The Travel Bug

“Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.”   Michael Palin

I'm beginning this blog with the hope of sharing with you the amazing adventures we experience. I know what it's like to live vicariously through the experiences of others. Just reading trip reviews and travel advice can brighten my day.  For me, planning a trip is nearly as much fun as taking it. We usually ponder our next trip before we're even back from the current one. Even our misadventures produce fond memories. We've yet to experience a trip that wasn't well worth the cost and the effort. I've heard it said that travel is the only thing you can spend money on that makes you richer. It's true.

I can't recall exactly when the travel bug bit me, but I think it was sometime in elementary school. My parents made even a simple camping trip into an adventure. I suppose most kids love the idea of taking a vacation. When and how do we lose that sense of adventure?  Perhaps the crush of life's responsibilities snuffs out our hope of escaping into another world. Maybe the stress of "just getting by" reminds us that we can't really afford to travel. The uncertainty of travelling in a foreign land where people speak a different language can create such anxiety that the trip hardly seems worth the risk. Each trip holds countless details with even more decisions to be made. Pre-planning involves hours of research, budgeting, reservation making, shopping and packing. I do understand why some folks just don't want the hassle.

But those of us who read of far away places with fascinating histories know that all the planning and expenses pale when we are traveling. Others' trip reports whet our appetite and we know we must experience it for ourselves. Whether you are an "armchair" traveler or just awaiting the opportunity to act on your dreams, this blog is dedicated to you. The places we've been have changed us. The people we've met along the way have enriched our lives. I hope I can adequately describe with words and pictures each travel experience so that you can experience it too.