Why do we love to travel?
• Who we are
Let me take a moment to introduce ourselves. My wife (Susan) and I (Rick) have been married for
almost 55 years, raised a wonderful family…two children…and now have three grandchildren and one
great-granddaughter.
Over the years we’ve been together, we’ve
subscribed to the philosophy of getting as
much as possible from life. We’ve looked for
opportunities to have new adventures,
focusing on activities and geography that we
hadn’t experienced before. Because we tend
to be optimistic about almost everything, we
never considered the risk or asked ourselves
what might go wrong. If it felt right for us, we
just did it.
A recent photo of us.
• Our first world adventure
Our first out-of-the-country trip was to SOUTH KOREA. This wasn’t
a military assignment, nor was it a business trip. It was our choice
for a family vacation! As you might expect, we got many questions
about why we would want to go there. Shouldn’t we consider
someplace that would be safer or closer to our Western culture and
lifestyle? Wouldn’t we be scared? Wouldn’t we be afraid to
experience significantly different languages, foods, and social
contrasts? And…what if something(?) happened?
Of course, in every case, our reply was just the opposite of how our
friends’ perceived international travel might be. They focused on
the negative, while we took the approach that we couldn’t wait to
make the trip and learn a little more about how the rest of the
world lives. And so, we went. The exact details of how and why we
chose Korea for our first international adventure are another story,
but we’re glad we made the trip and enjoyed it immensely.
Our Korean Travel Companions
That short, 10-day trip in 1989 began our love of international travel. No, nothing terrible happened in
Korea, and we used our experiences there to plan other journeys to fascinating lands we wanted to visit.
Since then, we’ve visited about fifty (50) countries and ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS. As I said, you want to
see what’s still out there once you start!
Our Specialty, Cruising!
• What’s next
What’s on our list for the future? Well, we’ve not
been everywhere, so there are many more places
we want to see before our traveling days end. We
just completed a fantastic 28-day Baltic Sea and
Trans-Atlantic cruise, and we’re trying our best to
find a suitable SE Asia-China-Japan trip to allow us a
little more time in that part of the world. Although
we tend not to revisit places we’ve been, we’re
always up for a return to Alaska or another cruise in
the Mediterranean. We’re even looking at one of
those 120+ days “around the world” cruises, but that may have to wait until we hit the lottery!
The world is full of amazing places to explore.
• The bottom line
Travel is more than just a relaxing trip to some far-away place. It’s a commitment to yourself to step out
into the unknown, try something you’ve never done before, and mature through the many new
experiences you’re sure to have. Why do we love to travel? Travel is our passion, and we believe that
exploring the world around us is a great way to become a better person…more informed, intelligent,
understanding, and able to face everyday risks and challenges. And travel gives us a glimpse outside our
little circle of existence, showing us a new and refreshing perspective on daily life. Being flexible allows
us to enjoy every twist and turn, and having a positive outlook enables us to sidestep the few “uh-ohs”
that pop up occasionally.
• Now, it’s your turn
How about you? What’s on your “bucket list?”
If money and time were no object, what’s the
one super-special adventure spot you’d head
for? Have you started making any plans for
your once-in-a-lifetime trip? If not, what are
you waiting for? If you never get started with
the plans, you will
certainly never
make the journey.
Maybe, in the end,
you can say, “Boy,
I’m glad that we
had that adventure.”, instead of,
“Wow, I should have done that!”
Don’t miss the quaint little side streets
Don’t wait any longer to begin
your planning process. Time is
short, and we never know what
the future holds. So, just do it!
Rick and Susan McCormick
