When I was growing up, my family travelled constantly – by car, camper or motor home – up and down the west coast from Vancouver to Ensenada. But nothing east of the Sierra Nevadas… and never, ever by plane.
We used to call our family vacations “carbon copy vacations” (because we went to the same places over and over again) and “drive-by vacations” (because we never got out of the car anywhere). Don’t get me wrong – we had a lot of fun adventures, but my travel ideal demands large doses of novelty… which just isn’t possible when the destination is almost as familiar as home and viewed out the window of a moving car.
In high school, I was desperate to be a foreign exchange student, but my parents were sure some serial killing child molesters would have their way with me. So, I settled for making friends with every exchange student that showed up at my school.
When my parents toyed with the idea of moving to Nigeria (someone wanted to hire my dad to teach boatbuilding) or Luxembourg (my parents got some travel coupons from buying polaroid cameras), I thrilled at the prospect, but was ultimately diappointed when these vague plans didn’t pan out.
By the time I hit college, I was full of dreams of “spring break” and “semester abroad” and “backpacking in Europe” – but my financial and academic situation completely ruled out any travel at all. I went to school in San Diego and could barely afford the $5 train ticket to the Mexican border.
In the years after college, my travel outlook didn’t brighten much. Still, a part of me refused to grow up until I finally got my trip to Europe. How could I even consider having kids or buying a house when this relatively achievable dream of mine hadn’t been fulfilled.
I can’t explain why it meant so much to me. Maybe it was all of those Victorian novels I read where everyone went abroad. Or maybe it was all the modern writers and artists I admired hanging out around Europe. Or maybe it was movies like Roman Holiday. I don’t know, but I do know that this urge was stronger and clearer in me than any other.
So when you check out these snapshots and read my mundane little musings, I just want you to know that you are looking at my dream come true.
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