Monday, January 14, 2008

Somewhere in Middle America

I've been asked to guest post for Froggy. I've never guest posted before. I have a hard enough time writing interesting, intriguing things on my own blog (umm don't know how to link, but I'm OC from Am I Secretly on Reality TV over on the links on the sidebar there… yup, right there). So I tried to think of what Froggy's readers would enjoy. What Froggy's readers would enjoy that I could write about. Granted Froggy and I have decided that we may share a brain, so her readers (crossing fingers) should like me. Or at least smile and pretend.

 

I've had a little time to think about what to write about. Advice on guys? Heck no. Relationships? I'm still laughing. Shoes? Not the right girl here, sorry. And then, sitting in a cafĂ© somewhere in middle America, I knew what I could write about. Travel (and I thought of this before Deutlich's post yesterday!). Froggy is in Uganda (Not Uruguay as I originally thought – different continents…). And I am always on the go, always hopping a plane somewhere.

 

Currently (as I wrote this) I am in Omaha, Nebraska. I woke up that morning in Chicago, IL. The next morning, I woke up in the Quad Cities (bonus points if you know where that is and can name all four…). And that next night? I fell asleep in my own bed back home in Connecticut. I know travel.

 

There is something exhilarating about being on the road. Whether you're alone or with friends or colleagues, you are in a place where no one knows your name. I find that you can do things that otherwise you wouldn't do… when I travel alone, I've gone to the movies myself, I've sat at tables in restaurants alone, I've gone to the bar alone. I would never do any of those things at home. When I'm with others, we laugh and joe and don't care if people are staring because we don't know them. There is a slim to none chance that we'd ever see them again. Why no let go and just have fun? Just be.

 

My job has taken me across the United States. I've been from Miami, FL to Fargo, ND to San Francisco, CA to Houston, TX and a thousand places in between. I've seen different cultures, I've felt out of place, and I've felt welcomed. Travel introduces you to so many new experiences, new people, new surroundings. For anyone that has the opportunity, I would recommend booking a flight and going. Anywhere.

 

Otherwise, you'll never be able to say that you've had a "Sloppy Bill" in the City of Fountains, that you lied to strange men in Vegas about your name, your age, and where you're from. You won't be able to say that you got to ride in the front seat of a cop car in Cleveland, that you got to flex your muscles under the "Muscle Beach" sign in Santa Monica, that you played golf for the first time on a random Wednesday with co-workers and then bought cheeseheads and wore them around Milwaukee, that you spent Valentine's Day snowbound in the Baltimore airport so you had some margaritas with strangers in the same predicament. So many incredible experiences come from travel. Some good, some bad, but all little moments that create memories to last a lifetime.

 

Froggy, I hope you're having a fantastic trip! Travel safe and we can't wait to see pictures when you return!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

my goal is to go somewhere different every year once i've saved up enough!

B said...

I'm pretty sure that's my absolute favorite thing about travel too - the anonymity. I yearn for it. A lot.

Princess Pointful said...

I feel the exact same way about the anonymity. It feels kind of refreshing to have you yourself as the only consistent... and no one else's knowledge of you to hold you down.