Thankful Day 21 - A Traveling Fool!

Today I am thankful for travel. We spent our 1970 honeymoon in Nassau and the following summer we guided a group of students on a fabulous 10 day trip to Russia with a brief stop in Helsinki Finland. We spent spent the summer of 1973 in France as chaperone's to American students attending a summer language coarse. A highlight of my life was seeing the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa. It was fun working for as travel guides for a few years and it provided us the opportunity to go to a couple of places we would never have been able to go otherwise. We spent many weeks in Florida at the beach and Disney World as our children were growing up - and we still do those trips every summer. Everyone wants to know why we always go back there instead of someplace else - it's because we can have a week or two of uninterrupted family time. Worth every penny! We have cruised to the Bahamas with our kids and on a Southern Caribbean cruise for our 25th anniversary to Puerto Rico, Antigua, St. Maartin, Barbados, St. Thomas, and Martinique. We took a wonderful trip to Hawaii with my husband's family - a gift from my in-law's. We have enjoyed seeing the Red Rocks of Sedona Arizona and we have been to Las Vegas a couple of times. After our daughters wedding in 2001 Hubby and I took a romantic trip to Niagara Falls. I had never been before and we had a wonderful few days there. We live close to the Canadian boarder so we have been able to explore a little bit there over the years as well. Since we live in Michigan and own acreage in northern Michigan, we have been able to visit Mackinac Island and other northern Michigan spots over the years as well. Hubby used to guide trips for students in their trips to Washington D.C. and so he guided our family once there too! It was wonderful. Colonial Williamsburg was fun and the Carolina's gorgeous. Since I am originally from Tennessee I have to mention the magnificent Smokey Mountains. My heart is still there in the mountains were I was born.

Travel isn't as inexpensive or as easy or as safe as it used to be. We feel so blessed that we were able to see so many wonderful places and have those memories to share now and in the future. Even though it is doubtful we will travel a lot more internationally, we are planning a 40th wedding anniversary trip to Italy and Greece in 2010.

What have I learned from travel?

1. To be GRATEFUL, GRATEFUL, GRATEFUL to God for blessing us with the joys of travel.

2. All of the places we have seen are fabulous and beautiful and charming in their own unique and special ways. Everyone loves their own country and normal is what we grow up with. But traveling has made me extremely GRATEFUL to be an American, where we are so very blessed to live in comparative peace and luxury.

3. When you travel, whether it be domestic or international, you are exposed to different cultures and people. People everywhere are wonderful. God made them all! The human race in general is good and kind, most all are in love with their families and we all celebrate and struggle with the same family dynamics. I am GRATEFUL for the opportunity to have learned through travel that people are good and equal everywhere.