Becoming a Traveler
21°20’10.8″N 158°07’31.8”W. It was here, on a quiet lonely rock beach in Ko Olina, Hawaii, I first realized just how massive the world was and how little of it I’ve seen. It was there I became a traveler.
We were Celebrating our 10 year anniversary, at Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa. It was supposed to be a fun vacation though turned out to be much more than I ever anticipated. If you have never been to Hawaii and ever get the opportunity to go I highly suggest you go. Culturally it’s amazing and by far the most beautiful place I have ever laid my eyes on (the food’s not bad either). It was on that large rock, relentlessly being pounded by the ocean, I realized just how much I was missing out on.
I grew up in a small town in South Louisiana, that was my sanctuary, no matter where I went there was always no place like home. Though I wondered about the rest of the world, I was comfortable there. I had no real desire to see the world. That was until I did. It was at that point that I decided I no longer wanted to take vacations. I want adventure. I want to travel. To some, that may mean the same thing, but to me it was different. I didn’t just want to see a place, I wanted to experience it. Coming from my small town where everyone knew everyone, it became increasingly intriguing that life could be completely different in another place in the world.
One of my favorite days in Hawaii was the day we rented a car. I asked the cashier where we should go. He was quick to suggest a luau to which I quickly stopped him with the “No, I want something real. Where’s a place YOU would go?”. He directed us to the north shore of the island which was the almost exact opposite side of the island. I upgraded the rental to a convertible and off we went. We took in as much as we could, stopping at local restaurants and local beaches. All the while trying to imagine what our lives would be like there. It is to this day one of my favorite travel memories and as a result, I wanted to make more.
As sad as I was to leave this amazing place I took away a sense of joy knowing that I would never look at the world only through the pages of magazines again. I was now a traveler, so I wanted to see it all.
Once home I began to compile a list of all the places I wanted to visit and have begun crossing them off as we can. The list is expansive though in a way I hope is never complete. I love the dream of travel. I would hate to run out of places to ponder what it would be like to go there. Sometimes I imagine myself at the Great Wall of China, standing next to the Coliseum, or sitting atop Machu Picchu. It’s in those dreams where I stay hungry for new adventures.
I refuse to get caught up in the comforts of home, the experience and memories are what I want my kids to remember, not material things. My hope is that they see the beauty and glory that the world is made up of. I want them to know that while it may be true that there is no place like home, there is nothing quite like traveling.
Avid Disney fan, husband to Tiffany, father of three, Brock, Bailey, and Brennan. Lover of travel and blogger for the Wish Upon Afar travel blog, The Travelers Journal.
