What Excites You?

I don’t know the exact moment that my interest in travel was spurred, all I know is it was many years ago when I was a little girl. I remember my mother would check off boxes on cards in magazines for free travel brochures or reach out to tourism organizations and weeks later shiny brochures would come in the mailbox. I’d spend hours staring at the photos and reading the descriptions of the hotels, the attractions, you name it.

Even as I got older, travel brochures and pamphlets shaped what I wanted to see in the world. I still hold on to many unique ones that have been sent to me over the years. The folded Fairmont Banff Springs brochure adorned my dorm room wall at the U.S. Olympic Committee during my summer internship. I always wanted to visit that place. Spoiler alert, I’ve had the opportunity to visit the property three times.

I was fortunate as a child that I was able to travel around the U.S. My parents liked to drive and my mother instilled a love of travel in me. I knew I wanted to travel, and as early as my freshman year of college was perusing information about study abroad programs. My sophomore year, I sat in a Greek art and archaeology class discussion section and listened to people talk about all the places they had been in Europe. I was fascinated, and if I’m being honest, a little jealous. But that next Spring, I was embarking on my first trip to Europe – Helsinki and Tallinn and was hooked.

I’ve traveled to some incredible places. This blog isn’t meant to brag about my adventures, it’s meant to provide some insight into exciting places out there that are worth going to. Travel is subjective. One can travel to what looks like the dullest place on the planet and have a brilliant time, while others might go to that Instagramable hot spot and have a lousy time. Only your experience will help you determine what is memorable and enjoyable, but I hope to make you think and give you a new perspective on travel.

So why start this blog now? Over the past year, I’ve spent an extraordinary amount of time planning travel and traveling, but more so planning trips, including planning trips I didn’t end up taking, because well life. Honestly, all the planning was wearing me out. 

I had to take a step back and think. What trips have really made an impression on me? I needed to be intentional. The most amazing trips I have had have not always been to the most talked about “bucket list destinations.”  I’ve been to plenty of bucket list places and many of them have been the most memorable, but others have stood out for different reasons because they were places that were intentionally chosen.

Travel decisions do not always need to be – where are the flights cheap or what has been the top-rated destination this year. We shouldn’t always just want to go somewhere to check it off the list (and I have done this too), but instead we should ask ourselves one question before we travel:

What place would make me the happiest right now to see?

Travel is expensive, not just in a monetary sense, but in a time off sense. After all, most of us have jobs with limited vacation time. We need to be strategic, we need to be intentional. And so I hope this blog will help you realize the importance of intention in travel and how to maximize your experience. Sure, I’ll provide advice on using points and miles, but this blog is not meant to rely solely on that. One can still travel and have a fantastic experience without using points and miles, it’s simply about planning and understanding the resources available.

I look forward to you joining me on this journey.