For most of my life, the most traveling I did was back and forth to work. For some reason, I have rarely had a job within 10 miles of home, so driving 45 miles each way makes for a 90 mile round trip and that’s traveling!

Once I discovered the joy of REAL traveling, I was hooked. Not only traveling to conferences for my professional association and staying a day or two to see the area of the country we are in, but it has escalated into international travel and I love it!

Travel includes lots of things for lots of budgets. Whether it was a road trip to the outlet malls in California (before they had such great outlet malls here), a road trip to Disneyland, or a road trip to Vegas, going with friends and sharing the costs of gas and a hotel room makes for the ultimate bonding experience.

We also build in travel when we go to conferences. I have been able to see amazing things in places I otherwise would never go to. I’ve seen the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati, Williamsburg, VA while going to a conference in Norfolk, the Gone With the Wind Museum in Atlanta, and many more.

Having been born and raised in Mesa, Arizona, my lifetime landscape has always been a dry desert valley. When I travel to other places, I get to see grass, rivers, bridges, and unbelievably beautiful scenery.

And the things I saw in my trip from Spain to Italy were remarkable. Just knowing the history of that part of the world is so much longer than the history of the United States and seeing pieces of that history still standing was truly awe inspiring. Pictures online don’t do it justice. Seeing those things with my own eyes is something I will never regret and will always be thankful for.

Traveling certainly isn’t cheap. Traveling with friends helps cut the cost down, but it is still expensive. But I’ve worked hard for years to be able to do things like this. And it keeps me working hard so I can continue to travel. Oh yes, I will continue to travel! I have a very long bucket list to catch up on!