Writing — Travel & Gratitude
Gratitude for All the Steps I’ve Taken in Life
Dare to care and dare to show it!
A month of gratitude is an amazing thing. Too often, me included, it’s easy to get down in the dumps with all the problems that exist in the world, combined with each of our own personal problems. It can be a lot to deal with.
It’s easy to become apathetic. Daring to care and to show gratitude is powerful and also takes constant practice.
A very Globetrotters kind of gratitude
Here at Globetrotters we publish travel stories, of course. As related to travel, I’m immensely thankful for each step and each breath I’ve taken on this wonderful planet Earth.
While I haven’t had the opportunity to travel as much as some people, I was still blessed with being able to see and experience many different places and I never take that for granted. Just because others haven’t traveled as much as any of us, this doesn’t make their life any less awesome or meaningful.
And just because I haven’t traveled as much as some people, this doesn’t make my life any less awesome or meaningful either.
My own humble start
My travel bug started with my parents. How lucky I was to be traveling at such a small age.
Though they were both hardworking farmers, both also loved to take road trips, which would start from our potato farm in Idaho and end up in such places as Washington, Arizona, Texas, California, South Dakota and all the states in between, as well as Canada and Mexico.
Some of my earliest memories are of vineyards in Penticton in British Columbia. I remember picking juicy grapes and putting them into a basket and my dad and I sneaking them into our mouths. They were so cool and delicious.
I remember a high-rise hotel we stayed at in Calgary when I was maybe like four or five — looking out the window of our hotel room and thinking I would fall. Maybe that’s why I had so many nightmares of falling off a building when I was a kid.
I also have memories of camping trips to Wolverine Canyon in Idaho, where I cut my foot on a piece of glass and had to get stitches, and Jackson, Wyoming near Yellowstone. I remember riding on the back of an enormous turtle in Tuscon, Arizona and seeing botanical gardens in Rapid City, South Dakota.
I remember visiting beautiful Spokane, Washington and seeing the beach for the first time in Corpus Christi, Texas. I’ll never forget the canoe trips I took to all the little Great Lake islands on the Minnesota-Canada border.
I do believe that visiting Mexico was a favorite for all of us for different reasons though. My dad loved to buy cheap stuff in Mexico, like watches, even though they might break as soon as we got home. I think he looked at is as more of a charitable act for whoever was doing the selling. He would always pick someone who looked particularly honest and hardworking.
My older brothers liked checking out the senoritas and cheap electronic gadgets while my mother and me enjoyed shopping for Mexican style dresses and unique food items like Mexican vanilla (best Vanilla ever).
All those memories and more live out in my head like an old beloved movie.
Traveling as an adult
All grown up and on my own, the adventurous travel days of my youth stayed with me. In the years since, I’ve traveled to 44 states in America and hopefully one of these days I will make it to all 50. My favorite states to drive across, for their sheer beauty alone, is Iowa, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Idaho and Florida.
After my daughter was born, I would take her along and pass that love onto to her. Together we took trips to Arizona, New York, Florida and a lot of states in between. We had a lot of fun exploring New Jersey, also, where we lived for several years.
We once got free ice cream in Hoboken, New Jersey. We went on a tour of St. John’s River in Florida and explored Yellowstone Park, amongst many other amazingly fun trips.
They grow up so fast! My daughter is 28 and been on her own for quite a while now. I moved to Florida after she decided to move back to Idaho. She loves the cold and I love the warmth. Not sure how we got so opposite there!
I’ve taken several more trips to Mexico, and now I’ve found myself living as an ex-pat in Trinidad & Tobago, where my husband was born. The transition has been simply amazing. I will admit that it took me some time to get used to things here, but I fall in love with this island country more and more every day. It’s my second home now.
The future
There are a lot more places I still want to go and see. My husband and I are itching to tour more of the Caribbean islands and South America but the rain the last few months has been pretty brutal… plus, after so many years of working hard and living harder, it’s been so nice just to sit back and take a rest for a while. We cook, drink spirits and talk about a lot of things.
It’s a lovely life and I’m thankful for every single minute.
Your turn
I do hope that each of you will take a turn to tell us where you’ve been and how it’s affected your life. Doesn’t matter if you’ve only ever traveled to the next town, as long as you write honestly and from your heart, we will love it here at Globetrotters.
What do you say? Are you up for it? Express your gratitude for all the glorious places you’ve been on this great and wonderous planet Earth.
Anne has provided us with our excellent guidelines for this month November and thankfulness:
And don’t forget to check out the results of our October challenge: “Let’s Get Spooked — The Finale”.
Want to join us? Write For Globetrotters! 🚢✈️🚗.
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