Wanderlust with Laura

This is the school year that I didn’t buy classroom supplies on my own dime, I didn’t spend hours writing lesson plans & I’m not presenting professional development for teachers as they beg for time to set up their classrooms. Instead, this is the year that I am officially a writer. Not that I haven’t been writing for years already. I was an English teacher by trade, so naturally I never shied away from the written word, but I always yearned to write what interested me, not just example essays and behavior reports. Come to think of it, grants and teacher evaluations are not exactly that creative either.

Now is my chance to write what I love, what interests me and feeds my soul. When I really thought about it that way, travel is my true passion and love. There is a saying, that “travel is the only thing you spend money on that makes you richer” and no truer words have I ever heard. As a girl raised in Northeastern Philadelphia by an anxious mother whose idea of world travel was a week at the Jersey Shore, I didn’t see much of the world before I graduated from high school. Once I got out there and saw the beauty of the Florida beaches, Caribbean islands and the romance of European cities I was hooked!

My career in education did allow me travel opportunities, but only after hours of writing sub plans. I would volunteer to chaperone student trips, be the first willing to travel for workshops and professional development and was even sent as a district representative to Israel & Ecuador to attend educational programs. These opportunities led to the desire to teach internationally and I found myself in Berlin, Germany. Not only did my German-American school take chaperoning school trips to a whole new level (a week in the Black Forest and ski trips to Austria), but also acknowledged both American & German holidays, which lead to lots of long weekends and breaks to visit Europe. Berlin is in the center of the European Union, and even though its history has always led to separating people and places, today it is the hub of both train and air travel in Europe. I visited over 30 cities on 4 continents in the 2 short years I lived there and have been dreaming of moving back to Europe ever since.

Germany is where I learned the term Wanderlust, a strong desire to travel. My family & friends would always ask, “Don’t you get homesick?” and I honestly have always answered no, and it’s true. I used to say I am the opposite of homesick, I’m travel sick. The German’s have a term for this, called Wanderlust. Merriam-Webster defines Wanderlust as a strong longing for or impulse toward wandering, which describes me perfectly. I can wander near or far: on a hike in the foothills, along a sandy coastline or exploring the café culture in a small European village. These are some of my most memorable trips:

My Most Visited City is Amsterdam, having been there more than 10 times, as a single tourist, with groups of friends and with my husband, it’s our favorite location and we even fantasize about living there one day when our daughter is in high school or even when we are empty nesters. Amsterdam has the most amazing pre-war architecture. There is something about this traditional European look, coupled with the gorgeous canals that give it a romantic feeling even in rainy weather. It is a busy city, bringing tourists from all over the world, yet as soon as you leave the city center there is a calm, quaintness and lots of gorgeous fields of flowers (even more than the famous tulips). This summer, we are taking our kids on our first family trip to Europe and will be exploring both the historic city and the less visited Seaside. Fingers crossed they love it as much as Ken and I do! 

For trips I want to re-experience with my husband, both Barcelona & the Greek Islands  are at the top of my list. Both of these locations in Europe were some of my absolute favorite places to visit, but also romantic places I really want to share and experience with him. I spent a few days in Barcelona with a friend before embarking on a cruise of the Mediterranean and found it to be so special. The architecture of the city is quintessentially Spanish, but the artist Antoni Gaudi had a lot of influence as well. The Basilica, La Sagrada Familia, was also imagined by Antoni Gaudi, yet is so full of detail (capturing every story in the bible) it is still unfinished hundreds of years later. Spending late evenings eating tapas, drinking sangria and catching a flamenco show will ensure hubby’s love for this city as well.

The Greek Islands (not Athens or most of mainland Greece) are my other romantic destination that I would love to share with my hubby. I learned to sail on a week-long sailing cruise of the Cyclades Islands, exploring the islands of Mykonos (party island), Naxos (Historic landmarks) and my favorite island Santorini, for the sunsets. I’ve always loved sunset culture, and there is nothing better than sharing a glass of wine and romantic kiss as the sunset reflects off the ocean water. 

The Most Historic trip I’ve taken was to Egypt, nothing can compare to seeing the Pyramids of Giza and the sphinx statue in real life. I nervously climbed tons of stairs under one of the pyramids to be able to experience what it was really like inside and learn more about the process of mummification from an expert archaeologist. I also took a Nile cruise and unknowingly ate camel in a delicious gorgonzola cream sauce, all before heading out into the desert. This trip was not just for vacation, I was one of a few young women chosen to accompany a group of National Geographic photographers going out to take pictures in the White Desert. We tried to communicate and interview the local women & mothers regarding their experiences in such a remote location. At one point, my hair covering was pulled back a bit while I was handing out candy to a group of school children and one yelled, “Brittany Spears” being that it was the first time any of them had ever seen blond hair (even if it was colored). We were in a really remote area in the Western desert!   

The Best Nature Locations I’ve traveled to have been the Galapagos Islands & Alaska, but for very different animal experiences. In the Galapagos Islands, I sailed on a simple tourist yacht (don’t let the word yacht make you think of a large, rich indulgence of the sea, not in ecotourism) for a week, experiencing all the different islands. It is amazing to see an archipelago that had so many different environments, from black lava where almost nothing survived to the blue-green oceans that were home to so many fish, sea turtles and seals that all swam next to me while I lost myself snorkeling away from the group. The best part of visiting the Galapagos Islands was experienced on the last day of the trip when I got to touch and observe the famous giant tortoises, including Lonesome George, the last of his species on earth. Taking a cruise in Alaska also allowed me access to many animals I never thought I’d see in person or in their natural habitat, such as bald eagles, whales and huskies pulling a dogsled.   

My most surprising trip location was Oslo, Norway in Scandinavia. I never thought I would particularly love Scandinavia, outside of my desire to see the Northern Lights. But honestly, I always figured that the whole area would always be too cold for me to fall in love with the way I did with Oslo. For starters, the fjord’s are more incredible than I ever expected. A fjord is a long, narrow body of water that are typically U-shaped valleys with sleep rocks on both sides. They looked so incredible and I highly recommend putting on your coat and layers to take a boat out to see the fjords up the coastline. The inner harbor area is a popular spot on sunny summer days, overlooking the water are restaurants and shops along an exceptionally clean wooden esplanade. At the street level, the Aker Brygge or commercial district, is known for a combination of old shipyard building and modern architecture. You can also arrive by private boat to the Aker Brygge Marina for a grand entrance. 

Looking back at all my trips the most stressful trip had to be my three weeks in Israel. I was fortunate to be chosen as the first non-Jewish teacher to go on a summer trip to learn about Holocaust education at Yad Vashem International Holocaust Museum back in 2006. However, I came home having learned much more than how to teach Holocaust history. Just a few days into our July trip, while in Jerusalem, the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War broke out. This was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and the Northern Golan Heights area of Israel that more than rescheduled our trip. In comparison, to current atrocities that are going on in that area of the world today, our group was fortunate to have been able to get home. However the footage I see today reminds me of these stressful weeks. So stressful in fact, I started the trip as a reformed nonsmoker and returned to the Atlanta Airport’s smoking room with a 2-pack a day habit a few weeks later. What I saw and heard those weeks in Israel could turn anyone into a smoker! I remember hearing a saying in line at El Al’s security about going to Israel, “There’s never a good time to go to Israel.” Nervous laughter all followed and I put it out of my mind on the flight and first few days. But once the conflict broke out, I take those words far more seriously now. 

Fast forward a decade (give or take) and I am a trip-planning, wife and mother of three kids and more pets than I ever thought possible with my travel schedule. My husband is an artist at heart and a graphic designer and strategic marketer by trade, who leads our Digital branding agency. Before we met, he had never traveled outside the country, now we do 10+ hour flights to Europe a few times a year. That poor man thought he was getting a low maintenance wife in me because I don’t like shopping or expensive shoes…but flights and hotels aren’t cheap! 

We are officially out of the baby/little kid phase in life and although I do miss having little ones around, I remember how exhausting traveling with a stroller and carseat on a plane felt. I still loved to travel when my kids were young, but snacks, supplies, and a good baby carrier were always a must! I’m traveling a lot lighter now.  My youngest has packed and carried her own bags and stuffies through all three trips we took this summer. I can’t tell you how freeing that feels!

At this stage of life, we have two teenage son’s (Ethan & Aidan), one who is a freshman in college and the other is an artistic, sophomore in high school. We also have a daughter, Cassidy, who is in 3^rd grade and wants to think she is one of the teenagers after spending so much time with them on our road trip this summer.

We are also entering a new phase of family travel, because this summer my Mother-in-law moved into our home with us. Many of you just shuttered at the thought of your own MIL moving in with you, but mine is not critical and a big help. However, she does add a new layer to family travel because of her age and care for her replaced knee (or the one not replaced yet, depending on the day). Having a handicapped placard is certainly helpful when we are parking at Red Rocks, the amphitheater is infamous for the hundreds of stairs you have to hike from the parking lots to the venue, and that’s just to the stage level. However, it is not the travel ‘blanket fix’ that the ADA deems it to be for mobility restricted seniors. The silver lining is that we have been forced to slow down, just a bit, and probably learn so much more in return.

My three kids are where my tether to school calendars still hold strong, I’ve already had to overlap all the kids’ calendars. We have our high schooler and elementary schooler in different districts and our oldest is making the transition to a community college calendar that doesn’t really follow either district schedule. I still don’t know how I have kids this grown! I’m trying to hang on to these last few years, where we are still just one family unit. Historically, we have NEVER all had the same spring break, it’s always a week off. The boys and I share a break, or Cassidy and I did, but never all of us at the same time! Which makes any trips difficult to coordinate.

Earlier this week my daughter and I were talking about when we’d reschedule our European trip (passport drama) and I suggested Spring Break. She questioned me on being able to see all the spots in France & The Netherlands we were planning in just a week? When I told her my big plan was to take an extra week off at Spring Break to do the full trip, she scoffed at me and said she simply “cannot afford to take a whole extra week off of school.” Who is this child that I am raising? My attendance report from school was weak at best, but I have paid the penance for my poor attendance as an educator for the past quarter century. I wanted to go on this trip in Spring to miss the crowds and craze of the summer Olympics that are sure to bring to France and possibly all of Europe this summer. I was also selfishly thinking that the tulip season in Amsterdam (March & April), the only time the gardens and fields are open and there is nothing like it in the Low Countries. Cassidy has convinced me that I cannot scar her scholastic record and we replanned the trip for early summer instead. Now I have lots of canceling and rebooking to do this weekend. Cassidy’s final thought on the subject was, “How about a cruise instead? They are warm during winter, and we can go for just one week, right?” That’s my girl! 

 My husband has been talking about booking some closer trips, in our home state of Colorado and a few other western states like Wyoming and Utah. Now that his mom has moved out here, there are so many beautiful places we still want to visit, and we want to show her too. One of the best parts of the Colorado climate is that each place you visit looks and feels completely different in each season. So, if you’ve visited Vail in winter and loved the skiing, there are three other incredible seasons filled with wildflowers, hiking trails, river rafting and the annual turning of the fall leaves. On his wishlist is Glenwood Springs, we absolutely loved it there last fall during Thanksgiving week and would like to visit in the summer when the waterslide at the springs is open. He also wants to go to Southwest Colorado to visit Oray, Telluride, Silverton & Durango (his favorite car’s namesake) and we will need to schedule a fall trip out to Gunnison for a possible college admissions trip. We loved Gunnison last year when our oldest went to check out Western Colorado University and this year we will be planning even more activities to bookend the one day college tour. The next closest ski town, Crested Butte, was beautiful and we were hoping to visit a few more of the Hot Springs in Salida and Nathrop. Since moving to Colorado, we have learned about a historic hot springs loop in Colorado, and we have visited many of them already with many more of interest. Hot Springs are often a great activity with all the different ages and stages of my family. 

A little further outside of Colorado, we’d like to redo a Western Road trip that we barely survived last summer. We ALL got so sick and after about 10 days of a 20-day trip we sadly decided to just go back home and cancel the Utah and SW Colorado part of our trip. It was heartbreaking for us, since each one of us was still so excited about parts of the trip to come, however the homesickness hit when the flu sickness hit! As always, there was an upside to the early return and that was driving through Jackson, WY and Grand Teton National Park. It was so beautiful, and we would love to go back there, when we are all healthy in the future. Maybe pair it with Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks through Wyoming and Montana.

I believe Wanderlust truly describes me perfectly and there is no end to the trips I’d like to experience with my family. Some of my big bucket list items after this first family European trip are: the Iberian peninsula & a few Mediterranean countries, a cruise & train tour of Alaska, A romantic riverboat cruise with hubby (especially during tulip or Christmas market season), and a two-part trip to Hawaii (resort & cruise) are all on the top of the list. As I think about my children growing up more, moving out and possibly out of state, I’d like to organize big family trips to keep all branches of the family tree together and continue to build memories. I think of exotic experiences to the Galapagos Islands & climb Machu Picchu, or African Safaris and even spend a summer Down Under. Bite the bullet and take the longest flight to Australia & New Zealand. The whole world awaits, join me on our family’s travel journey in Wanderlust w/ Laura.

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