Are You Interested in Traveling?
By Thad
I am going to assume that you are somewhat interested in travel. Perhaps you are someone that is willing to travel at the drop of a hat or someone who makes extensive plans well ahead of time for any travel events. You may even be someone who actually does not like to travel, but loves to read about it or travel vicariously through the many travel shows on television.
by Ebyabe via wikimedia commons
I am someone who truly loves to travel. As I have aged, I find that I travel differently than I did a few years ago. There have been times I have driven all night and well into the next day to reach my travel destination. Now I find myself looking forward to the night’s stop as early as eight or nine p.m. and this is after leaving home late in the afternoon.
There are many forms of travel and I have tried most of them. I have never been on a cruise and will probably never go on one. All the recent negative reports about various cruises have really taken that form of travel off my to-do list. Besides that, I get seasick.
Washington, D.C.
I remember once when I was a student at the University of Georgia a friend coming to my dorm room about 8 o’clock in the evening asking me if I want to go with him and some others to Washington, D.C. They would be leaving in the next hour. Even though we had decided to stay in and rest this particular weekend, I grabbed a change of clothes, went to the Varsity to cash a check (yes the Varsity would cash a check back then) and off we went to Washington. I did not get to see anything that weekend since I ended up stuck in a motel room with a case of the three day measles. Even worse, the measles were gone when I got back to Athens and I did not get to miss any classes.
I’ve taken some long driving trips. A trip from Atlanta to Denver and a trip to Montreal via Chicago, Detroit, and Toronto did not faze me a bit. These days a trip to Key West can be a two day event. I guess my dreams of driving an 18-wheeler can now be put aside.
Photo by Darryl Bond; Original uploaded by LJHolden via en.wikimedia commons
Traveling by train has always intrigued me. One of my grandfathers worked for the railroad and we often picked him up from or took him to one of the grand old train stations in Atlanta. I have fond memories of him taking me on a short trip from his home in Eastman, Georgia down the line to another stop where my father waited in a car to bring me back to Eastman.
Our big train adventures took place in Europe. There we rode from Brussels to Amsterdam and later from Paris to the coast of Spain. We then took the train back to Paris for our return trip. I loved the trip even though it was a long one. I will admit I was very glad to get off the train at the end of the trip. Even with the recent accidents on Amtrak, I still want to take a train trip either to New York or to New Orleans from Atlanta.
I guess there are people who love flying, hate flying or have no feelings one way or the other. Me, I really like flying. I’m not very fond of the current lines and safety checks that slow up your way to the actual boarding area. Once you get through that hassle though, I find it a great way to get from point A to point B quickly. Yes we had flights leave late for various reasons, but we have not had a flight cancelled after reaching the airport yet. Knock on wood.
by Eddie S via wikimedia commons
The one method of travel besides a cruise that I am not enthusiastic about is travel by bus. The longest bus trip I have ever taken was when I was around 10 years old and my mother put me on a Greyhound bus headed down to visit my uncle and his family in Columbus, Georgia. My main memory about this trip was the many stops along the way to pick up passengers at these small stations or stops. I don’t know if people still send someone 10 years old alone on a bus trip or not. I know I wouldn’t.
Even though I really would not want to travel by bus, I still find my sons’ travel on the Chinese buses here in the US interesting. And I will admit to considering doing it myself. I also find the concept of the Megabus and their cheap pricing structure very interesting. All that said, do not look for me on a bus any time soon.
Well those are some of my thoughts about travel. I guess when it comes right down to it, if given the opportunity to hit the road on a moment’s notice, I would still jump at the chance.
Next: Nashville Cats or a Trip to Nashville