Traveling seems to be a national pastime. Over the 4th of July holiday, millions in the USA took to the roads, skies, and rails. Europeans are much the same with August being the big vacation/travel time.
We appreciate the travel articles that give all kinds of info about sights to see, places to eat, hotels, weather and more. We need that kind of information to plan and get the most out of our trips. Travel writers and journalists spend money and time checking on these needed facts for travelers.
But all who travel can be travel writers, too. Traveler's tales are more personal, have the human touch. I enjoy seeing famous sights when we are on tours or traveling on our own, but I also like to write about the people we have met on our travels, the personal incidents, and the emotions that I have when visiting another town, state, or country.
The photos with today's post were taken when we went to South Africa to visit friends who live there. The park is known around the world, and we enjoyed our time there, but what I wrote about in my travel journal was about people and how I felt while I was touring the park with my husband and friends.
On a three-week driving trip with friends across the southern half of Germany, what I wrote about was a small hotel in a village, the woman who ran the hotel, nearby church bells that touched my heart and more. I wasn't trying to sell the hotel to other travelers but to let people know how this place affected me.
Visiting Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia was delightful but also heart-rending because of a tragic airline crash in the sea off its coast. I wrote about how seeing the place and the memorial affected me.
On a trip to France, I wrote about a small WWII American Cemetery where we spent perhaps an hour. It affected me so deeply that I had to write about the experience and the people in our tour group. Above an altar, there was a large mosaic tile mural of an angel holding a dead soldier that sent waves of sadness through me.
I wrote on a trip to Door County, WI, where the scenery is wonderful, but so are the people who live and work in the six villages that make up the area. Picking out one or two and writing about them brings back sweet memories.
Writing about the humorous times, the incidents, the horrific bumbles, the people you encounter and how you've been personally touched is the kind of travel writing we can all do. You needn't write for publication, although you can. Write to keep the memories, to share with your friends and family.
Keeping a travel journey is easy, and it is a wonderful way to savor your memories after you are home. Rereading your journals helps you enjoy a trip all over again. Photos are great, but the stories of what happened on your trip are special, as well. Use your travel journals to remind you of the details and stories you hope to write once home. One thing I learned is to write something in that travel journal at the end of each day. Skip a day or two, and it might be difficult to bring back the details and how what you saw affected you.
If you do want to share your travel stories, there are places where you might submit them. The large travel magazines use articles mostly from professionals, but there are other smaller zines and magazines that use the tales from everyday travelers, too. Use your favorite search engine to find them.
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