Travel While You're Young

As most of you know Bobby and I love to travel. We have been fortunate enough to have been able to travel to over 7 countries (Bobby has been to a few more than me) together. Most of those were in one big Euro-trip while we were still in college. I had never traveled to Europe before, but I had gone to Belize with Bobby's family prior to that. I never knew what I was missing out on, but once we went on our own on that trip to Europe I had the bug. Now all I ever want to do is travel and I spend my spare time looking up flights to different places. The world is so big and there are so many amazing places we want to visit in our lifetime that it makes it nearly impossible to prioritize them. Right now Thailand is at the top of our list. That will be a big trip since it is such a long flight so we won't want to go until we can spend at least 2 weeks there. Thankfully Bobby gets 28 paid days off a year at American Express which makes taking time off to travel pretty easy. I am only working very part time for a great, flexible family so I know that if I told them we would be taking a trip that wouldn't be a problem.

I am always the one worrying about money and finances saying we can't afford to travel anywhere right now, and so on. I read this article that one of my friends posted, and while Bobby and I have talked about the exact thing he discusses in his article multiple times and it is what we always say, this article really resonated with me. While of course the big international trips tend to be more exciting, it talks about domestic trips as well and the importance of those type of trips and that what is really important is just getting out there and seeing different places. Since we moved to Phoenix we are surrounded by so many amazing places to visit on simple weekend day trips; the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Tucson are some big ones. We are about 2 hours from Sedona and Tucson and about 3 hours from the Grand Canyon. We plan to hit all three this fall once the weather cools off a little bit more. The great thing is, they're so close by we can go back up another weekend later on if we don't see or do everything we want the first time around.

The article also discusses the excuse of money as being just that, an excuse. While yes, it does cost money and we do need to save and budget for trips, not every trip has to cost an arm and a leg and there are plenty of ways to see the world and not completely blow thousands of dollars. That is what we did for our Euro-trip. We stayed in hostels, camp grounds, and only one hotel room one night. It adds to the fun because you meet so many new people from all around the world that way. While it is not the most luxurious way to travel, and the hostels can sometimes be a little dirty, I feel it is the best way for young people to travel. How else would you meet people from all over the world? The experiences you get from traveling are like nothing else and will literally change your life. I have such a different outlook on the world and such an appreciation for different things because I have traveled to so many different places. No place was the same and every place offered something new and exciting. We didn't plan out where we were going to be staying until the night before we arrived to each new place. Things didn't always work out, things went wrong, but we not only got to see places in each city that we may not have otherwise seen if we hadn't gotten lost, but we grew so much as a couple by working together to navigate the unknown.

We decided right away that we want to travel as much as possible this year. We didn't get a "honeymoon" but our hopes are to take at least two trips this year and we are in the midst of planning out first. Two of our best friends live in Hawaii right now so we are planning on visiting over Thanksgiving. They are nice enough to let us stay in their guest room so we wouldn't have to pay for a hotel, yet another example of making a trip to Hawaii work on a budget. We would just have to pay for our tickets and food/activities while we are there. We would get to see our friends and experience a new place together. Bobby has been to Hawaii multiple times as a kid, but I believe he went to Maui and they live on Oahu so it is still a new place and there are new things to see. We haven't bought tickets yet, we are waiting to see if they drop or not in the next couple of weeks and then we will buy them. Phoenix is a great place to fly out of (unlike Rochester) with awesome prices and we can get a non stop flight there, double win! I am so excited to not only see Hawaii but to also see our friends! We are all spread out and time together is very limited. I saw Laura at the wedding, but again it was limited and Kyle was unable to come out so I know Bobby wants to see him. I can't wait and hope everything works out how we are planning it. It is just one of those things where we say, as the article says, don't put it off, just make it happen and GO!

Here is the article, I guarantee it will make you want to fly somewhere tomorrow! ;) *Edit* OR DRIVE! (Ashley ;) )

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-london/travel-while-youre-young_b_3975195.html