Travel equals exploring the unknown and the exciting. Visting regions that differ from our own means witnessing new ways of life, navigating unknown languages, acclimating to different diets and coping without the comforts of home. Flying off and landing on foreign ground – this is travel. Most of the time, anyway.
What about traveling to nearby destinations, though? When we pack up and head out to locations found right on the map of our very own country, we’re usually not experiencing the thrill and wonder of the purely unknown. Certainly, though, something new and exciting awaits us, even at the end of a two-hour road trip.
Domestic Bliss on Martha's Vineyard
When I travel even a few hours from my starting point in Connecticut, I find significant differences from what greets my eyes every day. A few hours north in Vermont I enter rural territory filled with evergreens and scattered with rustic towns, with the occasional moose and bear roaming around. A couple hours south I hit New York City, the absolute opposite of rural and rustic tranquility. If I travel west, I’ll end up in Pennsylvania, a very large state filled with countryside interrupted by the major cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburg. East – oh, the treasures that await in the east. Newport, Rhode Island, with dozens of mega-mansions born of the ostentatious wealth and greed that plagued the East Coast prior to the onslaught of the 1929 economic disaster called the Great Depression. Block Island, a quiet and sparsely populated gem in the Atlantic Ocean whose streets swarm with tourists on mopeds and bicycles throughout the summer. And Martha’s Vineyard, my all-time favorite island on earth – 100 square miles of quaint towns, diverse beaches, never-ending bike trails, gorgeous harbors – and bliss.
Traveling even further from home, the differences become much deeper. Rocky mountains and deserts dotted with people on horseback cover the Southwest. Miles of farmland intersected with the occasional city fill the Midwest. A calmer and slower way of life awaits in the South. Traveling throughout the U.S., I find I get an education in a myriad of cultures somewhat the same – yet also different than – my own.
Desert in Winter - Colorado
What about in your part of the world? Do you find differences when you travel domestically? Or does your home blend right in with the rest of your country?
Thumbnail road trip photo by Pashasha
I love traveling domestically. It removes all the difficult parts – language barrier, jet lag – while still providing great cultural experiences, interactions with different people and local food.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 21:56
It does have some pretty decent advantages.
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This brings up an arguement I have with alot of my friends in the photo community when I try to get them into travel writing.
They take exceptional photos and write excellent captions. I mean several paragraphs of really informative and entertaining material that really grabs your attention.
They insist they can’t be a travel writer because they never go anywhere; they’re not travelers. I don’t travel but, I write about where I am. Somebody, somewhere would have to travel to get here. It’s a pretty big world.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 21:57
Plus, you live in a really cool place. It’s great for you to encourage your friends to go for it. Too bad they won’t.
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Something exciting can wait around the corner from your front door. I experience that time and again in Miami. And love to write about my finds too. As Mike said, some one else from other parts of the world travels to where I happen to live.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 25th, 2010 at 18:47
Thanks, Inka. Mike is right, as usual.
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Couldn’t agree more with both Mike’s and JoAnna’s comments…I love domestic travel. It’s always refreshing to find yourself being awed by your own home. Takes the pain of not being able to travel abroad away ( a little). Also gives you the expertise to write!
Candice´s last blog ..Guest Post: My First Time…Traveling Alone That Is
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 21:58
You are living proof of all of these points, Candice. And I think you are one of the world’s experts on Newfoundland, seriously.
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Love the roadtrip. About to start my second big US trip. I agree that you don’t need to go far to feel worlds away.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 21:59
Oh, good! I’ll be following along on your blog.
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Domestic travel is fun; it even includes going to the cool Svalbard Archipelago.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 17th, 2010 at 07:30
Gee, I wish it included going to the Svalbard Archipelago for me. Maybe some day it will.
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I live in County Donegal on the north west coast of Ireland and some years ago my husband and I decided we would make an effort to actually get to know all parts of Donegal. We take lots of ‘mini breaks’ throught the year as opposed to the annual fortnight abroad and really love it. It’s like having lots of holidays without the hassle of airports, flight delays and so on. Added to that, you think you know where you live but it is not until you actually focus on what you have around you that you start to appreciate it.
We now spend many weekends out and about in Donegal with our cameras and just love taking photos of her beauty.
And our part of Ireland is different to some other parts in that there is a huge diversity of scenery ~ high cliffs, deep valleys, sandy beaches, rocky coast lines, and everything in between so each time we go out, we find something more to enjoy and photograph.
So definately, travelling around your own area is a worthwhile and fulfilling thing to do.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 17th, 2010 at 21:36
Oh my gosh, that is great! You’ve made your part of the world be a bunch of new and exciting places that you’re still discovering. Even when you go back, you find there’s more to love, rather than getting bored. That is really admirable.
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I think domestic travel is a great thing. It’s important to appreciate what’s in your own backyard. For me I have to drive more than a few hours to get somewhere unfamiliar, or not as familiar. A 3 hour drive west and I’m at the Rocky Mountains, a few hours south and I can hit the badlands with hoodoos. If I go north it’s mostly forest (I haven’t been too far north). Out east are endless fields of wheat and canola. Living in Canada there are a lot of areas of my country and even my own province (Alberta) that I haven’t seen. I’d really like to do a cross country road trip. Exploring is exploring, no matter how far from home.
Alouise´s last blog ..List #3 – Summer Trips
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 17th, 2010 at 21:38
I didn’t know Canada was so diverse, even in areas so relatively close to each other. You should really do that cross-country road trip, Alouise.
And now I’m curious to know what a hoodoo is.
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Alouise Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 01:50
I’m pretty lucky to be situated where it’s not too long of a drive before you can go somewhere different. The only thing is the lack of cities close to where I live. Aside from Calgary (about 3 hours away) and Saskatoon (6 hours away) there really isn’t any cities within a close drive from Edmonton. But you can’t win ‘em all.
I”d love to say the cross country trip is in the works, but not yet. It’s definitely something I’ve thought about. I know I’d have to put in a couple months to travel, since the distance is so great. It’s not something I’d want to rush. I’ve also though about doing a US road trip. A car + a road + me = happiness.
Hoodoos are these rock formations, they’re like tall spires with flat tops and they’re usually found in the desert. Actually southern Alberta is a bit deserty, you can always spot hoodoos around the Drumheller region.
Alouise´s last blog ..Souvenirs
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 23rd, 2010 at 06:16
Aha! Rock formations. I thought they might be the Canadian version of hippies. Thank you for the explanation.
In my lovely home state of West Virginia, there is much beautiness to be found. However, the beauty is often forgotten in the midst of negative stereotypes a’plenty-hillbillies, hicks, trailer parks, dirty coal, poor Appalachians, incest, and the list goes on and on. I live in the Eastern Panhandle of the state, a short commute away from DC, and therefore do not always get the bad rap the rest of the state does. A few years ago, I decided that it was time to visit the rest of my state and find out what was really going on down there! I was amazed by the magestic mountains and soft green rolling hills. There are some spectacular scenes to behold. I stick up for my state when I hear it being bashed now, and I am a proud West Virginian!
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 18th, 2010 at 21:09
All right! I think a lot of people, if they have the opportunity to travel internationally a lot in their lives, don’t bother with nearby locations – too boring. I’m glad you decided to discover you area of the world, and came out loving it.
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Domestic travel is an entirely different beast from international travel. While I ultimately feel like I “get more” out of international travel, there’s a lot of advantages to staying in-country—mostly that because I speak the language and know the culture, I can dig in more and discover way weirder stuff.
Lauren Quinn´s last blog ..Bootleg Blues: Thoughts on the Illegal Alcohol Trade Around the World
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 23rd, 2010 at 06:17
I think there’s more to international travel, too. But it’s a good thing travel close to home can also yield so much.
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Totally agree with all these comments. There are cool things to explore wherever you are in the world, as long as you have the right eyes.
And hoodoos rock, literally! I love that part of the world – it’s really eerie.
Nick´s last blog ..I’ve neglected my baby
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 23rd, 2010 at 06:18
It’s true. Possessing the right eyes is important.
And I must see these hoodooos.
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It is true that domestic travel is much easier, but travelling to an unknown destination gives me real pleasure, exploring the unknown, facing the challanges really excites me.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
April 30th, 2010 at 21:07
I agree. I prefer the unknown also. Thanks for commenting!
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