I love seeing new places, trying new things and meeting new people. Travel allows for all of those things.
One of the best parts of travel, however, is really connecting with people all over the world, even when ‘all over the world’ means just a couple states away from home.
Traveling to a far away place can be so much more meaningful when you have friends who already live there or when you make new friends there to connect with again and again as you grow.
A few weeks ago I traveled to Virginia to celebrate my grandmother’s 100th birthday.
Along the way I stopped to spend a night with a dear friend from college. The next afternoon I took a break from my drive to have lunch with one of my favorite bloggers, Monica of Daily Dwelling.
Ahhhhh, travel is so much better and meaningful when I get to take time out to reconnect with friends! And it is more meaningful when we make new friends, too.
One year my children were entranced by their counselor on a Club Med vacation. So, as we left, we gave her our email address and invited her to come visit us in America when she was able. Fortunately she took us up on the offer a few months later and we had the opportunity to host her for her first American adventure. She stayed in America for 4 weeks, 2 weeks with us and 2 weeks traveling to many other states. The kids loved hosting her, she enjoyed every second and we even made a full scrapbook of her travels here before she returned home.
This was definitely a win-win… and now we have a closer friend to visit in another part of the world, yet again.
The world is smaller and travel more meaningful when you make real connections with people, old friends and new.
When you travel for vacation, do you ever try to add in a day or two to visit friends near where you are visiting? And do you try you make new friends on vacation? Please share your experiences. I’d love to read about them!
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