Travel History...

Whether it’s by boat, train, car, or airplane, traveling has become one of the most desired activities. There is something about knowing an entire world is out there, with different cultures, amazing new foods, and beautiful views. Knowing that we now can experience these things has caused us to spend countless dollars and time trying to see the world beyond ours. Now, I am talking about all travel; local or abroad. For someone being from America, it’s amazing how much I haven’t seen in my own country, let alone my backyard. I live on a very small island in the middle of the ocean and to this day I still find roads that I have never been on. It’s truly astonishing how big of a world we live in. But, let’s explore the travels that I have done.

Local

Now let’s first move through locally, and travel in my own country. As most everyone knows, I live on Kauai, Hawaii. It is technically a part of the U.S., but Hawaiian culture is so prevalent that on occasion it feels as if you are somewhere else entirely… that and the fact that we ship everything in and don’t qualify for free shipping. It’s also ironic because anytime I visit the mainland, people always ask when I got back to the states, which always makes me laugh. Although I have lived here my whole life, I love learning about all the different islands. Flying back to the mainland - talk about a culture shift. Each state is painted in unique ways, each bringing something new to the table. My family was very fond of road trips when I was younger so we embarked on many. We drove to visit my grandma and grandpa in Wyoming when I was really little and even took on a road trip to visit some family in Texas and Chicago, Illinois (that was a long one). Then a little later my brother and sister were a part of a singing group called “The Young Continentals”. They were a group of kids that toured across the country singing in different churches. It was pretty cool, unfortunately, I was never old enough to join at the time. But, mom and dad packed my other brother and me into a car and followed along behind their bus exploring each new state as they came. I have not been to all 50 states by any means, but I have seen a great deal of the midwest, central, and southern states. I spent a summer in Boston, Massachusetts and from there explored a beach in New Hampshire and a bit of the border of New York. The dream of New York, New York has also been marked off. Florida has been seen, but the majority of the East Coast is more of a mystery to me. It was a crazy experience learning that 50 degrees in New York is much different than 50 degrees in Colorado! I also find it amusing to visit the different beaches across America and experience how different they are. Coming from a place surrounded by beautiful water, it was amusing to see Oregon's beaches, and even trying to swim in New Hampshire, it was a touch chillier than I had anticipated. But, we all know the beauty of America and the diverse ways each state makes its mark to entice its prey. Let’s examine some European experiences.

Abroad

Some families save up and make several trips to places like Disneyland, but ours went to Europe instead. Not a bad trade. I have traveled the least out of my family, however, I have still made an honorable dent. We’ve been to London, Paris (plus a few small towns in France), Switzerland, Amsterdam, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. To travel to different countries, and towns, and at different times of the years has truly shown how, although the countries sit close together, they hold such unique personalities that keep them divided. The diverse foods, shops, people, language, museums, and views, all hold a different place in my heart. It’s still baffling to me that chateaus and castles casually sit on the side of roads or in the middle of cities. America has some fun landmarks, but nothing compared to a casual castle or cobblestones lacing the roads. Also, I feel as if I should mention the Alps, both Swiss and Austrian. The views are as if you were looking straight into a postcard. Photos can only try to obtain all the beauty that eludes from those mountains. Beauty and centuries of culture spill over every building, field, and street of any European country. I only pray that one day I’ll be able to experience places beyond the ones I’ve been so blessed to see.

Learning

We learn a lot from books or websites. We experience secondhand through others' travels that they share, but nothing compares to exploring and seeing, reading, touching, walking, or tasting things for ourselves. There is so much history to be learned and seen. Whether we can leave the country or not, going on road trips across state lines gets us out in a new arena. Away from that that we typically surround ourselves with. There is so much world beyond our little one that we tend to wrap ourselves in. My dad is a walking thesaurus and a history buff and my mom, being a homeschool teacher of four, both loved to create opportunities for us to learn and experience new things. Museums were always a must when traveling to different places. There is nothing like the ability to fully submerge ourselves into our country and the world's history. And that is something that was always a priority in our family's travels. That and eating good food, primarily croissants on our trips throughout Europe.

Explore

Traveling isn’t for everyone, but exploring should be. The world feels small at times, but it is so much larger than we give it credit for. I grew up flying and am well acquainted with airports. I wouldn’t necessarily say I like to fly and I enjoy spending hours in a small car, but the result typically makes up for those times spent in a cramped seat while the butt slowly flattens due to lack of movement. Walking around in Europe, sightseeing in another state or camping in the backyard should alleviate some of those symptoms caused by being uncomfortable.

Traveling has become a part of the family. It is one of the top topics in our house, whether we are planning our next trip or reminiscing on those past. They are truly some of my family's favorite times. I hope that you all were able to enjoy the week and get a little travel-hungry reading this. I’ve been on a trip this past week in Colorado and have been reminded of just how beautiful the world can be! Let me know what your favorite trips have been and feel free to subscribe so you never miss knowing when a new post comes out. Also, don’t forget to follow TheAllie.Way on Instagram to see all the adventures I go on. (my family has a trip to Europe coming up pretty soon!) Have a great rest of your week and thanks for reading Allie-Cats!

• Dru Allie