Perspective: Why Traveling is Different from Vacation

We completed another trip across the pond.

Cliffs of Moher

Sean's Bar

Dunguaire Castle

As summer comes to a close, our summer travels do as well.  It's been an incredibly busy summer, with posts coming to keep reminding you through the year to plan for your next trip.  We've just returned from a ten-day trip to Ireland and Scotland, and we can't wait to teach you all about it.

It was incredible.

In reflection, as we share and teach what we've learned, we've stumbled across a mindset that seems important to start with.  With the cost of life ever increasing, it can feel overwhelming to plan a trip.  Vacations don't come cheap.  And you'd be correct in saying that.

What's important to note, as we continue to post and teach about the world as we learn, is that there is a key point with what we do.

There is a difference between traveling and taking a vacation.

Taking a vacation is going to be expensive.  Vacations are meant to be less work, downtime, sitting on beaches and being catered too.  When you go on vacation, you're make the determination on what you're going to do and when you're going to do it.  And hopefully it includes a waiter on the beach to support you.

Traveling is not the same.  Traveling means picking a destination, finding your own room and board, and figuring out how to get from one place to another on your own.  Traveling asks you to be open to change, to be flexible, and to allow the world to teach you what it wants you to see.

We have both been travelers for years.  Once you've learned to travel, the feeling to go into the world sits in your soul.  It pulls you forward, asking you to keep learning, growing, and challenging yourself in the world we live in.  It's not always easy.  Life has highs and lows that impact when and how travel happens.  But we're here, not because we are the richest, wealthiest people, but because we're teachers who have struggled and have continued to come back to traveling.

Traveling is something anyone can do, anytime, anywhere.  You don't have to leave the country (although we highly recommend you do).  You can travel in as little time as a weekend to an extended time away when you get the days to do so.

So as we share our stories, remember we want you to be able to do this.  We want to inspire you to plan your own future forward.  Start buying things to support your travels, even if you can't travel just this minute.  Save them for the future.  Make your bucket list.  Then start planning to go.

You can travel and see the world. 

​It's waiting for you.  And it's a pretty incredible place to see.

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I'm going to talk about these hiking shoes a lot.  I bought them brand new, pulled them out of the box and put them on as we headed to the airport for the first time.  They were not broken in when we left, and they turned out to be an incredible buy....

Hiking Shoes