Why Do We Travel?

Why do we travel? Sometimes we travel for work, sometimes for family, sometimes for fun. According to the Merriman-Webster dictionary, the word travel was first used in the 14th century and is derived from English and French words meaning to journey, strive, labor, toil, or work strenuously. Anyone who has planned a trip of any kind could probably relate to all those words. Planning a trip takes a lot of time and energy. Our travel style is much more laid back than many others. After determining the destination, we will do some research into the “Must See and Dos” for the location and then figure out what sounds most interesting.

Sometimes it’s a museum like the Louvre or Monet in Paris. Sometimes it’s a monument like the Berlin Wall. Sometimes it’s a food spot like Tito’s Tacos in Los Angeles. We often will schedule a day of nothing to allow us to explore more of the daily life in the city we are wandering around. This has led to some of our favorite memories like the day we wandered to the top of a park and found the National Technical Museum in Prague which ended up being one of the coolest museums we have ever visited!!!

Travel allows us to escape from our current lives and experience something new. What is it about exploring somewhere new that is just so exhilarating? Travel often makes us get out of our comfort zone and see things from a different perspective. Travel provides us with experiences we would never get sitting at home. This desire to see something new, the wanderlust, is why the travel industry has absolutely boomed over the past several years. We often find ourselves getting sucked into the travel vlogs on YouTube and wishing we had been brave enough to leave it all behind and start travelling the world in 2016 like so many of those that fill our Instagram feed. And yet, as I scroll through the photos I’ve taken in the past 10 years, its hard to imagine missing out on all the time we have been able to spend with family and friends. Despite still having been responsible adults and working the past 10 years, we have been to some pretty amazing places in the United States, South America, and Europe. We've been to 30 states and 15 countries together and have plans for so many more. The past two years have definitely ruined a lot of travel plans for many of us, and the thought of foreign travel with all its hoops is still a bit daunting but the future is bright and we can’t wait to go on our next adventure. Why do you travel? Where is your next trip planned?