I've been really fortunate in my life that I've had the opportunity to travel a lot. I'm originally from the US but I've lived in Australia for the last 7 years. I started to travel when I was in high school. My parents sent me to Europe the summer before my senior year. England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany. It was a whirlwind tour. Also it was amazing and opened the eyes of this small town girl. I have also been to Mexico, Canada, 38 US states (including Alaska & Hawaii) and of course Australia. A layover at the airport doesn't count.
Last summer my husband and I got on a Harley-Davidson Roadking and went along old Route 66 from Las Vegas to Illinois. We continued to Milwaukee, then across to Sturgis South Dakota, through Yellowstone National Park (The best!) and through Idaho back to Nevada. It was brilliant, 5500 miles/8,800 km in total. We called it the Miles and Memories trip. As Australians we get several weeks of paid holiday each year. Something that seemed very strange to us as Americans. We have quickly learned to enjoy it. However it seems that each year we go back to the US for our holiday. We have an annual business event that we attend there and then we see family so we plan our fun time around that. So here I am living in one of the most beautiful, diverse and vast continents on the planet and I've seen very little of it.
The time has come to see Australia. I wouldn't want to go in 344 days without having been to the outback would I? So tomorrow we leave. We are packing up our Streetglide and heading west. We have one schedule event that we need to attend to and the rest will be random. Heading to South Australia and Victoria. We will be in tiny little towns in the middle of no where and then on to the beautiful city of Melbourne to return home up the Great Ocean Road. I don't have a name for this journey I'm sure it will come to me on the road.
So I guess the point of this post is, why do you have to go so far for it to be considered travel? Have you ever been to a local hotel and had a look at all those cards in the lobby? You know the ones that feature all the local events, sites and landmarks? Well, have you seen all of them?
In his Instructions for Life the Dalai Lama says, "Once a year, go someplace you've never been before." it doesn't have to be far. Pack up the family and go to the next town for the strawberry jam festival or go to the top of the tallest building in your city. Be a tourist in your own neighbourhood and remember why it's a great place to live. Take a different street, eat somewhere random, walk into a shop with an interesting window display you never know what adventure will be started with that one step.
I leave you with one of my favourite things:
- Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
- When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
- Follow the three R's:
- Respect for self.
- Respect for others.
- Responsibility for all of your actions. - Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
- Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
- Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
- When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
- Spend some time alone every day.
- Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
- Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
- Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
- A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
- In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
- Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
- Be gentle with the earth.
- Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
- Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
- Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
- Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
Live like there is no tomorrow.
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