Family Influences On Wanderlust?

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

I'm entering my maternal Grandfather's autobiography to a word file because the typed copies are fading fast. I've read it before, but this time through I just hit his first big trip -- his girlfriend dumped him, and in the middle of the depression he "headed West." From the Granada, Minnesota area he'd lived in all his life, he walked and hitchhiked his way to California, stopping to work some places and taking in a lot of the sights along the way (he walked Needles highway!). As a little girl, I remember being awed by the fact that he'd ridden his bike from Minnesota to Florida when he was 61. He and Grandma traveled with their RV all over the continent -- my brother and dad drove to Alaska a few years back to celebrate my brother's 50th, and my brother had been planning that for years based on Grandpa's tales of his own trip out. My brother tells me the roads are better now.

I never liked traveling with my family -- hated camping, wasn't crazy about hotels, my dad's a commando traveler while I like to take my time and dig deeper -- and RVing or towing a trailer didn't appeal to me, but I remember distinctly that one summer while visiting the grandparents, I read a Reader's Digest travel book on the States Grandpa had, and dreamt about living in each state for a year. Kinda gave up that dream due to logistics (having to track down a new doctor every year did not sound fun), and the travel bug seemed to have died for a while -- then I found Timesharing.

I know my grandpa inspired dreams of traveling the states and the continent, and he's definitely responsible for my "love of the open road." Heading for the airport at the start of a trip is just not the same. My Great Aunt traveled the world, but, while I thought it was cool she'd done it, I never had the remotest interest in doing that myself, I think because flying just didn't have the same appeal. I like the flying part of flying, but I hate all the waiting on the ground and having to line up and just the general hassle. I'm just more relaxed in a car, I suppose; even when we hit weather or huge traffic, I don't get as antsy about delays if I'm driving. Not sure why. My aunt used to try to get me to write up some of our car trips (particularly the one we took during a winter storm on roads that were technically closed), and certainly saw even stateside travel as interesting, so in that sense I got travel encouragement from both sides.

While they never met, I wonder how much influence Grandpa has had on my eldest son, who grew up with stories about his Great-Grandpa traveling the country. I know my son went through a phase of wanting to ride his bike to Florida, for sure, and, while he never did that, he is a long-distance biker who thinks nothing of getting up and doing fifty miles in a day. And, even before he hit twenty, he traveled places on his own that his dad and I still haven't gotten to -- Washington D.C. and NYC -- and has taken solo trips back to places he first visited with us. So that family influence is still traveling down the generations.

Anyone in your family who inspired or encouraged your travel bug?

[easyrider Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close easyrider]

Yes. It was my father in law who would every year disappear to a far away destination. He and my mother in law made trips to through out the world with the exception of Africa where they only made Egypt and Morocco. They documented much of their travels on 8mm and its a hoot to see them looking young and strong. Some of the older tapes are vhs and the inlaws are younger than my wife and I in these tapes.

Another person is my buddy's parents who traveled the world by sail boat. His dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer in his late 40's so he sold all his stuff and sailed away. Somehow durring their voyages he became well again but with out a house to hold them back they traveled the world. He is now a 87 yo widower living in Florida and was still driveing a 38 ft motor home to Washington to salmon fish. Recently he has picked up a couple of new girl friends.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Yes. It was my father in law who would every year disappear to a far away destination. He and my mother in law made trips to through out the world with the exception of Africa where they only made Egypt and Morocco. They documented much of their travels on 8mm and its a hoot to see them looking young and strong. Some of the older tapes are vhs and the inlaws are younger than my wife and I in these tapes.

Another person is my buddy's parents who traveled the world by sail boat. His dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer in his late 40's so he sold all his stuff and sailed away. Somehow durring their voyages he became well again but with out a house to hold them back they traveled the world. He is now a 87 yo widower living in Florida and was still driveing a 38 ft motor home to Washington to salmon fish. Recently he has picked up a couple of new girl friends.

I think I'm in love with your grandfather!! lol shaggy

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

They documented much of their travels on 8mm and its a hoot to see them looking young and strong.

After both my grandfathers were gone, and my brother and I were both living in Colorado, we headed out to Minnesota to visit the grandmothers, bringing along his (at the time) girlfriend (now wife). During that trip, both grandmas broke out photo albums I'd never seen before. I'd seen travel pics of my maternal grandmother before, but I was surprised to discover that, long before she got married, my paternal grandmother had taken a mule ride up Pike's Peak. She also had the most adorable dimples when young -- by the time I knew her, the dimples had been lost in the wrinkles.

Shaggy, my grandfather?

[Dori Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dori]

As a child, my family's idea of travelling was our annual two-hour trip to the lake to camp. When our kids were small, we bought our first timeshare, and every year we took them to many locations in the U.S. I swear that these family trips inspired a love of travel in our son. By the time he was 25, he had backpacked through Europe, Asia and South Africa. He has now settled in South Korea.

Dori

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

When I was in college my brother got a job at Pan Am.
That really was the start of it all. All those free flights in first class.

I got to travel to a few far away places before they went belly up.
Ireland, England, Brazil, Argentina, Hawaii, Barbados, Dominican Republic, NYC, Toronto and a few other places.
Then they went under but by then I was hooked on travel.
The rest is history.

[happymum Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close happymum]

My mother always made travel a priority. Even though money was tight when I was a child, she somehow managed to save enough to take a few very memorable trips.
That love has been passed down to my kids.