Before Patrick and I left on our honeymoon to Belize and Guatemala, a world-traveling friend suggested keeping a travel journal. As someone with a life-long love of writing, I’m surprised it hadn’t occurred to me. A couple of years earlier, another friend had given me a beautiful leather journal that I hadn’t touched because it seemed too “special” for everyday use. Although a honeymoon seemed like an odd time to journal, I couldn’t imagine a more momentous event and ended up taking it along. I am so glad I did.
A couple of decades later, the smaller details of that trip have faded—but they can be brought back to life every time I read that journal. This began a habit I’ve found both useful and enjoyable. It’s a practice I’d encourage others to undertake, as there are so many rewards in the future.
A detail my husband would rather forget…
Of course, there are many amusing details of that first adventure in our marriage that I will never forget and I’ll share one of them here as — let’s say — a cautionary tale to double-check travel dates. I was handling the booking of the resort and tours. He handled scheduling the flights. The night before we left, we checked our tickets, and to our horror discovered that our seats had been reserved for the month before. Patrick had used a travel agent. The airline was understanding, allowing us to fly on standby. They managed to scrounge up two seats … one at the back of the plane, and one in first class.
Patrick graciously offered the first class seat to me—and I took it with little guilt since I had managed to book the rest of the trip on the correct dates. Three boisterous men sitting in the same row beside me were obviously traveling together and discussed plans for their business trip to Belize City. After we were well into the flight, the one sitting next to me eventually asked why I was traveling to Belize. When I mentioned that I was on my honeymoon, his brow puckered and he glanced around in obvious confusion.
After I told him that my husband was sitting in the back, and explained the reason, the man cringed. “Well, I suppose if I was a gentleman, I’d offer him my seat.” Right. Give up his first-class seat with business companions because of our error. I let him off the hook with a sigh and a giggle, knowing that the consequences were all part of the journey. I’d like to say the rest of our trip went without a hitch, but there were other mishaps that made the adventure both exciting and memorable. Of course, those are the things that stay with you and often make you laugh the most later. Recording it all is part of the fun, to relive later and leave as a legacy for future generations.
The Point Is…
On some rainy day in the future, you could vicariously enjoy your trip once more, or remember that tour guide you’d love to hire again, or that primo campsite that you want to return to — but only if you take the time to journal it. Trust me on this. The details do disappear.
Important Items to Record
I’ve learned to be more detail-oriented over the years since it’s the finer points that often escape my memory. It might seem silly to document the minutiae when it’s still fresh in our minds, but the specifics of our travel are crucial for our ability to return in body or mind to an experience that brought us joy—and more often than not, I’m thankful later that I took the time for this simple discipline. Here are a few of the items I return to later…
- Names and contact information of people we meet: Don’t be shy about this! It’s surprising how many people we’d enjoy reconnecting with later if we could. (Simply ask for a business card to add to your journal, if that applies.)
- The best aspects of the trip: The places we enjoyed visiting, restaurants and favorite menu items – if we return, we’ll save time finding the things we enjoyed most.
- The worst aspects of the trip: so we, or others we share recommendations with, won’t repeat the same mistakes.
- Bucket list items for future trips: the things we didn’t have time to squeeze in on this trip that we’d love to visit if we return later.
- Interesting local legends and tidbits: quirky lore and trivia that make the areas we visit all the more interesting and make for great conversations later.
- Seasonal details: What were the weather and temperature like? Would it be more comfortable to visit again at another time of year? Is there a seasonal event we’d like to return for (or avoid)?
- Tips from locals: If we manage to get some insider intel, we jot it down for future reference!
Fun Things to Include
If you’re sentimental, or just like to embellish a journal with fun tidbits and souvenirs, be sure to attach things like…
- photos (they can even come from visitors guides)
- ticket stubs
- stamps or stickers from parks visited
- small maps
- local newspaper or brochure clippings
- postcards
- pressed leaves or flowers
- sketches of animals, birds, or habitats observed
- recipe cards (to remove and use later)
- bookmarks
- souvenir flattened pennies
When you’re traveling through the continental United States—especially if you’re with kids—it’s fun to record all the states you’ve been through. (Here is a map you can download for free, coloring in each state you visit. You could even add a tiny memento such as a rock or shell from each place.)
The first couple decades of my life were transient ones. My father had a restless and adventurous spirit and changed jobs every couple years or so, uprooting our family and moving us from one end of the country to the other. Oh, how I wish I’d documented those years better. My inner child remembers the fun points, doesn’t always connect the memory with a specific place.
Don’t Lose Those Memories!
I was born in Pennsylvania but moved while still a toddler, so my only memories of my birthplace are of return visits we made later to visit relatives. (Don’t ask me where I’m from, because I can honestly only tell you I’m from the United States. And no, I wasn’t a “military brat.”) We picked up and drove across the country to live in Washington state where my mother grew up, and then left again for Minnesota a couple of years later, only to return to the Pacific Northwest to live in Oregon for two more years. From there, we moved to Virginia and later Indiana, where we ended up stopping for an unprecedented eight years! At this point, I headed off to art school in Chicago, Illinois and parted ways with my parents who continued on to Kentucky, Arkansas, North Carolina and back to Oregon). We all eventually met back up in Florida, where I ended up staying for the first twenty-five years of my adult life. We have since all relocated to North Carolina as a home base.
All that to make the point that during my early years, I traveled (often by moving truck) through most of the continental United States, creating a mish-mash of memories I often struggle to sort out in my mind. I wish someone had encouraged me to keep a diary then. It would be so fascinating to revisit those scattered memories in detail! So—if you are taking children on extended road trips (or engaged in full-time #rvliving), pleeeeeease either buy a travel journal for the kids or make one as a gift for them—or create one as a family project. It is time well spent, and I can assure you that most kids will enjoy reliving the traveling experiences in years to come.
Throughout my childhood years, my parents also took us on frequent road trips to visit friends and family scattered from one coast to another. So there are very few states we missed along the way. We never made it as far as Alaska or Hawaii. I also have no memories of Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas, or Maine. These are definitely areas I’d like to visit in retirement years. When I do, I will be sure to journal the events so I can savor it all again later!
Items on my Journaling Wish List
Preserving memories would be so much easier with these lovelies and they are next on my list of things to acquire for our travels…
- Kodak Mini 2 HD Wireless Portable Mobile Photo Printer
Compatible with iOS & Android, Free app, prints stickers to put right into your journal. (Oh my goodness, watch the video showing how it works!) - FujiFilm Instax Share SP-3
Turns photos from social media, Google Photos, Flickr, and Dropbox into a 2.4 x 2.4-inch print.
My Latest Journal
This is my latest journal purchase and I’m really excited about how much I’ll be able to do with it. It has nice, big rings on it, so I’ll be able to add all kinds of stuff to it just by cutting it to fit and punching matching holes. (I’ll do a future blog post on the finished project.)
- Fully Customizable Binder
Easy to add pages and thicker items in this completely customizable book. (I bought one to use as a guest book in my Little Free Library and it was one of the first books to disappear—Arg! It’s just that cool.)
UPDATE: See my progress on the new travel journal (customizable binder) here!
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