Travel Breeds Travel

When you get away from it all, you only have the urge to go farther.

A tiny place in the south of France.

It doesn’t take thousands of kilometers to get the blood flowing, the juices stirring, and the dreams bubbling. We were just a few hours after kissing the kids goodbye, a quick 1-hour flight and a glass of wine and our minds were racing with plans for upcoming travel.

We catapult from weekends away to longer summers to maybe skipping a semester of school and extending the Holland visit. Then, just like we did when we first met, we wander down the path of, “Why not just go all in?” and make it a full year, but make Holland a stop or maybe a base and go to places where we haven’t been: South or Central America, Australia, who knows.

Backpacker Finance

Sometimes I imagine that I’m under the big spotlight with the agents of the law hovering over me, grilling me on the truth and I quickly break down and admit it, “OK, OK, I’m just a traveler at heart. I’m not a corporate strategist, I shouldn’t be allowed to run a business, I’m just a backpacker, I’m a vagabond, I’m a traveler.” They snicker, smirk and smile as they know they’ve won the battle but inside I smile (although not snickering or smirking) as I know that I’ve won the war. But even better is that it’s not a battle or a war, but I come out ahead as it’s not a competition, it’s a mindset and I’m not sure you can lose with a mindset as it’s yours and it’s not a competition.

Preaching to the Choir

At the wedding here in Sligo, Ireland, it’s full of world travelers and entrepreneurs and start-ups and writers and painters and … just my crowd. Like on an airplane, the beauty of weddings, especially destination weddings, is that you probably won’t see these people again so you can just blurt out your most blatant dream or rant and just let it be. The weather is over in seconds and the food is eaten and discussed in moments, but then you get down to it. I just threw it out there. “We’re thinking of taking the kids around the world for a year and home schooling on the road and going to South America.” Or wherever, really.

Of course, this is the culmination of less than hour of discussion with my wife the night previous over several glasses of wine and I bring it up as if we have tickets in hand. But don’t you see? This is the beauty of travel, talking about travel, and talking travel with travelers. They see the upside, they see the bigger picture and the long term. Or do they? It’s all subjective, isn’t it? Priorities, sacrifice, dreams, goals, regret … take your choice from the top shelf. Are they subjective or objective? Is it a science or an art? Who’s right and who’s wrong? At the end of the day, it’s up to you and those closest to you.

Yes, it’s like I’m talking about carburetors at the auto convention: I’m preaching to the choir. That’s OK, I like this choir. I want their approval, their enthusiasm, their push. It’s totally unrealistic and probably not smart, but that’s what appeals to me. It’s a shake up, it was concocted over drinks in a pub in Dublin, Ireland. Exactly where something like this is supposed to be born. Then wooed into childhood at a wedding attended by 14 nationalities. Will we take it into childhood? Can we bring it into existence? It’s only up to us. No one has to answer to the consequences but us. They are hefty and priceless, scary and thrilling. But isn’t that what makes it all worthwhile? Isn’t that why we’re here? To make the hard decisions that most say you shouldn’t take. Those are the good ones and the one you rarely regret. I hope we get that far. It’s not going to leave my head as quickly as it came in. It’s a part of me and I want it to be a part of my family and my kids. Maybe it’s time.