"Life is Full of Travel Choices" - Time Out #184

During frequent conversations about travel topics, I am regularly asked 2 common questions;

1) Where is the place you have been that is your very favorite?

2) How do you decide where to visit next?

The answer to #1 is difficult, but my answer is the remote Galapagos Islands (governed by Ecuador) in the South Pacific Ocean.

The answer to #2 doesn't have a simple answer, but I will attempt to tell readers in Our Town and far beyond, a few of the ways I go about mentally arriving at our next travel destination.

I do have input from my lovely bride, Debbie, but her organizational skills with suitcase packing, attention to our 4-legged "children", Spanky and Tux, and getting our homestead ready for our absence, are absolutely invaluable for our trip planning and departure schedules.

I am so aware of Mother Earth, and the geography of our planet. Even as a Westwood Elementary youngster, I loved to read World Books about other places all over the world. I vividly remember in Miss Lillis Lawhon's 4th grade class being given the classroom student assignment to name all the states in our United States, and the state capital cities within each state. I was able to accomplish this feat quickly because of my early love of geography. My dear father, Col. C.H. Breedlove, also instilled a deep respect for seeing different parts of our great country by taking me from coast to coast, including flying to Honolulu, HI, in the late 1950's. We also traveled north and south extensively, all the way and into Canada and Mexico. Ms. Debbie and I always thought my father's ideas of traveling were much better than simply reading about other places. Therefore, she and I frequently took our 3 children out of school to travel with us. Our offspring trio would do their required schoolwork either before we left or after we returned from our many traveling adventures.

So, let's briefly visit to my ways of deciding our future travel destinations.

Each day our U.S. mailbox has at least 4-5 pieces of travel-related informational/promotional booklets for me to look over. Most of the time I spend with them is minimal, but a few are carefully studied. By spending additional time with some, I "file" important items away in my brain for future reference. I also physically put the more important printed items away in our home so I can get them as needed for my future review. As time goes on, I discard outdated printed material when I receive updates from the many various travel vendors.

I am not simply "old school" in my fact-gathering routine of printed items. I do utilize the electronic Internet, and as time marches forward, I am utilizing it even more. Also, in that regard, I watch travel-related programming on cable television, laptop computers, and on my cell phone.

Probably one of my biggest sources of on-going possible travel destinations is during one-on-one or small group conversations with other people. Conversations are had about where they have been, and what their thoughts were about those travels? Many of these sessions result when we, too, are on a trip, and we are chatting with fellow, like-minded travelers. You certainly don't have to be around me very long to realize I ask LOTS of questions! I have always been a curious person, and interested in other people's lives. That part of my personality has probably assisted me greatly in my journalistic endeavors over the years. Through my questioning process with people regarding travel subjects, I usually "fine tune" my thoughts regarding potential future destinations. Usually, I know the basics about certain areas of the world. Therefore, if I engage someone who has actually been there and experienced the location, it helps me decide my "internal" answer to myself regarding a "yes, a no, or a possible" future visit there.

I have found over the many years, and the many countries/destinations we have visited, my passion to get there, where ever "there" is, absolutely drives my an inner desire to see different places. Yes, we frequently visit places we have been many previous times, also. However, the "new" spots are always very special to experience.

Wow, traveling is such a wonderful thing.....