By Chandler Inions

SALISBURY — A desire for adventure rests in everyone. To ensure that area residents aiming to quench that thirst for travel had the means to make it happen, Rowan Public Library hosted Go on an Adventure 2025 this past Saturday.

A long line filed out of the back of the library, as eager aspiring adventurers sought to renew, or get for the first time, a passport. The process was facilitated through a partnership with the library and the Rowan County Register of Deeds in an effort to make the resources more accessible to those working regular weekday schedules.

“The register of deeds reached out to us,” said Lyndsey Maloney, the adult services supervisor for Rowan Public Library. “It was a goal to meet the community where they were. Most folks cannot go to the Register of Deeds during 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday through Friday.”

As Maloney explained the event proved successful, with about 120 people coming in on Saturday, translating to 56 new passports made.

One of those people was Dawn Jackson, a local warehouse worker, who after recently losing her passport in California, decided she was ready for a vacation abroad. Jackson has her eyes set on London.

“I just love the way they talk,” she said.

Jackson likes the idea of taking in a different place and its people but the fact that they speak English in London appealed to her, especially since she plans to travel alone.

“I want to try different cultures but I want to try places that speak English,” Jackson said. “I might be a little more comfortable that way since I don’t know anybody there. I don’t know the customs.”

Jackson visited London once before and she has fond memories from that trip.

“I love food,” she said. “The fish and chips, I only had it once, but it’s like the biggest best piece of fish I ever had.”

Jackson does not remember where she got the classic English entree, but she knows it was close to Hyde Park.

“I rented a hostel for a little bit,” she said. “I got off the train and was a little hungry.”

Jackson explained that hostels are a great way to save money and meet new people when you are traveling by yourself.

On her last trip, it was not just the food and the lodgings that she enjoyed.

“The different currency is cool, especially trying to figure out how that works,” she said.

Jackson acknowledged that the last time she went, she was not in as good a place mentally as she is now, adding that she “wants to try to see it from a different perspective” this time around.

Jackson was born in Philadelphia but came to the Piedmont off and on when she was younger, primarily to Charlotte.

“As an adult, late 30s, we finally moved down here,” she said.

She’s settled into a place here in Salisbury. She’s happy but she knows there is a big world out there and she wants to see it.

“I want to go to beaches wherever I can,” Jackson said. “I want to go to Scotland and Ireland, maybe take a train to France if I can. I want to use my passport.”

In preparation of those plans, Jackson was making some copies of her personal documents so that she could update her passport, when someone mentioned to her about the event and handed her a pamphlet with the important details.

The man who worked there showed me a little pamphlet,” Jackson said. “I saw that and thought, ‘cool.’”

She’s glad that she did and is now one step closer to her next adventure.

Maloney mentioned that stories like Jackson’s are why the library wants to assist in making county resources more available through partnerships and events.

“We have such a wide variety of county departments that have their own skills and resources,” Maloney said. “We would love to work with them to provide access to the community.”