Pack Your Bags...It's Time to Go

Hoping you all are staying safe and keeping your distance…for now.

In the midst of Covid, the one thing that I miss more than anything is traveling. As a Sagittarius, I have a strong desire for thrilling escapades, a need to explore and a hunger for learning. Travel fulfills me, it makes me excited, it rejuvenates me.

Are you looking forward to getting back out into the world?

What excites you about traveling?

Traveling challenges me. It gets me out of my comfort zone and exposes me to new places, people and experiences. I’ve been to some remote places in the world where English was definitely not the language of choice. In order to survive, I had to adapt and immerse myself into the language and the culture.

Traveling teaches me. Seeing the world enriches the mind far beyond what we could learn in a textbook. I remember, so vividly, the day that I stepped into Djemaaa el-Fna, Marrakesh’s largest market. The smell was the most phenomenal mixture of spices and fruit. The sound was something I’ve never heard before – commotion, laughter, bartering, music – if “joy” could have a distinct sound, it would be that.

Traveling opens the mind. I've realized that there are people that live differently than I do and there is no one way to live life. Traveling shows me that different people view the world differently, and that’s ok. I know traveling has made me more accepting of people, their cultures and their ways of life. And I get to learn from them and have embedded a little bit of their culture into my life.

Traveling connects me. Whether I am spending times with friends on a hiking trip or watching F1 with my husband, spending quality time, away from electronics and the hustle and bustle of everyday life, connects me to the people in my life. Traveling also allows me the opportunity to make new friends. I love chatting with people at a pub or striking up a conversation on a chair lift, the whole idea to meet new people excites me.

Traveling helps me escape. Whether it’s been a stressful project at my job, terrible Michigan weather or the loss of a loved one, traveling has allowed me to escape and seek relief from the stress. Even in the vacations when I have too much to see and do and come back thinking I need a vacation from my vacation, it is still rejuvenating as it puts my life, my troubles and my stress into perspective. It allows me a break from the daily grind to focus on something completely new.

So today, I challenge you to make those plans. We may be quarantined now, but that is'nt going to last forever. There is no better time to do some research, planning and making those reservations. I know Covid hasn’t been easy for those, like me, that need adventure and travel in their lives. But, we will be back on the road soon and when we meet in the remote locations of the world....make sure to say hey. Now enjoy my favorite poem....

The Road Not Taken

By: Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.