I was recently speaking to a friend who not long ago came back from a trip to Kentucky. I am going to assume it was to go bourbon shopping; I could be wrong, but needless to say, I was jealous. She then told me she spent 10 hours on her motorcycle to get there. Neither of those 
elements appeal to me; I am not a motorcycle guy as it is and add on 10 hours of riding one…WHY?! Despite my aversion to my friend’s way of travel, I am planning a 10-hour road trip in October to visit my tribe; which brings us back to the question of… WHY?! I am not a fan of long drives, but for my tribe I will suffer through it and make the important journey.
Years ago, I was on vacation in San Francisco and as part of the trip we headed to Half Moon Bay. My options were to go the short way and get there quicker or add an extra hour and go the scenic way. I ended up choosing the scenic route which took me along the Pacific, and I’m glad I did. Though it took a bit longer, it was amazing to see the ocean over the cliffs of the Pacific Coast Highway, a view I got to enjoy almost the entire trip to Half Moon Bay! While the destination was great, it was the journey that made it so memorable.
With as much travel as I used to do, there were almost always side trips that were planned, which made getting to the destinations that much more special. While in Istanbul I got to visit Cappadocia, the hot air ballooning capital of the world. On the way to Japan, we made a pit stop in Hong Kong. Other side trips have included Vietnam, Madrid, Scotland, Cooperstown and the Poconos. No matter how exotic or small the journey, it has almost always been fun, exciting, memorable and in many ways, eye opening and life altering; not just the extravagant moments but also the small ones.
I miss all the travel I used to do; I miss seeing places, meeting people, learning about different cultures, and of course learning curse words in all the different languages (that is usually the first thing we learn ?).
We all know what our final destination will be. I know that is a morbid thought for a Friday morning, but it’s also true. How are you going enjoy the journey? Let’s connect and compare notes.
“Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” – Drake
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