Musings on Travel, Part One.

I love to travel.  Give me a suitcase, and a GPS system - (unlike the also-useful map, they don't have to be re-folded) and I'm happy.  I even like the parts other people don't.   Examples:

I'll spend hours on the computer planning.   Nothing makes me happier than finding just the right hotel, the cool local restaurant, and the hidden treasures in things to do and see.

I love driving to the destination, with enough flex to stop and investigate the stops along the way.   For me, flying to the hottest resort, or - even worse - flying by everything because one must "keep to the schedule", is no vacation at all.   The side trips when you find a perfect little museum, or one of the country's only remaining original ice cream parlors, those add sparkle to an eight-hour drive to your real destination.

The problem is,  there is rarely the time in the schedule - or the money in the budget - to take those nice long trips.  So, considering how much fun those side trips are - what would happen if you made one of those the focus of a one day, or overnight trip? 

That's the question I've been thinking about lately.  Within a few hours drive of my house, there are dozens of interesting (to me anyway, and that's what counts) things to do and see.   With any luck over the next few weeks and months, I'll be working my way through some of those.   It may not be quite the same as the longer adventures I love so much, but then again - it might just keep my wandering feet happy!