Travel Journal

Writing while traveling

12 Jul 2017 Comments Off on Writing while traveling

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Travel Journal Tags: address, plans

Dear Fellow Journalers,

“You don’t have to be traveling to write a travel journal.” A wise friend told me a few days ago. I was lamenting the fact that we weren’t planning a grand trip anywhere. We were just thinking about a mid-summer jaunt north. “So,” she said, “why not write about that dream, those plans…” I hadn’t realized that I could do that. I mean, I could write about our trip BEFORE we actually set off. Come to think of it, I could even post- journal! Ok, here we go…

Journaling about plans sounds awfully dull, though doesn’t it? I thought I’d take some time and write the why’s, how’s and expectations of our journey instead. That sounds more interesting, doesn’t it? So, I got out a nifty book and began to write. I found out that journaling this way set me up for a new adventure to write about.

During our trip, I wrote every day, although not in the strictest sense. I wrote while waiting for a meal in a restaurant, before we turned out the lights for the night, waiting for the fish to bite. I wrote about the places we went, the people we met, what different food we ate (how it smelled, different tastes and the name and address of the restaurants – in case we wanted to visit again!

After we came back, I wrote in a special section of the journal, about how I felt to be home again. Did the familiar surroundings look different? Have you ever visited your old school and marveled that the desks look so small? How did I feel about the places we visited and the people we met? Would I go again?

‘Til then,

~Sallie

Why write a Travel Journal?

05 Jul 2017 Comments Off on Why write a Travel Journal?

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Travel Journal Tags: college, Maine, Minnesota, travel, Virginia

Dear Fellow Journalers,

“Every trip consists of two simultaneous journeys. The outer journey and the inner journey. The outer journey is everything external: what you’re seeing, hearing, smelling, doing etc. The inner journey is what’s happening in your mind. Great travel journals weave the two journeys together.” David Fox

I was going to start this month’s blog posts with the simple “the journey begins with the first step” but after reading the above, I realized that this type of journal means so much more than a flippant “remark” everyone has heard before. We’ve all taken journeys, haven’t we? Some of us took journeys to other states for family vacations or to attend college. Some of us have traveled abroad for business or pleasure. How many of us have souvenirs of those trips? How many of us have written a diary of that trip?

I wish I’d kept notes from my first trip to view colleges in states far from my own. If pressed, I could recall the different sights and sounds of life being lived in Maine or Virginia. I can remember how cold it was one winter in Minnesota and walking above a sidewalk inside a mall!

Far too often, I feel, we grab a passport, pack a bag and after checking off the hundreds of tiny details to close up a home (temporarily) leave without a thought to writing anything down while on our fabulous trip.

So, this summer I propose a challenge in writing our travel journal. I know you’re thinking why do I want to do this? Your future self will thank you. Next week I’ll share some thoughts on how to create the journal as you travel.

‘Til next time,

~Sallie

05 Jul 2017 Comments Off on Travel Journal

by uniquelyyourscraftjournal in Travel Journal Tags: college, passport, travel

Dear Fellow Journalers,

I was going to start this month’s blog posts with the simple, tried and true statement: ” The journey starts with the first step.” But after reading the above quote, I realized that this type of journal means so much more than a trite statement we all have heard a hundred times or more. We’ve all taken journeys haven’t we? Some of us took journeys to different states for family vacations or to attend college. Some of us have traveled abroad for business or pleasure. How many of us have souvenirs of those trips? How many of us have written “diaries” of those trips?

I wish I’d kept notes from my first trip to view colleges in states far from my own. If pressed I could recall the different sights and sounds of life being lived in Maine or Virginia. I can remember how cold it was one winter in Minnesota and walking on a sidewalk ABOVE the street in a Mall.

Far too often, I feel, we grab our passport, pack a bag and after checking off the hundreds of tiny details to close up our homes (temporarily ) we leave without a thought to writing anything down while on our fabulous trip. So, this summer, I propose we write a travel journal. I know you’re thinking why do I want to do this? Your future self will thank you. Next week I’ll share some thoughts on how to create the journal as you travel.

‘Til then, (I was going to end with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, theme song “Happy Trails to you” but again, we’ve heard that before too!)

Sallie