The Real Value of Travel

So many people question the value of travel - locally, nationationaly, internationally. Until a person ventures beyond the four corners of their home, they will never quite understand why so many embrace travel at every opportunity. Buried inside their homes, sheltered from the peoples of the world, many develop a small view of the world, the opportunities, the adventures that await them. I have to admit that even though I had heard other's stories of their travels, it was not until I began my own travel experiences that I was able to fully appreciate the true value of travel.

The Benefits of Travel

1. Reduces stress - provides an opportunity to get away from those things that cause you stress. When we travel we literally leave our problems at home, we put them behind us and take time to focus on ourselves, our families, our futures and interests.

2. Seeing is believing - the first time I visited Rome and saw the Colosseum - exactly as pictured on my freshman Latin text book - it made Rome and so much more honestly believable. As an adult that vision reinforced that what I had been taught as a youth was honestly real.

3. People are people - the one thing I absolutely love is meeting people from different countries and cultures. The first time I met cousins in Italy was like the doors of another world being opened before my eyes - revealing a world much fuller and exciting than I had ever imagined.

4. Food is unique and interesting - I never knew there were so many kinds of hummus available until I traveled to Israel. Hummus is everywhere and the numerous varieties unbelievable. Now we not only enjoy hummus, but we even make our own. In Italy when we took a pizza class, it was an awesome experience when the chef, with wide eyes and a huge smile, looked at me and exclaimed - perfecto! - the only one of twelve who received his praise.

5. The language is interesting - even though English is truly the universal language - there are many opportunities to challenge yourself when you attempt to speak the language of the region. I always try to learn at least a few very important words like hello - goodbye - thank you very much - how much - and definitely - where is the toilet.

6. Photo opportunities everywhere - when we first started travel we were limited by 35mm metal canisters and the fear of photos being ruined by x-ray security machines. Now everything is digital and safe, so where we took 100 -200 photos early on , we now take in the thousands. Our most recent visit to Israel I took about 1500 photos myself and that does not include the many video clips. Our library of photos has grown very large to the point that I now produce DVDs of our trips.

7. Individual or group - there are benefits to both individual and group travel. When we first started traveling it was my wife and I and then later, when people asked if they could come along, we started leading groups. Mostly recently our international travel has been almost exclusively spiritual travel experiences i.e. pilgrimages. As an ordained Roman Catholic Deacon couple we have now led some 20+ pilgrimages - half locally as one and two day trips - the other half internationally. We have taken people to Israel - Italy - Spain - Portugal - France - Poland and very soon Ireland. The dynamics of group versus individual are definitely different. Most often those who join our groups are people who are more comfortable traveling with experienced travelers.

8. Personal growth - whenever we travel to any new area - domestically or international - we always return home with new insights and knowledge of the area visited. As we slowly slip into our senior years it is so important that we continue learning - growing - accepting - as people.

The Bottom Line

Everyone will benefit from travel - it expands our knowledge of people, places, things. As individuals it is important to keep learning and experiencing this world of ours. Time does not stand still - nor should we.

For more information on who we are and our yearly guided trips please visit www.deacontravel.org or our sister site www.caminowalkers.org

If interested we are still accepting registration for our Ireland pilgrimage October 27 - November 3, 2019. Early registration saves each person $200. And very soon we will be announcing our plans for our Shrines of Italy pilgrimage scheduled for July 7-17, 2020.

To contact us we are available by phone at 630.334.5065 or email DeaconDale@DeaconTravel.org