By John Jarvis

Indomitable Hughes Marino Mini Goalers!

I saw some fantastic photos of the open road as we all kept our word and got in the car to take a road trip in September. It is easy to take for granted all of our modern luxuries—the smooth riding, beautiful cars with air conditioning, car stereos, sunroofs and GPS! And the miles and miles of smooth roads that can take us anywhere and everywhere we want to go. I’m just saying, a road trip likely wasn’t as cool in the days of covered wagons.

I took a trip up to Northern California and enjoyed a hike to the very top of Mount Diablo. Madi Wooters coasted up the highway with her boyfriend to take in the sights of Big Sur.

Briana Waris and her boyfriend hit the open road and headed east towards the desert to Phoenix and Laura Wood and her best friend explored the beautiful Pacific Northwest and took a road trip up to Vancouver, BC.

And now the pendulum swings back and we have to get out of our cars and away from our comfortable technology, because our October mini goal is to…

Take a long walk.

That’s right. A long walk, whatever that means to you. Some of our Hughes Marino team members can be, at times, a tad competitive (you know who you are!) and that’s totally OK. We will get to see what “long” means to them.

Or “long” can be interpreted as the passage of time, not miles, and your long walk could be a slow, comfortable stroll down a beautiful stretch of beach surrounded by the sound of breaking waves and the wind in your face.

Or you can choose to head into the hills with the sound of the wind in the trees. Is it just me, or is that the coolest sound there is—like a million pine needles crashing into each other as the branches sway and creak. It is a mountain sound, the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

Yeah, I think I am headed up to the mountains for my long walk, but that’s just me.

It is your choice. Head to the hills, or to the beach, or just head out your front door. It is always your choice.

In fact, you even get to choose whether you take a long walk at all!

Except that you said you would, remember?

Wear sunscreen. Enjoy the journey. And as always, send your photos to minigoals@hughesmarino.com and remember to tag your Instagram photos with #hmminigoals. We look forward to seeing where your journey leads you!