Well, it started with a trip to the UAE.
What do you know about Dubai? Probably as much as I did before traveling to this far off place. Did you know that the UAE, a.k.a the United Arab Emirates is historically know for their attachment to camels?
I didn't either.
Now you're probably asking yourself - Why am I sharing this? What does this have to do with wine tours in Napa Valley, right?
Ok, so there I was half way around the world, casually sitting on a beach. I was off on my own that day, Dieter had a full day of work and rather then sitting by the hotel pool again I decided to venture out a bit. It's not easy being by yourself in a foreign country, I had no sense of direction or idea of what was going on, at one point even asking myself- Am I really safe?
I decided to think less that day, stay in the moment and allow myself to be inspired. I took a front row seat, a stone throw from the clearest, most beautiful blue water I had ever seen and just watched the planes go up and down. Skydivers took off, landing one by one, seemed a bit redundant, I wasn't intrigued. Cell service wasn't the best so endlessly scrolling was not an option plus there is always that anxiety you're paying for every MB of data, eek! That said, my data was off, hence social media was too.
Then out of nowhere something happened. I see this enormous, majestic-like creature casually walking towards me. OMG, I thought it was a horse which would have seemed semi-normal compared to what/who was headed my way. It was a camel. We're talking like 4 feet in front of me as if it was part their routine and I was the one in the way, fact was, I WAS.
Yes, I have seen a camel before… in the movies, at the zoo once or twice but this was far superior. This was culture. This was IMMERSIVE!
Here's why it matters…
To have missed out on this completely organic experience would have been a shame, but truth is, I wouldn't have known any better. That's the thing about travel is you don't know what you're missing out on if have never experienced it. Expectations typically fall within what we think we know or should be doing which conveniently tends to leave little room for disappointment.
The point is that I did experience this epic moment. I absolutely believe I was meant to and it is a moment that forever changed my perspective of travel, time and the intrinsic value of immersing completely in an unknown place.
Immersive travel experiences, like so, will leave you with an expanded world view, an alternate way of thinking. It opens up the mind, body and soul to unknown which undoubtedly changed me after spending time in Dubai.
To sum things up.
THIS IS the standard I hold every single laces + limos experience to, every single day. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Curating a culmination of epic, not to be believed, moments throughout the entire day is what it's all about. I want you to feel an illuminated sense of mystery and excitement when you're out with us. To find stillness and peace, forgetting everything to actually feel the magic, embrace the moment and experience pure happiness the entire day. I want you to feel that same energy I felt, sitting alone on a beach in Dubai, not knowing what to except when suddenly, a freaking camel walks by.
You can't make this stuff up, folks. Stories and experiences like these are what make me tick and believe it or not, this is only a snip-it of all of the hundreds of incredibly eye-opening, life changing experiences I've had on this journey. Experiences that inspired me, in one way or another, to create and build laces + limos.