The Journey and the Destination

Some say travel is about the journey not the destination. My experience is that it is about both.  

It is easy to focus on getting where you are going and overlook the joy of the journey.  Planes, trains, automobiles, moving across the landscape can be an incredible experience. I am always amazed at the sounds, sights and smells along the way.  I enjoy airports, watching people coming and going I am always surprised or amazed at the things I see.  I enjoy the mechanics of airports. Airplanes are remarkably complex and reliable.  I enjoy watching them come and go at an airport.  I enjoy the physical act of flying, the views out the window and the view up the aisle - especially at takeoff and landing. I wish that airplanes were more comfortable. I started flying when seats were larger and service included meals on any flight longer than a couple of hours.  I miss the bag of peanuts.  Train stations carry an interesting mix of people, rich, poor, young and old, and a nice mixture of foreign tourists.  I love the views from trains. The rails run through the backyards of America.  Driving gives us the greatest connection to the terrain,  I like to get off the expressways and onto the back roads and see what the locals see everyday.  

I also enjoy the destination.  Even the most mundane of places has something uniquely local about it.  Food, language, architecture, there is such an amazing spectrum to be experienced.  Occasionally I get to go to a “destination.”  I enjoy the great world capitals, historical sites, and tourist traps.  

In all cases I need to remember to see, hear and smell all that travel has to offer.