“If travel is like love, it is in the end mostly because it's a heightened state of awareness in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.”
From the Meridian Hotel, Atlanta
What did you do last year? Last month? Or even yesterday? No clue, right? Yet you remember every detail of the time you spend with family and friends out of town.
Lately, we have been trying to plan our Christmas vacation. Embarrassingly enough, our biggest issue (besides budget) is choosing a substitute for Hawaii. Our family has been fortunate, and has returned each year for 13 years.
My husband proudly boasts; “Hawaii is home; I commute to Atlanta for work.”
Our family shares many fond Hawaiian memories. The year of our 25th wedding anniversary my husband surprised me by renewing our vows (a much better idea than mine for family tattoos).
Travel changes you; the people, the places: they all add so much to your life.
My dad loved adventures and some of my best memories are the ones with me on the back of his motorcycle. The next big trip was what he lived for, and the mantra he repeated to anyone that would listen was, “spend a day at home and live another day you won’t remember. Take a trip and you’ll create a memory that last a lifetime!”
My daughter took this quote seriously and inspires us with her travels all around the globe! She has been to over 18 countries; climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, ridden a camel in Petra, camped at Wadi Rum in Jordan under the desert stars, floated in the Dead Sea, slept in a tree house and worked with elephants in South Africa. Her suitcase is always ready; she is on standby for the next flight out.
So pack your bags; if you don't know where to go, I am happy to help. Start writing your love letter and make it a letter everyone would want to read.
Click here to read more about my dad's adventurous life; evidence for his famous quote.