When I was younger, one of my life goals was to fill my passport before it expired. I haven't achieved that yet, but I've come close. Now I have the goal to travel to every continent. I'm currently missing 3: Africa, Antarctica, and Australia.
As a child with my family, we mostly did road trips. I've travelled extensively throughout the United States and have the spoon collection to prove it! We would also travel to Mexico, since my grandparents owned a home on the peninsula. I remember vividly going out to restaurants and digging into lobster that was piled onto the tables. We would always stop for lobster on the way down from California, and Denny's on the way back. I remember the one time the dog, Shango, got diarrhea in the car while we were at Denny's. It was worse than you could imagine. As a young child growing up before they required seatbelts, I insisted on sitting on my grandmothers lap the rest of the way home because I refused to sit on the seats, even after they had been cleaned. I also travelled through Canada with my grandparents via car, mainly around the Great Lakes region. My grandfather was an avid fisherman so their destinations of choice would revolve around that hobby.
As a single person, I craved adventure. I ended up living in Seattle for a time due to my nomadic tendencies. I also lived in Branson, Missouri for a while with a fabulous job. I have always been drawn to international travel, and ended up travelling through the jungles of Ecuador. I went by myself and met up with friends of friends. While there I enjoyed white water rafting, kayaking, (I can roll!), and camping....all done despite my fear of anacondas which I could have done without. I also travelled to Europe for the first time, visiting France, Belgium and Spain. I was fairly fearless and willing to travel by myself, but I preferred travelling with family or friends. I'm glad I took time to travel with my grandma as a single person. I went to Hawaii for the first time with her and also we travelled to South America together. I love the memories I have from those trips. That's something I want to create with my own children...memories, and travelling is a great way to do that!
When I met my husband, one of things that attracted me to him was his sense of adventure, and proven love of travel. It's one thing to say you want to travel, but I didn't trust marrying someone who hadn't done any travelling. I've met many people to say they want to travel but never do, and I really think it has more to do with your priorities than your circumstances. I wasn't going to take that chance. Travelling with my husband has been some of the best times of my life.
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