Travel and Travel Memories

Travel is educational and mind expanding. Especially meaningful is travel to other countries where one encounters different languages, cultures, foods, and country patriotism. To some, it might seem strange that I might think of a three week trip to Europe as being several months of travel. The preparation for travel, the actual travel, then the recounting and memories of the travel are all part of the experience. Of course, the fact that I am getting older, am retired, and have more time for such things does factor into all of this.

First the planning. After making a decision to travel, the next step is to decide where we will go. Then, there is the deciding on the method of travel and how we are going to pay for it. From there, we compile maps, books and brochures, especially about language, lodging, and customs. In this era of the internet, it is quite easy to correspond and get information from hotels and other establishments in Europe and around the world. So I do a lot of that. In the period of planning for our last trip, wife, Sandy, and I spent several months of "travel time" just reading about, thinking about, and viewing videos of the places we would be visiting.

Then, there is the actual travel. This part of the travel experience can be quite enjoyable, but it has it's stresses along the way. For example, purchasing clothing, luggage, airline tickets, and Eurail passes takes some time and effort and doesn't go smoothly. Then, there are sometimes misunderstandings at hotels, museums, and restaurants due to language/cultural differences. But, for the most part, things go smoothly and we see new places, savor good food, and learn the history and customs of other people and countries. Basically, people are the same worldwide, with similar aspirations and hopes for the future. I believe that travel and interacting with others in their home environments is among the most rewarding experiences of my life.

Thirdly, there are the memories of the travel. Normally, I keep a daily diary of events, in addition to taking many photos. As soon as I get home, I type all of my diary notes and save them in a word document on the computer. Sandy and I took several hundred digital photos on our last trip to Europe and we have saved these on our computer(s). Then, I copied most of these digital photos onto a CD that we can view on our DVD player.

Memories and reminisces from an arm chair are also quite enjoyable.