. How could we not?)
What’s an indoor activity I haven’t tried yet?
Maybe it’s local theater, or axe throwing. Maybe it’s a brewery you’ve been to before, but this time you sign up for the tour.
We tried something that’s a tradition in Japan but rather rare in the United States: a cedar bath at Osmosis Day Spa & Sanctuary in Freestone, followed by a sound journey in their Zen garden. We never wanted to leave.
What’s a nearby town or destination I’ve never visited that would make a good day trip?
We headed up to Healdsburg one trip to visit the Bear Republic brewpub that used to be in town. Healdsburg is less than 30 minutes north of Santa Rosa, but it has a totally different vibe — more upscale.
3 Change how you get there
You can bet one day we’ll roll into Santa Rosa in Camper Van Beethoven and load her up with Pliny. That’ll be new. So will visiting Russian River Brewing’s newer, second location in Windsor.
There might be a new way to get to where you’re going, too.
Can I take a different vehicle?
Rent a convertible or RV and take the scenic route.
What other travel options do I have?
Hop aboard a train. Fly into a different airport if there’s another nearby and do some sightseeing there.
Newness lights me up
It’s why most of us travel in the first place. It gets us away from our everyday, our chores, our clutter and puts us in a mindset to be open, to explore, to relax, to try new things.
That’s why I always seek newness everywhere I go, even if I’ve been there before.
If you’d like a little newness the next time you revisit a place, try the questions above. Feeling stuck? Ask Google or ChatGPT to surprise you. Tell it where you've been before and ask for three things you've probably never done there.
Or, perhaps you like your trip the way you like it. You want to keep staying in the same place and doing the same things.
That’s great, too.
The point is to get out there and have a good time doing it.
Why not treat yo’self to something new?
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Seems to us that if humans choose to enter a wild animal's home, they should deal with the consequences. Leave the otter alone. Let her and all the otters surf.
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