201 Street

Traveling is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I love traveling across the United States, Mexico and Europe. But what I get myself as souvenirs from these trips surprises people a lot of the time. Instead of bringing home a sombrero from Mexico or a miniature Leaning Tower of Pisa, I keep my maps as a keepsake from trips. I went through all of my storage boxes a few years ago and I found trinkets from past trips that did nothing but collect dust and take up space. That is why I now keep my maps as souvenirs.

My Italy map has cappuccino spots on it. While I was there I drank coffee all day long. I walked around the country or took buses everywhere that I went. My map got a lot wear and tear. It’s wrinkled and stained but it has a lot of character and I have it framed. It hangs on the wall of my study.

I am from the Heartland of American so I grew up in the perfect position to drive around and see this great country. Needless to say, my maps of United States are very worn. I have been from Oklahoma to Florida, Oklahoma to Michigan, Oklahoma to California and everywhere in between. I am not even close to finishing my U.S. travels so that map will not be retiring any time soon.

And my Mexico maps have seen better days. I tend to fly to Mexico because it can be dangerous to drive around that country. But once I’m in the area that I want to be, I rent a car and see all of the sights. I saw the entire city of Mexico City and even the ruins of Chichen Itza. The beaches were beautiful and that trip was one that I will never forget. I did retire those maps because they were really used. I think I’ll treat myself to a new souvenir the next time that I take a trip to Central America.