Why the Desire to Travel?

My three beautiful girls!
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It has been noted that Alfred Hitchcock once said that drama is life with the boring parts left out. Take Hitchcock's remark and substitute the word "travel" for "drama" and you've got the essence of why I am attracted to traveling.

When I journey, I am larger than life. Everything is more intense, less commonplace. Life is vibrant and I am constantly learning new things about myself and the world around me. I am a player on the great stage of the world and not just flotsam and jetsam buffeted by the endless list of daily chores back home. There is a glowing aliveness to my experiences while wandering — like being in a magic bubble and watching the iridescent sides of that confine shimmer before it implodes.

I wake up every day feeling pushed for time. So much to see, so much to do... and time is fleeting.

An understanding wife
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But there are other reasons to hit the road.

When I travel I become more aware of Earth in a way not available to me in my everyday world. Amazing natural phenomena occur each day on this planet - the sun comes up over the majestic Cascade Mountains to the East of the City of Olympia, its colors making magic upon the snow and glacial ice of the imposing Mount Rainier. It goes down over the vast Pacific Ocean, exploding with a last glimmer of fire as it sinks to the other side of the world. As I gaze from the airplane window I suddenly see these things — things that go on all the time, but my life so busy with kids, work, and every day life, that I fail to slow down enough to notice.

There are many days where I feel as though I fly through a kind of timelessness, where it is the middle of the night where I sit planning this exciting trip and nearly morning at my future destination. The air through which the plane will soar waits in a kind of suspense, dark night where I will begin my journey, rosy dawn just ahead. I watch it, in great anticipation, not knowing quite what to expect, but growing more anxious as the hours and days towards departure creep closer with each passing moment.

I wake up every day feeling pushed for time. So much to see, so much to do... and time is fleeting. Travel, especially solo travel, for me, allows me the opportunity to get to know myself, and upon my return I am ALWAYS reminded of just how blessed I am to have 3 beautiful children and a loving, and understanding, wife.