As I was traveling back to Florida from Illinois, I was already planning my next adventures (notice the "s"). My feet were not even on the ground yet, and I was ready to start again. Why is it so important to me to travel? Why are there tugs heading me to continue to move and see and do?
I have traveled before. Quite a bit, but it was confined to short weekend trips around my home state, and then the one or two week or sometimes three week excursion once or twice a year far from home. Now, though, it could be all the time, every day. And I must admit, I'm giving it the old college try!
In the beginning, while I was working that 9 to 5 +, five day + a week job, travel was so important so I could disconnect from the woes of everyday life. Even a simple two day get away made me feel as if I had been gone forever and I came back renewed, re-energized. Then, I needed to disconnect, to clear my mind, to forget about the daily or weekly problems that needed to be solved.
The longer vacations introduced me to different places, see different people, and sometimes helped me understand other people's customs and rituals.
I was 8 years old when we took our first vacation (that I remember) to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. It was a fun time at the beach. A few years later my grandmother took me on my first plane ride to New York City. Now that was different for this small town girl. There were tall buildings and more people gathered together than what I could have ever imagined. I saw landmarks I had read about. And I was hooked. I wanted to fly around the world and see everything I could. But, I was in fifth grade. My desires would have to wait. We did go to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, and that was cool because I saw what the inside of earth looks like. But I wanted to fly. When I was young, my traveling was done by car, not ships or planes, not even a train (although we would take many short day trips by train.)
Now, everything is different. I have the time, and I realize I don't need a lot of money to travel. So, I am. When I was growing up and a young lady, travel outside the United States was done with tours -- few brave souls traveled outside of tours, and for a young lady to go alone -- that was not even thought of. (I thought of it, but never had the knowledge on how to do it alone -- thank you technology.) Now, many, many people are doing it. And me? Me, too, I'm doing it. I have no qualms about traveling alone across our United States, and this past year I have traveled enough with people outside of the United States that I have few doubts that I can travel alone outside of America. Even when I am 60 something. I am healthy and strong; that is all that counts.
I expect to find what I have found before. We are all the same, we all want the same -- to connect with another to enjoy an experience. I found before that people are basically nice, and I have to admit, some of the people in foreign lands are sometimes nicer than the people in my land. Let me explain that a bit further. We are nice here, too, it's just that people in America are too busy to enjoy life, to stop for a moment and smell the roses. In other countries I have visited, people are actually helpful about me getting to know their country. They stop and smile.
What has this taught me? To help someone out who is not familiar with my country. I have learned by the kindness of the people of the world.
I want to think that I put the travel bug in some of my nieces and nephews. A couple of them have done pretty good with their travels. And after one of my grandchildren graduate college, I am taking her to Europe -- her choice. I hope to instill that same travel bug in her.
What I hope to give to the people who come behind me is to travel and to see the world a bit different from being strictly from America. There is so much to learn from the world. Of course, there is history, and I love history, but it's eating a pastry outdoors in Canterbury, England, which is inside the walled fortress of yesteryear, or looking at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris and realizing how small this painting is compared to the enormity of its significance, or riding through the Alps in Switzerland to catch a glimpse of a chimney sweeper in the early morning hours. It is stopping to have a conversation with a person and find out that their expectations of safety and comfort are the same as mine. And it is also finding out that many rooms in Europe do not have the on-all-the-time air conditioning that we are used to here, and you know what, it's not that bad. (But then again, I did not grow up with air conditioning, we had fans.)
And sometimes travel will give you a purpose. One of my nephews (a time ago) did not know what to do once he graduated college, so he headed to Europe (with little to know money) and worked his way around for a year. He had fascinating jobs, met interesting people, and after a year of traveling, he found a purpose.
That is part of life, too. Finding a purpose -- maybe to give to another, help another, do something different with your own life.
And in the end. I found out that there is no place like home. I love to go, and I love to come home. To my bed, my pillow, my friends, my way of life. I love to go, and I love to come home. That is the best of both worlds.
Until Wednesday...have a good one.
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