Momentum Of Travel

Why is travel so addictive?

melodyd83 — Sat, 23 May 2015 09:00:00 GMT

Why is travel so addictive? What is it about travel that drives us to create opportunities to get out there and do it? I suppose when I say ‘us’, I’m referring to myself and those others who are often referred to as having the ‘travel bug’.

So much is involved; thinking, planning, endless research, booking, saving, storing belongings, making sure pets stay alive, and (if traveling for more than one month), getting leave or quitting one’s job! This is generally of course the economic source that is allowing us to do this thing called travel in the first place.

And yet, we leave it. In fact, the goal becomes to leave it – leave the job, “leave it all behind”, leave the belongings, and go!

What drives this? This intense desire to put one’s time and income into what is essentially an extended experience; one which we’ll come out of with no particular material gains, except memories, many, many photos…and probably a few t-shirts and postcards.

But maybe this extended experience allows us to feel that we are really living, and surely that is always worth it? I have always loved the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience”.

Maybe part of our travel addiction is the desire to gain these experiences, or to fill the ‘memory bank’ for later memories. Maybe it’s a bit of a status thing. Lets face it, we generally think of those well-traveled individuals as pretty interesting right?

Maybe it harks back to explorers of old; those ancient individuals who braved the unknown and went out beyond what was safe… just to explore and discover. Some of this was financially driven, to find new land and resources – but these explorers still had to get out there and do it! Discover, search, uncover, be challenged in multiple ways; ways that they couldn’t dream of, or possibly, truly anticipate.

I like to think the final ‘explorer’ option is one that my personal travel addiction is wrapped up in. Maybe it’s a bit of a vanity, wanting to compare myself to those historical adventurers. However, when I think about the world and the amazing range of places I have yet to witness, then the intense desire that I feel is to see and experience these locations. I want to uncover so much about the world, and allow myself to really feel my reaction to those moments… and not just snap a photo. I want to explore. Others might have been there before me and seen something first, but the point is that I haven’t yet. My reaction is entirely unique to me, and so it is invaluable to me.

Travel is to play. Isn’t that often what children do when they play? They are exploring; exploring their imaginations, exploring their new skills and experiences. Even when we become adults we still want to have that feel of play, and travel allows us that. We become explorers again.

I want to travel through life with passion and enjoyment, and to meet and share this with kindred souls along the way. I want to make the most of moments, challenge what is sometimes my frustratingly narrow mind-set, and to have some fun!

“To travel is to live”, Hans Christian Anderson.

Photos: Let's drive from Paris to Rome!

melodyd83 — Tue, 12 May 2015 10:21:00 GMT

Photos: New Years Eve, New York City

melodyd83 — Tue, 12 May 2015 09:16:00 GMT

Arriving in NYC, and watching that oh-so-famous ball drop!

How To Watch The Ball Drop, Times Square NYC

melodyd83 — Tue, 12 May 2015 09:01:00 GMT

I’ve been to NYC once before, but driving in after a road trip across the country on New Years Eve is pretty memorable. Our plan was to watch the ball drop: New Years Eve in New York City, pretty epic right? That’s what we thought, and it was truly epic. I love this travel memory. However our experience brought to our attention that there needs to be some much clearer 'how-to' blogs on the ball dropping experience.

We got into NYC at about noon. Driving into such an iconic place and seeing all of those historic, famous and infamous place names was a slightly surreal. Taking the abstract idea, and removed knowledge, of a place and turning it into a reality is probably always a surreal moment. In this instance it happened to be both slightly un-real and SUPER-EXCITING... there may have been a few minor 'girlish squeals of excitement' on arrival.

So back to this How To Watch The Ball Drop breakdown. Let's face it, not that many people at the ball-drop are locals. The local NYC'ers already know that it's basically just en masse freezing your ass off for 6 to 12 hours. They all acknowledge that: “you gotta do it once!”... that is however their limit.

Therefore most of the people at the ball drop are out-of-towners....and WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING!

Questions & HOW TO tips:

Where is the ball? Seriously! (not just “in Times Square” ...where is that?... an actual address will help... the EXACT intersection...Times Square cover a few blocks...) It’s 43^rd Street and 7^th Avenue.

What direction do you want to see it from? Ideally you want to see it from as close as possible, and ideally you want to get onto 7^th Avenue. Get in there as soon as possible, so find those access points from the parallel avenues, and join the line. This brings us to access points.

There are access points? Oh we could have used that info TWO HOURS AGO. There are access points. These are controlled entry points where the cops search bags etc and drip-feed you in. As the street closer to Times Square fills up, the access points close, and open ones move further and further away from the 43^rd and 7^th intersection. So you’ll be heading down 8^th, away from Times Square, trying to find the closest access point that will let you in. There will be rumours flying around – “You can get in down on 48^th Street”, “The 48^th Street access point is full”… however the best information comes from THE COPS.

Use the cops ...they're to-the-point but super helpful. That’s all I really have to stay for this point. Except that it’s true! They have done this multiple times, they’re organized, they’re really respectful and if you ask nicely they’re ready to help.

Don't take a backpack (you'll have to leave or throw it away). I had an over-the-shoulder handbag with me that was fine to take in.

Don't think you can just 'follow the crowd'...people will tell you this will work, but the reality is thousands of people are going all directions because they don't know where they're going either! Refer back to rumours flying around, and asking the cops!

There are no bathrooms (however this is the one thing people will tell you in advance). Our strategy was don’t-hydrate-too-much, which worked. You can always rehydrate the next day.

Take snacks. You’re allowed food and drink in, yay!

Cover all exposed skin – you will get cold – it's all about the layers (shout-out to Sheldon/Onassis).

Your bag will be searched repeatedly so ditch that pocketknife. You’ll get checked a few times at different check points.

If you want to really hear the concert, get closer than us (10 blocks away) so get there before 10/11am.

At about 7 or 8pm you will reach the “shall we just leave” point, especially if the temperature has dropped below freezing (as it had for us). This is when lots of people do leave, and you get to move closer. Push through, stick it out, I BELIEVE IN YOU! Hehe…but seriously, you’re already there.

This is when you implement the ‘How To Stick It Out’ strategy:

Make Friends.

We formed a temporary support group and stuck it out! It was a lot of standing, we were thirsty due to our don’t-hydrate-too-much strategy, and it was COLD, especially from about 4 hours in. But even with all of this, or perhaps because of it, we actually had an awesome night!! This was largely due to meeting cool people in the crowd, commiserating about the above points together, keeping the New Years spirit alive, and of course going to a pub together afterwards.

So we brought in our New Year with much hilarity and appreciation of hundreds of thousands of peoples' craziness in participating in this strange ritual...including us. Good times!!!

Like the locals say, “you’ve gotta do it once!”.

Momentum Of Travel

melodyd83 — Sun, 10 May 2015 14:29:35 GMT

My treasure isn’t a specific location or time. A part of me wishes it was, it’s good drama right? While jumping into the ocean in Cinque Terre, or sitting by the Grand Canyon, I could have had this revelation moment. Instead my treasure was gradual and simple, and yet more meaningful.

Why do we fall in love with travel? For some, it happens before we even go anywhere. To me, travel is an extension of one’s mind-set about life. I love holding onto life, experiencing it for all it’s worth, and settling into moments as they happen.

When we travel we consider, we observe, and we remember to enjoy. Travel is one of the greatest gifts life can give us.

During an 8-month Europe/UK/North America journey, I discovered my travel ‘jam’... somewhere between the Hoover Dam and Dallas. They have some nice straight roads for reflection-while-driving! Chuck in some haunting K.D Lang singing ‘Hallelujah’, chatty Route 66 diner’s where the local cop and the cooks’ 4 yr old breakfast together, scenery eerily out of Roswell, and I found myself set for some 'shifting' thought processes.

I started to pin this elusive ‘shift’ down later, over in Rhode Island. Here I first heard the phrase 'momentum of travel'. It tickled my fancy and encapsulated what had been germinating.

My sister and I were at a work & stay (repairing a loom…of course). Our hosts dinner guests told us about a local Native American word that basically means ‘momentum of travel’. It refers to that point you reach when travel gains a self-perpetuating momentum; one moment leads to the next, one host to the next, one road to the next…and so the gentle momentum takes over. That tourist-y ‘rush-&-plan-fit-it-all-in’ approach slides away.

I completely understand the ‘fit-it-all-in’ approach. I have done it before, and will again (I am not one of those people who can choose between the Coliseum and the Vatican…must see both!). But I also know that it will be a conscious decision when I choose to have a frantic ‘tourist’ moment, and my decision to slip into those momentum moments has, and will continue to, increase. It is no longer all so crucial. I still want to see certain things, but if I had to choose I would prefer to see less and experience more.

Of course, let’s face it, I would much rather have my cake and eat it too. I would love for my personal momentum of travel to both take me those places I want to see, and also allow me the time and mental/life space to truly revel in the experience as well.