When Covid-19 hit and I had to cancel three immediate trips and later two additional adventures, I was disappointed, but took the whole thing pretty philosophically.

 I’ve been on lots of trips and assume I’ll go on more so I reminded myself of the motto of the summer camp I attended as a child, “It is a mark of leadership to adjust.”  I went about the process of canceling everything and consoled myself with the idea that I’d enjoy my time at home.  

And at first I did.  I cleaned the laundry room and a downstairs storage area. I did yard work.   I set up walking dates with friends at a local college, abandoned by the students.  I worked on blog posts about my last trip to the Middle East.  I read the untouched books stacked up in my Kindle library.   

People asked me, “isn’t it hard not to travel?  How many trips have canceled?”  I responded.  “It’s  ok.  I’m lucky I’ve been able to go to so many fascinating places around the world.”  I truly believed what I said.  

But it is now six months into the Pandemic and I really miss travel.   It’s hard to look at the travel newsletters in my inbox with headlines like “Ten great beaches around the world” or “Why you should visit Bhutan now.” and not want to head to the airport.  

I miss loading up my favorite backpack and buying extra memory chips for my camera. Do I need city chic clothes for fashion forward places like Paris or Tokyo or colorful cover ups for the desert area of Rajasthan? I love the planning as much as the travel.   

 Travel is much more than “getting away.”  It’s really more about the “going to” and that’s an important point.  Nothing is wrong with “getting away” from the stresses and routines of our lives, whether it is a trip to a new museum in a neighboring town or one of those around the world in a private jet trips described in pamphlets I drool over.

 I believe the statement that a mind stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions.  I’m invigorated by the stretching and the confidence that comes with the new experiences.

I love going to new places.  Why?  I had an epiphany when I took my almost three year old grand daughter to Florida years ago to visit a friend.  As we left the airport and headed to my friend’s winter home, I plugged in a CD that my daughter gave me to entertain little Madelyn.  

“The Bear went over the Mountain” came on and as I belted out the words with Mady singing along in her car seat, I had one of those, “Of course.  This is what it is all about.  The bear went over the mountain…….to See what he could See.”

That’s a bit of how I feel about travel.  I want to see what is on the other side of the mountain.  I have a curiosity that won’t quit.

Travel has taught me to collect memories.  Colors, sounds, smells,  laughter, sadness,  experiences, frustrations, fascinating sites and “a ha” moments.  Whether it is slowing down to photograph the Instagramable Water Buffalo in Myanmar to the Double Wow Razzle Dazzle of New Year’s in Hong Kong, I savor these experiences.

I’ll always remember the time in Svalbard, when a humongous polar bear meandered across the ice to plunk himself down 10 feet from the side of the ice breaker ship we were on to take a short snooze.  Transfixed, we watched him nap and then get up in a bit and saunter off in search of his dinner.

I love the memory of  visiting a school in North Vietnam where we gave children apples and jump ropes.  Seeing their pleasure with these simple items was truly a gift.  Some times when life gets tough and stressful, I take myself on a mental journey back to this small village and remember the joyous smiles.

I always think more clearly about my own life and choices, stresses and strains, highs and lows, when I am “away.”The distance enables me to have a calmer perspective and deal with the emotions that surface.

Travel forces me to challenge what I know.For example, in India it is rude not to honk when you are passing a vehicle.    In Chile, the natives named the dark spaces in the Milky Way, not the actual stars.

I visited a tribe in North Vietnam where blackening the teeth is a sign of beauty.  In Paris, it is unacceptable to walk and eat at the same time.  In China, dragons are not fire breathing scary creatures.  They are to be welcomed and celebrated in dance and festivals.

I could go on and on.  Traditions, customs, kinds of foods, way of living are so different around the world.  Traveling forces me out my comfort zone, challenging what I think I know to be true.  I truly believe the more we understand and appreciate our global neighbors, the more harmonious our world will be.

I’m not alone in missing the opportunities to travel right now.  From when Marco Polo took off to see the world and found the routes to buy spice or when Columbus just had to see what was at the end of the ocean, people have ventured into the unknown.  

Right now hundreds are on lists to go into Space when that frontier opens up.  It will. Maybe not in my life time, but my grand daughter may go out into the universe someday and I’m sure she’ll remark,“Nana would have loved this.”

She would be right.