“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” ~
Anonymous
Two weeks from today I will board a plane and fly into California
for a much-needed vacation and welcome change of scenery. Despite (or perhaps
because of) several months of dreaming, researching, planning, and booking this
trip, I can barely believe it’s actually happening.
I’ll walk the Golden Gate Bridge, visit the world-class Monterey
Bay Aquarium, see the massive sequoias and beautiful waterfalls of Yosemite
National Park, tour the best (and worst) of Hollywood, and spend two days (one
being my birthday) at magical Disneyland. All sights (and sites) I’ve seen only
on television and never seriously thought (until I started wishing and hoping a
year ago) I’d experience off-screen. And
the best part is I’m doing it all on my own. True, that’s also the scary part,
but it’s exciting because I know, assuming all goes well and I return safely,
that I’ll come home with priceless memories and confidence needed to plan
greater future adventures.
Travel has truly become my passion. I feel most alive when
I’m exploring, though fear (and other practical considerations, such as work
and budget constraints) can severely limit the opportunity to do so. Fantasizing
about future travels propels me through life’s inevitable mundane monotony.
They’re my reward to self for (more or less) successfully accomplishing my
day-to-day errands: going to work, paying bills, cleaning my apartment, all of
the less-than-enjoyable responsibilities associated with adulthood. Travel is
my playtime, my break from everyday reality.
It’s also, I’ve realized, a great equalizer. Almost anyone
with a passport, savings, and an adventurous spirit, regardless of cultural
background, occupation, economic status, or age, can visit the Taj Mahal, the
Eiffel Tower, and the Statue of Liberty. The mode of transportation or type of
accommodation used while there might differ by budget, but these international icons
are equally available to both a small-town secretary and a big-city CEO.
Unfortunately my endless travel fantasies don’t come with an
endless travel budget, which means I’ll be tacking on a summer weekend job at a
local amusement park (in addition to my regular full-time job) to build up my
travel savings account. I started inauspiciously last weekend, struggling to
stay awake until midnight when I finally (gratefully) clocked out after seven bleary-eyed
consecutive hours of counting coins. I
don’t know if I can do this all summer, I thought mid- and post-shift.
I could be in for a long summer – when not blissfully
traveling – but I’ll remind myself (as often as needed) that the sacrifice of
non-adventurous time will be worthwhile, literally affording me additional
adventurous opportunities. There will be other summers (hopefully relaxing
ones) ahead of me, I’m sure. Work will undoubtedly always be there, waiting at
every journey’s end. Adventures, unless sacrificially planned and executed,
will not.
