Why I Travel

Growing up, I wanted to be a pirate. I wanted to sail the seven seas, hide my treasure on little islands and bask in the Caribbean sun. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a rockstar. I wanted to play music every night and then jump on a bus or plane and head to the next town. I didn’t really think about it at the time but now I’ve realized that one of the reasons being a pirate and a rockstar appealed to me so much was because they were always moving around, always in a new place.

I love where I’m from and go back often but there really is nothing like going somewhere new. I particularly like exotic places and warmer weather but I’m not picky. I like doing research about places I intend to travel to but I’m careful not to do too much because then preconceived notions get in the way and expecting things is never good. Doing a little research but staying spontaneous is the way I like to travel. I love learning and figuring out things on my own and when it comes to traveling, I’m no different. I’ve found that getting tipsy in a bar and asking locals about a place is a much better strategy to figuring out what to do and see than poring over an over-priced guidebook.

I love the adventure aspect of traveling; half the fun is the journey getting to a place and all the unexpected things that happen along the way. Some unexpected things are bad, but many are good. When I return from trips, I often laugh about the bad things that happened. The time I got in a fender bender on the seven-mile bridge to Key West, the time I got scammed by gypsies, and the time I lost my phone are all highlights now. When traveling goes wrong you come away with stories to tell. Good times can lead to stories, but misadventures always lead to stories.

I travel to see if a place is like it is in the movies, to see if the people are how they’re said to be or portrayed. I travel to be adventurous, to force myself out of my comfort zone and see what happens. I travel because I want stories to tell, stories I can recall when I’m old and there’s nowhere left to go.