Edition 2: Why Travel

Blame, Wanderlust, Seasonal

Dear Reader,

How did this life all start? This wandering-the-world travel life?

Let's go back to the beginning. 

Shockingly, I blame my mother. We all do that at some point in our lives. Don't we? Or is that just me?

This blame is well placed and I am forever grateful for it. When I was a very young child, my wandering teenage mother plopped me in her car and away we went. Or at least, that is the story I got as I grew up. Legend was by the time I was seven or so I had been to around 35 of our 50 states. I liked this story so I stuck to it and I don't remember ever questioning the validity of it as I grew up.

I've always claimed this story as the reason for my ever-present wanderlust. I remember assuming everyone had this internal desire to go and see everywhere. Not necessarily, going and doing stuff but going to new areas. Do you know what I mean?

My first true taste of international travel came when my 10th grade French teacher planned her annual class trip to Europe. I was new to the school and was completely unaware that this trip was a thing. (side note: I attended 11 different schools in my 13 years of schooling. Contributing factor to my wanderlust? I think so.)

I remember anxiously standing in front of my parents at the dining room table. Class trip announcement gripped in my sweaty hands. Completely sure they would turn down the request. It was a lot of freaking money. To me, at least, it surely seemed too expensive for us.

Lo and behold, they said of course. I didn't even have to beg. You can imagine how my little 15 year old heart sang with excitement! England, France, and Switzerland. All in one trip. I was on cloud nine.

And with this trip, I could not imagine a future life without traveling. 

Fast forward 25 years, the wanderlust was still there. It ate at my soul. It was my soul. I forever felt restless; although, I craved stability too. It was maddening. 

Life happened. My family and I moved around the US a bit. Traveled the US a bit. I could not figure out why other people didn't feel this intense desire to travel. I would look at other people's lives. Their contentment at staying in one place, one house, one anything. How could they stand it? Why couldn't I be like that? Life was a struggle.

Finally, my time had come. Kids were in college and this momma was free to pursue all my lifetime of desires. I flew the nest, instead of my kids. It felt like life began again. Life #2. If I wasn't traveling, it was all on me now.  

First, I moved to Chicago, rented a room and got a steady restaurant job which allowed me to take monthly long weekend trips. That Chicago Megabus stop became my friend. Hello $1 bus tickets. Those long weekends allowed me to see many major cities. It meant getting out of my comfort zone.

This whole new life was all about getting out of my comfort zone. Have you tried it?

View of Denali from Talkeetna, Alaska

Googling "summer jobs in Alaska" set me on my next path. A summer job with Princess in Denali, Alaska introduced me to a wide world of travelers. Both seasonal worker travelers and retiree travelers. Wooh, what a ride it was. Alaska became my home away from home and one summer turned into six summers.

Winters were an entirely different matter. Do I work? Do I travel? What to do? This is where life gets really interesting.

And the story will continue next week.

Keep on trying,

Patricia

Are you a wanderer? Do you try things out of your comfort zone? What have you done?

Currently:

• Reading - The Women by Kristin Hannah

• Watching - NCIS Hawai’i Season 2

• Listening - A Race Around the World: Based on the True Adventures of Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland podcast by Adrien Behn