Gettin’ Carried Away

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a little traveling hiatus since my trip to Pittsburgh in August. FEAR NOT! I will be making my yearly trip to NYC next month. Anyway, when I don’t have the time (or the money) to travel, I’m naturally envious of those who are planning trips. So when a friend of mine says, “I’m dreading my upcoming weekend in Disney,” I’m thinking… are you nuts?

~* Over nine hours to Germany? Let me gear up! *~

What is it about traveling that people don’t like? I find that most people are annoyed with the travel process rather than the trip itself. I’m sure we all wish we could be like Samantha from Bewitched, twitch our noses and be whisked away to a far off place in a matter of seconds. However, we must endure long lines at the airport, frequent stops on a road trip or some 50+ steps up and down subway platforms to get to our vacation destination. But seriously… what’s so bad about that?

Let’s take flying, for example. Usually, even if you factor in the packing, the transportation to the airport, the check-in/security lines and the wait for the departure, you’re going to get to most places a lot faster by plane. If you decide to take a road trip, your vacation should be about the drive and the places you see along the way. Finally, if you arrive in a city and decide to take public transportation to your hotel, keep in mind that you might be saving tons of money on cab fare.

Heck, I’ve been through a lot of crappy times for the sake of a trip. In Italy, we made the mistake of not buying return tickets to Rome when we took a day trip to Florence, so we ended up on a five-hour local train instead of the hour (and some change) express. In London, my 110-minute Tube ride from Heathrow Airport to Canary Wharf cost under £5, when a cab ride could have been about £70-80!

~* THRILLED about our five-hour journey back to Rome! *~

I think that a lot of our struggles with traveling have to do with the fact that most of us live in a fast-paced world that is in a constant state of rush hour. We’re all in a hurry, even if we left the house a full hour-and-a-half before we have to be somewhere. And because we’re in a hurry, we then become impatient. We want it, and we want it now!

Instead of complaining about all the time you spend standing in lines or sitting in a waiting area, you could be doing a lot of other things with your time. Those are the key words here… your time. It is your personal time that you choose to spend any way you want. Listen to your favorite album, read a new book, buy a Sudoku puzzle book, catch up on emails, call an old friend, etc. And yes, I know that traveling can be exhausting at times. But I’m going to leave you with this thought… Out of the 300+ billion residents in America, only about four million will visit the UK in a given year (says Forbes Traveler).

Stats vary around the world, but the point is that only a fraction of the country will see a given historic landmark, unfamiliar country town, famous river, well-known piece of art, etc. You could be one of the few people in your town who has walked atop the Great Wall of China, taken a ride up the Mississippi River in Louisiana or strolled about the Irish countryside. When it comes to that, waiting in a security line for an extra 25 minutes really doesn’t bother me.

If you really want a true Rocky Mountain experience, then you probably shouldn’t spend all your time in Denver, Colorado. You deserve a better taste of the Rockies than a simple swig of an ice cold Coors Light. And that is why my good friend Lindsey took me up to the charming mountain town of Evergreen, which is only 40 minutes to an hour away from Denver’s city center.

The drive from Denver to Evergreen itself is well worth the trip. In other words, keep your camera handy. The somewhat tree-lined highway (I-70 West) passes by open fields where mass loads of buffalo graze like no one is watching. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself pulled over along with other carloads of people, taking post card-like pictures. And even as you continue into the mountains, you’ll be winding your way around gigantic mounds dotted with Evergreen trees.

Because I was only visiting for two days, we headed straight for the most popular spot, the “downtown” area along Main Street (aka Highway 74). Imagine walking into a log cabin. Now picture 20+ log cabins, all connected by covered porches. Essentially, that is what you will find along Highway 47 in the form of jewelers, art galleries, clothing stores, restaurants and cafes, all connected by a rustic, wooden boardwalk. Some of my favorite shops like Unique Boutique–providing quality goods made by local artisans–and The Green Merchant–offering eco-friendly gifts–have yet to develop an online presence. You are sure to find something special that people will only be able to obtain if they make the trip up to the mountains.

Of course, there’s more to Evergreen than shopping and dining. If you want to learn more about the town’s beginnings, take a free tour at the historical Hiwan Homestead Museum. Evergreen Lake offers boating in the summer and ice skating in the winter, in addition to fishing all. year. long. Numerous trails are spread all over the town for leisurely walks (around the lake) or rigorous hiking (in the mountains).

… you adjust!

This past week, I was bombarded with work, the weather took a turn for the worse and my mother and I didn’t think that road trippin’ to Kentucky would be a good idea.

First of all we had the whole work issue. I really needed to be by my computer at any given moment. While my laptop is portable, we had planned on spending a lot of time on the road and on foot. And even though I could carry it around with me, that’s unnecessary weight, especially for a road trip. Also, I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of leaving it inside the hot trunk (it IS summer, you know).

When we checked the weather, it seemed as though most of the country would be battling some storms throughout the week. I know I’m not going to melt if I get wet, but I also don’t want to bring a ton of clothing with me when I’m on a road trip. I mean, have you ever tried to air dry completely soaked clothing? It takes hours, perhaps even 24 of them!

However, just because we opted to stay home, it didn’t mean we couldn’t travel. So far, we’ve driven up north to the outlet mall in Gurnee, we saw a movie and we went to a baseball game. We are still going strong, as we have even more plans for the weekend to see some museums and other Chicago attractions. To tell you the truth, I don’t think either of us have been to the Field Museum since I was five years old… when I threw up in the parking lot because I was car sick. Believe it or not, I used to loathe traveling. I was the total “are-we-there-yet?” kid.

~* Mom and Carrie enjoy some dessert from their favorite pie shop, Bakers Square *~

As the saying goes, “When one door closes, another one opens.” So, if we’re not going to Kentucky, we’re going somewhere: to the Northwest suburbs, to Chicago’s Loop, down the street, etc. You don’t always have to stay home. In this case, I needed to be close to home. But there’s nothing that can keep me from traveling and exploring, whether it’s 50 or 5,000 miles away.