Wanderlust is in my blood.
When my dad finished his PhD, he and my mom headed off on a six-month trip around the world. And I grew up hearing stories of their adventures.
I remember hearing about staying with a missionary family in the Philippines and the neighbor coming over to apologize that they had seen the family’s dog get hit by a car. And then asking if it would be okay for their family to share in the meal when they ate it. Or the story of extra scrutiny at several airports in the Middle East because of Dad’s beard and Mom’s waist-length hair. How the children in India begging broke my mother’s heart. How they both considered Japan a place they would happily live.
How, once they reached western Europe, they bought a VW Camper van so they didn’t have to look for places to sleep and could just explore as their whims directed.
Our house was filled with souvenirs from that trip. An alabaster bust of Cleopatra. A hand-carved and hand-painted elephant from India. The punch bowl and matching goblets from Thailand. The cow bell from Switzerland. The antique clay lamps from Israel.
We traveled as a family, too. Two trips to Europe that, as an adult with a better understanding of money, I don’t understand how they afforded. Mexico. Canada. Lots of camping in the US as we explored the less exotic but just as amazing sights here in our own country.
And I still have that yen to go and see and experience. In fact, as I was finishing my own PhD–a project I undertook primarily because I had reached a point where it seemed clear that we were not going to be able to have children and we weren’t making any progress in our attempts to adopt, so I knew I needed to find something that I could do as a career that I could love, and teaching computers at the college level was much more enjoyable to me than working in an office–I had already begun making plans for a trip around the world to celebrate with my hubby.
I had a lot of the route planned out: DC to L.A. Then to Japan. Then Hawaii. Then Australia. New Zealand. Malaysia. Thailand. Israel. Egypt. Istanbul. Greece. Italy. Switzerland. Austria. Hungary. Poland. Germany.
Well, you get the idea.
We didn’t have six months. Couldn’t really afford to take that kind of time, so I was in the process of whittling down the list to something we could do in about two months when we got the call that there was a bio mom interested in placing her baby with us.
I happily set aside those trip plans and started decorating a nursery.
But that yen to travel is still there. And that trip around the world still calls to me. And I finally got a chance to use a little of my research when I was writing Postcards.
Leila — the main character’s sister — heads out on a trip to see the world while she still has time. And she goes to a lot of the places that are on my “hopefully someday” list. It was fun to dig back through those notes and spend new time on the internet poking at tourism websites.
We don’t spend any time in Leila’s head in the book. We don’t see the countries other than on the fronts of postcards she sends her sister. But I think there’s still some of that wanderlust in the story. Or at least I hope there is.
Do you have a travel bucket list? I’d love to know the places that are on it! (If you’re not into traveling, that’s also good – tell me what you love about where you live!) On Saturday, I’ll choose one random commenter to receive a paperback copy of Postcards (I’ve ordered them, but it may take a little time for them to arrive and then for me to turn it around so it’s not an instant gratification prize.)
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
I would still like to travel I have places I still want to see. I want to go back to Canada and Hawaii and there are places in America I want to see. I still want to go to Shiloh national park in TN. I also want to go to New Zealand. There are other places too.
As a child we traveled a lot. My first trip was in 1958 from Puerto Rico to NYC. I was 5 and loved it. Years later , I worked for a major airlines for 16 years and during that time and afterwards have done extensive traveling by visiting over 50 countries, been three times to Japan, five to France , twice to Russia, as well as been in New Zealand , Australia, Kenya ,and all over the Caribbean, South America , Europe and Asia. My husband knows that jewelry is not what makes me tick, but rather traveling and reading :) Covid has put a damper on our traveling, but we still have done some domestic travels.
Happy New Year’s Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing your travel adventures and giving us the back story to your upcoming release Postcards. I always enjoy the unique premises of your stories. This German American also has the Wanderlust and has been blessed to travel. I have driven coast to coast and seen 26 states. I always enjoy a good road trip and hope to take one to Idaho to visit my son. I have visited 9 foreign countries on 3 continents. Some with my husband, some with friends, some as study trips, some as stop overs at the airport. In 2002 I even took a group of German students to Germany. I have been to Germany (4 times), Austria, Switzerland, England, the Netherlands, France, Poland, Japan, and Canada (3 times). I also like to collect unique souvenirs from my trips. I have a cow bell and bear from Switzerland and pearl pendant from Japan. Have a Berlin Bear from my trip to Berlin in 2009. Postcards is preordered. Best wishes.
I would love to get to Hawaii!
Oh wow! What a lovely bunch of travel.
I think it’s amazing that there are teachers who travel abroad with their students! Fun, I’m sure, but also so much more work than a vacation :)
I also love road trips 😊
When I was in my 20’s & still single, I traveled the world some! First overseas was Israel & Egypt such an amazing experience, that got me hook & I traveled to Europe. Switzerland, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, The Netherlands. Then I got married & we bought a travel trailer and have traveled the USA. I need 8 more states to have been to all 50 states.
I live in the US and haven’t been bitten by the internatinal travel bug but I would love to visit all of the states. I would really like to visit the area around Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks because the geography is very different from my area and also looks beautiful to me.
I love to travel. I’ve lived in Alaska. Been able to visit and explore on the west coast with family in Oregon, Washington and Montana. We live in California. I’ve always wanted to visit Australia. But will probably only get to in books and tv..
I would love to go to Montana or Colorada some day Your book sounds like a great book Thank you for the amazing giveaway for your book please enter me as I would love to read this book!
There are so many places I’d like to visit!! I’ve got lots of states here in the US I want to see, and several countries. Don’t know that I’ll ever do it, but I’d like to!! Some of the countries are: Ireland, Scotland, Germany (since that’s where some of my ancestors are from), New Zealand (so I can see my niece and her family), and Canada and British Columbia. I’ve heard there’s a train trip you can take across Canada, and I think that would be really fun!! Also, one in Alaska! I’d also like to go to Iceland.
Such an accomplishment to hit all 50! I know you’ll get there soon!
We really do have so much to see in the US that I think I spend a lifetime just doing that!
I would love to see more of Alaska. We did a cruise and that little snippet was so gorgeous and enchanting.
I’ve been to Colorado and loved it. Montana is on my list as well. If it’s much like Wyoming (which I imagine it is) it’s amazing.
That’s a fantastic list! And doing some by train would certainly be fun!
The book sounds lovely. I have so many places on my ‘wish list’ – but also finding myself wanting to go back to old favorites (London and Paris) – here’s hoping that will be more possible again soon.
I love to travel. As far as a bucket list goes, I’d say pretty much anywhere in Europe would be on that list. I’ve always wanted to go to France, Italy, Greece, but there are other places I think I’d be more inclined to see first such as Ireland. I have added many other countries to my want-to-experience list in recent years. I’d probably need several months to see everywhere I want to see.
I live in Washington state. I have been to Oregon, Arizona, California, Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan, south Dakota, north Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin,new York,new Jersey, Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia,road island . This year my family gets to go to Hawaii for my brother’s make a wish.
I’ve visited most of the states but would love to go back to Yellowstone, and Kentucky is always on the table to visit again. I’ve lived in Thailand and spent a summer in England with a hop over to Holland and France. I’d love to see England, France, and Scotland again and visit Wales. Greece, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, so many places, so little time. :)
Loved the journeys I have taken…Europe, London, Ireland, Japan, Italy… but the highlights have been journeys with friends road trips across the continent, a trip to Mexico and recently a 17 day voyage up the west coast of B.C. with dear friends. Journeys can be adventurous but they can also heal. I love the title of a children’s book on my reading list- ‘The Map of Good Memories.’
Yes! As much as I have places I want to go fresh, I would also love return trips to Ireland and the UK.
This is how I am. I know I’ll never get to all my dream destinations. There are too many.
I’m sorry you’re in a situation where your brother qualifies for Make a Wish but I hope the Hawaii visit is a wonderful chance for family to relax.
So many places indeed! But I do love armchair travel on the internet and travel tv shows for a little taste.
Oh. What an amazing title! It makes me want to read it on that alone!
Hi, your book sounds like a great read, I really hope that you get to travel to where you want to go someday. I would love to travel by train and go to states where the Red Cardinals are flying all over or just sitting on trees, that is my dream. Thank you for sharing with us, I enjoyed reading your post. Have a great rest of the week and stay safe.
Thank you! We get a lot of cardinals on our feeders year round. I’ll try to take some photos for the next time I’m on Sundays.
It was fun to read this post – lots of similar experiences for me. My dad went on lots of business trips, and when I was in 6th grade, my mom and I got to go along with him to Europe! Between my junior & senior years of college, I got to go to Africa, traveling there with a missionary friend, but came home by myself (lots of stories from that trip). Then my husband and I ended up as missionaries to Asia, so went a lot of places I never dreamed I’d get to visit (like India). These days, road trips are more fun than LONG plane rides (I’m tall enough that being cramped for hours is no longer worth it). I had hoped we’d make it to Australia (friends and cousins there), but never did make it. It’s fun now to be able to travel by reading :-) I loved Postcards as one of your advance readers, so don’t need to be in the drawing.
I would love to travel some but at heart I’m a homebody.
I’ve always loved road trips. I love the serendipity of being able to stop or take a different route.
I’m so glad you enjoyed Postcards!
I am always glad to get back home.
I love to travel. I’ve been to all 50 states in the US and over 30 foreign countries. Now I’m concentrating on traveling to as many national parks as I can.
I’ve never had a great urge to travel to far… I have been to Canada and Mexico and would love to visit Hawaii sameday.
Wow! That’s fantastic! We ran into someone who was on a road trip to all the national parks a couple of summers ago. Sounded like a fun way to spend – I think he said he took a year?
Hawaii is on my list too!
I would love to travel to Japan and Europe.
I enjoy traveling too! I’d like to go visit Europe and see England, Germany and Switzerland. I think it would be so fun but it’ll have to wait until things open up again, unfortunately.
Yes!
Those are all lovely places I’d love to return to!
Hawaii has always been a place I’ve wanted to go!
I do have a bucket list! I’ve been fortunate that as a child and young adult I was able to live in a number of countries and then travel to others from there. Then my daughter became a flight attendant so I got to travel some more with her. And, I look forward to doing more someday again! I still want to go to Tallin, Estonia and Sweden and Norway and my big bucket list place is Antarctica!
I keep pricing out Antarctica cruises. And Galapagos as well.
Some day I hope!
There are always places that I would love to see. Since I am disabled, traveling is not something that I believe would be in my future. I can still travel through books as well as internet postings. I would love to see London, Paris, Australia and Hawaii. Thank you so much for sharing. Happy New Year.
I have a travel bucket list but an USA places will have to be by car due to my husband & I afraid of heights & planes. We look forward to drive places & hope to be able to travel one day.
I’m looking to car travel soon once everything is normal & visit places I went as a kid & places I’ve never been with my family
Yes!
Virtual travel is a marvelous thing!
Road trips are good!
😊
I would love to travel to Canada or Leavenworth WA again! The ultimate someday dream for my husband and I is to buy an RV to live in and travel the USA.
Really, I love traveling and seeing new places or revisiting old ones are a treat for me :-)
This sounds like an interesting novel. I am hoping to go on a cruise to just about anywhere, and also Hawaii.