Views from Everywhere: On the road again…

And again and again and again

I’m a traveler – up for most any trip from a few hours to a few weeks (try to avoid entire months, but have done the odd 7-week trip).

It must have started when my parents moved from the state of Washington to Southern California when I was just 9 months old. Followed a few years where the “only” trips were camping ones for summer holidays, but oh the places I have camped in!

Then there was the car trip across the country (California to Washington D.C.) when I was ten: first along the Southern states, return across the Northern ones.

As a just-barely-teenager the family moved to Hawaii for three years – our summer holidays were limited to the nearest islands.

My young adult life involved two years in a boarding school in Northern California with mostly short flights to return home for holidays, but there were also the band tours and summer jobs as camp counselor in the mountains, then my first year of university back in Southern California.

I had just turned 19 when I began to seriously travel: a year abroad flying to New York then a student boat across the Atlantic to Le Havre in France. Christmas vacations, weekends, Easter vacations – all used to explore first Austria then Italy (never mind the pre-school trip through France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland before landing just outside of Geneva Switzerland).

After that initial introduction to Europe I have lost count of the number of trips and countries.

I have traveled by “Plane, Train and Automobile” (remember the movie?) as well as ship, boat, canoe, tram, bus, hot air balloon, cable car and (one memorable excursion )camels.

I have traveled solo; with first my husband (South America was one of those 7-week sagas) then with husband and children (another 7-week was from New York to Alaska with several other trips in between); with a close friend (many of those – so many adventures) or two as well as in a group. All trips, all modes of transportation, all types of lodging (under the stars in nothing but a sleeping bag, tents, lodges, motels, hotels – of all standards – luxury lodgings, even B and Bs though I have yet to explore AirBnB), each have their own advantages, disadvantages, discomforts and charms.

They are however all, without exception, an experience!

Today I traveled to Zurich to join my cousin, taking the train (bless my community for having “day cards” – anywhere in Switzerland for one day at a very reasonable price).

It was another great experience as I enjoyed lunch in the dining car, views first of the lake, then of the plateau between the alps, more rivers and finally a big city. All that in just three hours and in great comfort!