Come Fly With Me

“We must go and see for ourselves.” — Jacques Cousteau

“I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.” — James Baldwin

“Never pass up a loo stop.” — Rick Steves

I wish everyone could travel. I wish it were mandatory, like signing up for Selective Service or paying taxes, that we all had to choose several places to travel away from our home state. As part of our high school educational requirements. Kind of like a Mormon mission, but without the religious part.

Even WebMD says it’s important for health and well being. So it must be true! So does National Geographic.

I am lucky to come from a family that values travel as a vital part of education, and have known from a young age that traveling is important, enriching, character-building, and just plain fun.

Because of my grandfather’s military service, my grandparents were able to fly on cargo planes all over the world. I don’t know a lot of details as to how it worked, but I do know they had to sit in what maybe were lawn-chair-like seats, although it’s hard to imagine my epitome-of-a-southern-lade grandmother sitting in those conditions on a flight to Asia.

But she did it. They did it. It was either really cheap or free (again, details are murky), but it allowed them an affordable way to see the world. They lived through the Depression in childhood; they were living the dream in adulthood.

They gave me money for college graduation and I used it to buy a plane ticket to Montana to work on a ranch with a friend. I knew they would approve. I didn’t think twice about how it should be used. It was the first time I lived somewhere out of the South and it was a wonderful experience, even if I was VERY ready to come home at the end.

I married a man who flew airplanes for a living, and eventually he got on with an airline. I didn’t even like to fly, and still don’t, but it does make sense that our family is an airline family. We started our kids young with traveling and they love it, as well.

Our first big family trip with just us was to the Rocky Mountain National Park. We were trying to plan a quick trip, around our summer schedules, when we realized we needed to go THE NEXT DAY if we were going to go. So we sat in bed with our laptops and planned the quickest trip ever. It might also be our best one ever.

That trip inspired other National Park trips (Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Acadia); New York; Costa Rica; Seattle; Vancouver; east coast road tripping; and Chicago.

After COVID and some health issues, we’ve been able to get back to our adventures. If all goes well, in a year’s time, we will have visited England, France, Germany, and Italy. We aren’t letting grass grow under our feet. We know there’s no time to waste.

Things I wish I had known beforehand about traveling overseas:

1. Just be yourself. Or, be the best version of yourself, human-wise. Obviously, be respectful. When there is a language barrier, smile and be kind and be humble. It’s ok. You will get what you give. You don’t have to be more sophisticated, or fancy, or know everything. Treat others well and you will be treated well.

2. Mistakes will be made. You will mess up. Don’t freak out. You are human. It’s a good lesson. You will learn from those mistakes. And you will have stories to tell.

3. Be in the moment. Sure, take your photos, but be present. It’s about that moment in time, soak it in, and post later.

4. Don’t be afraid. Be mindful, be aware. But don’t let fear keep you from a good time. And don’t be afraid to interact with others, even if you don’t know the language. Just do your best. See #1. Smile, say please, say thank you. Learn please and thank you in their language. Do lots of pointing. Gestures work wonders.

5. Google Translate has a camera option, that you can use to translate menus. That was amazing.

6. Although flights are expensive, nice places to stay can be even more reasonable than the States.

7. You will not fool them into thinking you are a local. Don’t try. It’s ok. Why are you trying to trick them? Also, see #1.

8. Do your train research ahead of time. As best you can. Trains are hard. Don’t give up. You will learn it within a day or two. Or three. Amazingly, people will tell you to get off a train because they made an announcement in French that you have to switch trains for no reason, which you didn’t understand because you don’t speak French. But some nice people will tell you, “you need to get off the train.” In English. Because there are nice people out there.

9. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Have fun!

Traveling has given me a perspective for which I am so grateful. It calms me down and makes me weirdly grateful to be a speck in the galaxy. It helps me learn about other cultures and see things in person that I’ve only seen in pictures. It makes me appreciate history, and what our ancestors have been through. It reminds me to call on our ancestors in hard times. It helps me see what still stands. It gives me hope. It makes me feel alive.