Fully Inspired and Ready to Explore...Again!
“I love walking in my ancestors’ footsteps!” “Enjoying local food – Dim Sum for lunch in Hong Kong or eating that croissant while strolling along the Champs-Elysées.” “My passion is music! I cannot live without it. I have traveled the world to see my favorite band perform in amazing venues!” These are just a few of the responses I received when I asked my social media followers what inspires them to travel.
While life has been slightly slower over the past year, I have managed to find some time to read. I enjoyed a book about a family in Burgundy, France which was set in both present day and World War II. I have been to this area before but did not appreciate the full historical significance. I did some research about this part of France during the war and naturally, I began planning my next visit. That led me to wonder about what inspired other people to travel and I posed that question to my friends and followers.
History, family, food, people, and new cultures were the most common replies. Our world is an amazing place and many of us like to explore it. We enjoy exploring ancient ruins, gazing upon magnificent architecture, sampling local flavors, and participating in new activities. We enjoy stepping out of everyday lives and experiencing something new and different, visiting family in faraway lands and meandering through places that have seen much more than we have in our short lives.
Items that people collect are often an inspiration for travel. One respondent collects sea glass and discovered a beach in California that is made up completely of glass. Another planned her honeymoon around a beach renowned for its beautiful shells. A group of ladies collect refrigerator magnets. When they travel, they create a list of places represented in their magnets and go somewhere else to find different magnets. I collect fabric and sewing items – did you know that there is a fabric store just outside of the airport in Maui?
Books, television, and social media are another great source of inspiration! One friend shared how she found one of the most wonderful small towns in the mountains of Maryland after seeing it mentioned in a book. Another mentioned that she heard Alex Trebek talk about his trip to the Galapagos Islands on Jeopardy and was intrigued. She grabbed a friend and they booked their trip the next day. Several folks also mentioned being inspired to see places that they have seen on Instagram.
Though the responses were varied I learned that the inspiration to travel is all around us. We find it in every corner of our lives and that no matter what inspires us to travel our lives are enriched by the experience. The past year has certainly built up our urge to travel and I think we are all ready to explore once again.
