Why do we travel?

I recently asked the people on our blog list why they traveled. Here are a few of the responses:

To remind myself that we’re not the only ones on the planet. There are other cultures, foods, traditions, clothing, climates, languages … all out there for us to say “hello” and “thanks for sharing this space with me.”-- Michele

For me travel is education/growth. New places and cultures with their different architecture, art, music, styles, people, food, history, etc. all combine to broaden understanding of the world as a whole, which tends to be a pretty bizarre and cool place if you take the time to really look at it. And at the same time it helps one redefine the idea of home. -- Glen, Germany

[T]he more you experience, the more diverse your experience of life, the more it has meaning. It becomes less morbid to think that though we all die in the end, we have several decades to absorb the richness around us. For me, travel is also a creative stimulant and a mental relief from mundane motions of contemporary living. As an artist, the experiences give depth to my work because they help me better understand relationships: man and nature, man and man, nature and nature. As a student, any opportunity to get away from school is a welcome respite! -- Amrita, Virginia

We find traveling, both locally in the U.S. and abroad, to be one of the most educational experiences one can have. Not only do we thoroughly enjoy the experience of trying out the local foods and wines of the countries we visit but we love to experience the local culture. We enjoy either biking or walking wherever we are . . . the chances of meeting locals is far greater this way than to move around by car, rail or bus and is a far more intense education than reading either a textbook or even the best travel guide. We'll be traveling worldwide as long as we have the physical and mental wherewithal to do it! -- Stan and Margie, Colorado

I'll be adding more responsese over the next couple of days so stay tuned!

Thanks again for sharing your ideas with all of us! I find it fascinating that so many of us, most of us strangers to each other, are traveling for pretty much the same reasons: to experience, to learn, to grow.

And travel doesn't have to involve long flights to exotic countries, but can be something as simple as driving to the next county. It's the journey and what you learn from it that seems to be so important to at least the people who stop by our blogs and websites to say hello.