Getting out and going places is the first step in traveling, but not the last. My favorite things about traveling are the experiences, of course, but also the lessons learned along the way - about the places you’ve been and the people you’ve met, but also about yourself.

If you took the time to read my two-part series about my first vacation as an adult, thank you. You have a head start on this one. Growing up in a family that traveled often on a whim, my parents taught me an invaluable lesson:

If you have a car you don’t need a plan,

it can turn around.

You will notice many of my excursions occur in cars. I love road trips because I love the freedom that comes with them. You can extra time here, shave off time there. You are the captain of your ship, as it were. Together, this motto make me a little fearless. Too fearless, if you ask my dad.

Travel is empowering.

Our New York City road trip was a big deal for Laura and I. Since third grade I had wanted to go to Pennsylvania (we had to do a project on a state and I learned the state dog of Pennsylvania (yes, all U.S. States have a “state dog”) was a Great Dane and that was it!) and my sister had wanted to go to New York City. Every year we begged our parents to go there on vacation. Growing up, Laura had apparently asked to got to New York City as well without success. The answer was always no. This was my first trip, and we got to call the shots. There is no feeling better than setting your mind to a momentous task and succeeding, and this New York City road trip was that for us.

Travel doesn’t have to be expensive.

We were college students! We had no money. We skipped out on the groups going to South Padre, partly because that is absolutely not either of our scenes, but also because it was too expensive. We successfully completed a week-long trip spending less than $500, and $300 of it was for gas! Did we make sacrifices to travel so cheaply, absolutely. But all of life is about making sacrifices, and I could not have been happier with what we came away with because of them.

Travel will never be perfect, and that’s a good thing.

In saying this, I am simultaneously reminded of the discussion of the timeliness of the London Underground in The Man Who Was Thursday and what has got to be the best line in the Harry Potter films:

Analysis Paralysis is a real thing. At the time, we didn’t have all the resources we do today to second guess and third guess our decisions. We weren’t concerned with getting the best shot for social media or proving to anyone we’d eaten at the best restaurant. We just went for it. And we would not have had a more memorable trip if we’d had more resources. You’ll notice the stand out memories are not the impressive buildings or monuments we saw, but the little snags and hiccoughs along the way. But the trip that only we could have had. Anyone can see the Statue of Liberty, or the views from the Empire State Building. Only we hunted down crab rangoon in Philadelphia Chinatown and sang We Have Cabin Fever at 3 am in the middle of West Virginia..or was it Ohio?

What are some great lessons you’ve learned on your trips? Or if you don’t travel much now, what are your excuses that keep you from traveling? I’d love to hear from you.
-Ff