When you’re not traveling, do you think about your next getaway?
If the answer is yes, is it more like an open wondering or is there a list somewhere that you’re checking off destinations conquered?
It’s a little of both for me.
My list lives mostly in my head and it consists of things like a cross-country United States road trip, a train ride to Montreal, a journey to Monet’s home in Giverny and a myriad of European destinations. For the U.S. trip, I have gone as far as creating a list of states I’ve been to and noting the ones I still need to visit. And, in some cases, I’m hankering for a revisit. I feel like there’s so much to see that it’s hard to even go beyond a couple of continents in my brain.
I was chatting with a coaching client recently about personality types and how we spend our money, what makes us comfortable and what puts us in a spin, and how we have to know what category we fall into and honor that in all we do. That, of course, includes travel. What feels risky? What feels right? Maybe this idea is realistic with a wee stretch. Maybe that one needs to be shelved indefinitely because it’s too extravagant.
Is that trip to Italy going to be something you save for and do once in your lifetime? Or will you become a regular in Tuscany or Sicily and forego something else to keep your budget intact? Can you travel lean, do you require luxury, or do you fall somewhere in between?
On a recent trip to a major city, a friend I was traveling with cheerfully noted that she had relatives living in a suburb near there and that she could probably get us a stay on their couch. I immediately began shaking my head.
“I’d rather not go at all,” I said.
We’d agreed to be forthright with each other and she seemed stunned but also grateful for the honesty. Saving money is almost never at the center of my travel thoughts. I have a relative who will do anything to beat the $25 airline baggage fee, but I don’t have the energy for that. If I’m taking the trip, I’m bringing along anything I need to be comfortable and appropriately dressed for that trip. Period.
Different approaches work for each of us, yes?
Somewhere in the recesses of my mind is a memory of a photo spread in a travel magazine. It’s Ibiza, Spain and the panorama is so beautiful it’s indescribable. I’ve had that magazine for more than 20 years. Maybe it’s time to pull it out and hang the darned picture on my vision board. Perhaps that will move it from a simple place of intrigue or the “open wondering” category and put it squarely on the working list.
All I know is last fall I sat down to plan a trip to a conference in Denver and instead wound up booking a flight to Munich. More recently, I was looking into a getaway to upstate New York and wound up renting an off-season beach house at the Jersey Shore for a delicious deal.
There’s something about meshing the intended and the open-ended that makes hitting the road an adventure before I even leave the house.
Endless magical possibilities await. Always.
By: Nancy Colasurdo
