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.

I have been very lucky in life and I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunities to travel quite a lot. I always write in my traveling journal and I always make notes on the maps that I use to get around. I’ve found that the notes, journal entries and photographs of the places I’ve visited help me to remember better. Last year I spend several months in Asia and I was able to spend quality time in several countries, rather than just hop from one to another.

My map of Philippines is quite worn. I used it to get everywhere. There are food stains on it and some stains that I have no idea what it is. I wrote in my journal quite a lot. One thing that I remarked on quite a bit was the attitude of the people. Most seemed very pleasant and welcoming. I would like to visit there again simply because of the people.

I spend a month in Malaysia also. I used several maps to keep from getting lost and all of the maps of Malaysia are stained and worn. I feel like the older my maps look, the more I saw of the country. I wouldn’t want to spend all of that time and money to visit another culture and find that I didn’t see much of it.

I would have to say of all of the Asian countries that I spent time in, Thailand was my favorite. My once crisp and nice Thailand map is not crumpled, stained and there is writing all over it where I took notes of the places that I went to.

I don’t think that I would be able to remember those countries and my time spent in them as well if I did not have the entries from my journal, the pictures that I took there and the maps that I used to get around. I never go anywhere without all three of these things.

I’ve never been much of a daredevil. In fact, I have roller coasters and anything related. But when I got to the convention of Liberty League International, I’ve found that I don’t have to be afraid.There is a video about Liberty League online if you want to learn more about them. I’ve found that in order for me to good in my life, I have to do good by me. I’ve been able to with some inspiration.

I’ve been to several places to hear people from Liberty League Intl speak and I always leave feeling great. Not only do I dislike things like roller coasters, but I dislike people a lot. I’ve learned how to deal with them also. I’ve learned how to like people by liking myself more. It just takes me knowing myself and what I’m capable of. I didn’t think I would ever finish my master’s but I did. I didn’t think I would ever like zip-lining but I did. I find that Liberty League knows how to inspire me.

I’m going to Rome this year for another conference. I cannot wait. I want to eat real Italian food and to drink Italian wine. I bet the cappuccino is top notch there also. I always bring my journal with me wherever I go and I bet that I will fill it up while I’m there.

I am always on the go.  But every so often I get some time off and I love to travel.  So again I’m on the go….just in a different way!

I just got back with my worn map of Mexico in hand from a trip south of the border.  I had a great time and it got me thinking about maps.  I always like to do research before my trips and so I have amassed a collection of maps.  In my desk at this moment are a map of Maryland, a map of New Jersey and a a map of Ohio. Maps surround me while I work.  I have an antique map of Middle East on the wall in my office.

As I said I love to travel and having maps around helps me to keep my thirst of knowledge about our world quenched between trips.  I have quite a collection of photographs from my past trips.  However there is nothing like planning a new trip and the anticipation and joy that this brings.