Why Do You Travel?

A 17-mile, unpaved scenic loop circles Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

Why do you travel?

Is it to experience foreign cultures and cuisines? Is it to get swept away by breathtaking landscapes? Is it to find your new happy place? Is it to find yourself? Escape yourself? Maybe it's a little of everything. Or maybe it's simply to get away.

I recently discovered my new favorite quote, “When something good happens, travel to celebrate it. If something bad happens, travel to forget it. If nothing happens, travel to make something happen.” Wow, really couldn't have said it better myself. I love this quote so much. For me, there's never a shortage of reasons to travel. I once planned and executed a 9-day, several-thousand-mile road trip just because I won a free 2-night stay at a lovely little lodge out west. I once booked a one-way ticket to visit a friend for a few days, then took about a month road-tripping around the Southwest. (I eventually returned home to continue job searching.)

You know that anticipatory feeling you get when your birthday or Christmas is coming? I wonder if you'd get the feeling without knowing that the date is approaching on the calendar. Every year, like clockwork, when spring is trying to rush winter away, I get this intrinsic urge to take a big solo trip. Love my pals, but a long weekend away with them just won't satisfy this kind of innate calling. I guess after years of doing it – I've programmed my body to crave it. Similar to how I crave a Subway sandwich the minute I step foot in an airport before a departing flight. It'll be 6 am, I really shouldn't even be hungry yet, but my body knows it's at the airport, it's going somewhere, and it expects to have a plain-Jane turkey, cheese, lettuce, and mayo Subway sandwich the minute it arrives. (Confession: I do that on every single solo road trip. Then I continue to eat that exact same sandwich throughout my entire journey. Partly because I'm a creature of habit, partly because long stretches of interstate often only have Subway sandwiches available for decent meals, and partly because I'm paranoid about the foods I eat, especially while traveling, but that's another story for another time.)

I wish I could afford to travel for all of the reasons in that quote. I think a big part of why I love to travel, particularly alone, is that it always seems to make me feel more in touch with myself. More alive, more free, more filled with self-love than ever before. It's an incredibly introspective time, being out on the road, all by your lonesome. And sure, it can get lonely now and then. Call a friend, then get back to you. For me, that loneliness never really plagues for too long. I relish that independence. Living moment to moment. Letting myself feel however I do – embracing and accepting it all. Letting myself take 100-mile detours because that's where my intuition is taking me. Or because I saw a sign for dinosaur tracks or the world's biggest ball of yarn. Blasting music I'm too embarrassed to listen to in the presence of anyone but me. Using receipts as napkins. Stopping to take pictures in the middle of wide open roads. Eating all the subway sandwiches and gas station food I want. Treating myself to room service or a lovely solo dinner that I get all dressed up for. Just for me. Yeah. Now that's living. That's vacation.