When I was little and the Internet couldn't handle video sharing, I would often watch the Travel Channel with my sibling. Our favorite host was Samantha Brown and our favorite show was "Great Hotels". Naturally, my sibling and I preferred the episodes that centered around Disney World Resorts (Disney owns Travel Channel) and the Hershey Hotel and Spa.
Today anyone can be a host of their own - though COVID-19 has made that a bit difficult as of late. There are tons of travel bloggers and vloggers all over the web. I wish I could join them, but I'm not that confident in my ability to make a living that way.
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| My first site when I arrived in Iceland |
The only reason I'm bringing this up now is because my dad has been watching a ton of travel vlogs on YouTube lately - which means that I've been watching a lot of travel vlogs. My dad's favorites are the ones that focus on train rides. He's determined to one day take the Siberian Express across Russia with some friends of his (said friends are Siberian).
I think my dad misses his travel lifestyle. Before he retired (and the pandemic) his work took him around the world. Even before that he spent most of his young life traveling. I think he'd been around the world twice by the age of ten (possibly three times, but I forget the timing).
For the record, I am envious of his youth spent overseas. He had managed to get to thirty countries before the age of thirty. I've barely made it to twelve.
My grandmother kept journals of all of their trips (which I've been slowly going through) and they are fascinating. She wrote a brief account of each and every day, including what they ate, where they stayed, and interesting sites. If she'd had the Internet, and been into social media, I can easily see how she might have been a vlogger or blogger.
Traveling is an experience, one I encourage for everyone. However, it isn't accessible for everyone. It's expensive, not always easy for people who have disabilities, and requires a lot of time that someone with a full time job or school schedule might not have. Plus there's a pandemic going on right now that has pretty much halted non-essential travel.
Mark Twain has been quoted as saying: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
I believe it. I've learned a lot from traveling and from watching travel shows on TV, streaming services, and YouTube. I still think it would be cool to have a job that allowed me to travel. It can be tough and it takes you away from your family.
But it's also an adventure and experience that you never forget. The wonders of the world are out there waiting to be seen and explored.
Until it's safe to do so, I'll keep watching the experiences of others.
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Until next week!
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