When I began this travel blog in 2021 I had dreams of humorously chronicling my adventures, and those of other travel personalities that I’d interview. As often happens, the universe had other ideas. That’s why I’ve been absent here. I am now at a turning point in my life, and I intend to finish what I started with this blog and myself. I hope you enjoy it.
I didn’t know that I loved travel until I started traveling. As a kid my parents took us camping in the northern New York mountains, but it was the same place every year. It was nice, and I had a ton of fun with all my cousins whose families joined us every year, but it didn’t spark any desire to go elsewhere. There was also that one trip to Kingston, Ontario Canada, but that was just an elementary school field trip. Shout out to Mrs. Hill who spent the entire years field trip budget on that. Then when I became an adult it was a couple Disney World trips with the kids, and that one trip to San Diego. All fine, but that was it. Then I got the job that lit a fire in my heart to see the rest of the world.
In one inspirational moment, I said one sentence that got me the job and changed the course of my life. I was flown to Richmond, Virginia. Not super exciting, I know, but a company liked me enough to fly me there for two weeks of training. On one of the last days of that training, myself, Michael Vick, George Thorogood and most of the nations media ended up in the same hotel lobby at the same time. That was certainly memorable, but that’s not what triggered my burning desire to see everywhere. It was the next work trip just three weeks later when the entire company went to Cancun. Yawn, I know there’s a billion kids on Spring Break there every year, but fortunately I was not there during Spring Break.
It was a big resort in Mexico, and that week was the longest time I’d ever spent in another country. It was the first time that I stayed long enough to notice and enjoy the different culture. Fortunately, my job kept taking me to other places in the world and in my head and my heart, there’s no going back. I want to see all of the world, and live in other countries. Unfortunately, I’m no longer with that company, but yay, now I can pick which countries that I see and which I might want to live in.
That picture is of me in Italy in 2009. To this day I love that picture. That was my first trip out of North America/Canada. My first overseas trip, and I still have that shirt and wore it on a trip a few weeks ago. If all goes well you’ll see some more pictures of me in that shirt.
I’ll tell some stories from past trips and talk about future trips. I’ll interview some other travel writers, and chronicle my travels in hope that the story will end with me on a beach with a cup of coffee in my hand.
Thanks for reading me! ~Phil
