11 September 2010

Oh, how I wish to travel!

Ironic, isn't it? I know people who refuse to fly on September 11 because of what happened nine years ago. (A moment of silence for everyone who lost their lives [and their loved ones] on that terrible day.)

But at the moment I have travel fever!

I really want to hop on a plane and fly, fly, fly. To Paris. To Tokyo. To Norway. To England. Ireland. China. India. Egypt. Brazil. Madagascar.

I yearn to step on board a boat and sail to the Galapagos and Cape Horn and my dear friends the San Blas islands of Panama.

I'd even settle for getting on a car or bus or train and motoring along to California, to Iowa, to Canada.

A rainbow of exotic names that dance off my tongue and trip down my chest to take a firm hold on my heart. Scenes of the Eiffel Tower and the British flag and skyscrapers in Japan taunt me from their safely boxed-in links via Google Images. I'm tempted to go purchase a ticket to God-Knows-Where ASAP.

So I talk to my family. My mother says I've been bitten by the travel bug real hard (which gives me a bit of a shiver because of the recent bedbug epidemic). It is all because, she continues, I spent two years of my early life (ages nine to ten) living on our family's sailboat in the Caribbean. She says the same thing happened to her, because she, too, spent years aboard her family's ship, traveling from place to place.

Wow, thanks, I say. Kind of an expensive hobby to plant in me, isn't it?

She admits that yes, it is. This is a woman who spent much of her life traveling from place to place — living on a Navajo reservation during college, taking every foreign exchange trip available in high school, etc etc.

So we start speculating, as we often do. I say that I've been thinking about buying myself a ticket to Norway for Christmas break. I have an aunt, an uncle, and two little cousins just outside of Oslo that I can stay with.

My mother says that's a good idea, and maybe they will pay for part of my ticket if I babysit the kids? Sounds good to me.

And then she brings up a novel idea... what if we took a few months — summer vacation plus a bit on each end — next year or the year after, and sailed our boat to the British Isles? 

My heart flutters, because I have a special place in my soul for Ireland and England and Scotland, ancestral places that I have never been to. It's like a dream come true, and I agree readily.

So it begins...

We'll see what shall come of this little speculation. Maybe nothing, maybe everything. All I know is that I will be doing much traveling in the year to come. My mom promised we could take a weekend in Boston sometime soon, and she and I are going to fly down to Florida for a week or so to visit my elderly great-grandmother.

Thank you, O Travel Fever!

Although my prayer is not quite in the same context, the sentiment is still lovely.

23 comments:

  1. I know how you feel Olive Tree!
    I'm saving up to able to travel after High School..

    I love that movie!

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  2. You want to travel to Iowa?? Whatever for? (If I may ask, that is) If you do, there's not much to see around here. :)

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  3. Oh, I know what you mean, Olive Tree! I've had those "travel urges" before, too. I had the opprotunity to go with my dad to Rome, Italy last spring, and ever since I've been itching to take a similar trip. Ahhh, Europe!;)

    I certainly hope that you get the chance to do some of these things - sounds so fun!

    Love and Blessings,
    Hannah

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  4. I live in England ;) It's a fashionista's paradise!

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  5. I wish I could travel like you. My family simply doesn't have the money to go on vacations every month. I want to travel to the African Savannas! Germany where my ancestors lived! Russia! France! Give me an "A" for Algeria!

    P.S
    It was funny when I read that picture with the prayer on it. I just recently watched Forest Gump! (AKA one of the best movies in the world)

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  6. I visit Ireland all the time because I have relatives there. It is so beautiful. Living near New York City, there arent a lot of forests or meadows. So Ireland is like a huge step for me. If you really want to travel, go to the coast line. Thats the place to be.

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  7. I'm totally with you! You should come to Germany and visit me while I'm here ;)

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  8. Europe is awesome. As a British girl, I wouldn't say that England classes itself as European, but if you visit England it is really easy to go to Calais or Boulogne {France} for the day, or to Germany for a weekend, or to Italy for a long weekend, or so I hear. I've been to Boulogne and Canada, but nowhere else, or at least no where I can remember.
    Like Honey Bee said, the coast is amazing. Just seeing the horizon stretch on and on... You know there's more to see out there but it's just out of reach.
    Travelling is amazing.
    ~Libby

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  9. I feel the same way. I haven't been anywhere for the past year or so.

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  10. Oh I totally know what you mean!! I have a travel fever too!

    For instance, my chorus is going on a trip to England next summer. That's right England/London/PARIS!! I've already been to England 3 years ago (also with the chorus) but they're going again. I said, "Mom, I can go to England again! It will be great!"
    Unfortunately, the price tag doesn't agree... The expenses are more, and also as its the summer before my senior year, my parents are insisting I spend it doing more "productive" things.

    So, my only hopes are to study abroad in Europe during college, and from there travel all over - at least all over Europe.

    But I would still love to go to India, South America, Ireland....

    Seriously - why does something so wonderful need to have such an expensive price tag???


    ~Liz B
    http://lifeoflizb.blogspot.com

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  11. I know exactly how you feel, Olive Tree. That was really beautiful at the bottom of the post. *smiles* One time, my family went on vacation ONE HOUR after we came home from a cancelled airplane flight. This was during the flood. (you know, in TN.) We drove to virginia, and spent a couple days, going to colonial williamsburg, and D.C. It was my dream come true. Two places I had always wanted to go, just when I had travel fever...*satisfied sigh*

    ~bree

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  12. I know what you mean, Olive Tree! Lately I've had such an urge to go somewhere, anywhere! I do love the comfort of home, but it seems I'll never be perfectly content where I am until I travel anywhere and everywhere!

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  13. I love traveling, but I don't get to often. No more than once a year, my family goes on a week long road trip to places across America. Driving across the countryside and seeing all those beauitful farms makes me really want to move away from the drab grab city I live in. Then every so often (about every 3 or 4 years) we go to Poland to visit family. It is oh so beautiful there and I never want the trip to end.

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  14. Hahaha, traveling is fun! Doing the other-side-of-the-world trip is good for those who have the need to travel! I did it, from NZ to UK and boy was it long!
    If you come to UK, go to York it is such a NICE city...lol
    But if you want to go to the most BEAUTIFUL place in the world--then go to New Zealand! It is so wonderful, and you wouldn't be disappointed; it's got every bit of the world in it. Hot sandy deserts and beautiful beaches with bright blue oceans; snowy mountains and wide green hills; bottomless lakes and icy glaciers... Sorry, but it's true! hahaha Hope you get to travel Olive Tree and have fun dearie:-)
    God bless you heaps

    nzkiwigirl
    xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

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  15. Olive Tree,

    I have a blog-design question. How did you get your images to be so wide?

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  16. Ok, you can just ignore my last comment. It wasn't what I was trying to say. What I'm asking is this: How do you make your images so large? On my test blog (testbyqueenlucy.blogspot.com) I have the same header, sidebar, and post width as you have, but my images are still small. Is there an easy method to fix this?

    Thanks so much!
    Queen Lucy

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  17. I'm pretty sure Olive Tree uses Photoshop to make her pictures wider. Correct me if I'm wrong.

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  18. Alex is kinda-sorta right. I edit my photos in Photoshop and crop them to 800px wide. Then I upload them to Photobucket and use the URL from that at 100% size.

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  19. Hello. My name is Meghan.

    I was searching around in the dirt and found a gem. Your blog. Love it.

    I believe in the One who made us too. He is amazing.

    I look forward to coming back.

    In the Creator,
    Meghan Grace

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  20. Olive,

    I'm a frequent reader of your blog and I'd like you to know I've tagged you: http://horsedayzblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/top-5s.html

    Thankxx!

    ~MunciEquestrian8)

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  21. Me too, I love to travel! Wish I could go to some places I've never been but count myself lucky to be married to someone in the airline industry and to have been to many different places:-)

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  22. Lovely photo!

    I also really want to go somewhere too. Anywhere where there is a nice hotel to stay at where I can just relax... that would be soooo nice. :)

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