I love to travel. It gives me life. I want to see everything! I love planning a vacation almost as much as the actual vacation. Almost.
I never traveled as a child. It was just not something we did as a family. However, I always yearned for it. I knew from a very young age it was something I wanted to do and would make it a priority.
My husband and I began traveling very early on in our marriage. We did small trips and stayed at seedy hotels. Anything to get out there.
A sampling of our adventures includes: being part of an all (except us) Japanese tour group to Saipan, staying at hostels in Spain along with a hotel where we were robbed in the middle of the night while sleeping, visiting several national parks in Utah only to be greeted by a man in his underwear at what we thought was our condo, making the unfortunate discovery that the plethora of mouse traps at our house in Arizona served a much more practical purpose and Brett hitting a man with the car—and actual man, not another car. The man was fine.
Later, I got a job that involved a great deal of travel. I loved it. I also developed an affinity for bougie hotels and now won’t do anything too seedy. I was fortunate enough to go to London thrice. Two of the three times someone from the hotel staff entered my room unannounced and found me naked. I have no idea why the British want to see me naked. Honestly, it’s not much of a show.
When we got our daughter, we agreed to always make an effort to do a summer vacation. We wanted her to experience new things and be a good traveler. She has and is. She is 16 and has been to 21 states. Not too shabby. She loves travel as much as we do. She also appreciates good accommodations. When she was little her scale for judging the hotel was based on the number of pillows on the bed.
I realize that we are fortunate to have been able to do all the travel we have. It is by no means first class and we have opted to give up other things in lieu of a nice vacation. Exhibit A: the 1990s tub in my master bath, which is roughly half the size of an Olympic swimming pool. Would I like to get rid of that useless fucker? Yes. Would I rather head out west and see a couple of National Parks? That would be a much bigger yes!
We are very late in the vacation planning game this year. With the pandemic and air travel and rental cars being so sketchy, we have waffled on plans. We now are limited to stuff within a day’s drive. We are not intense, drive through the night people. I admire those folks, but have to take a hard pass. So, we are looking at the East Coast, but want it to be something we have not seen.
This is where my husband and I differ. He would go straight back to a lovely little cottage we rented in Clearwater, Florida every year. Me? I never want to go to the same place twice. As I said, I want to see it ALL!
I’m not sure where we are going to end up. I suspect there will be at least one college visit thrown in the mix.
Over dinner a couple of nights ago, Savannah, Georgia was topping the list. I have only been through there, so I’m game as long as I can see all the spots from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil—one of my favorite books.
I’m just happy I will get to be on the road with my family, eating good food, laughing and making memories. Travel brings us together and gives us things to talk about all year long. It also ensures that family of spiders nestled safely in my god-awful bathtub will stay put till I have seen it ALL!
Check me out on social @kyspiritsgal and see my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com. Cheers!
Angela Traver
What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.
