by If you write a travel blog and are successful at it, I am jealous. Not just a little jealous, but mega-jealous. Almost to the point of Single White Female envious. There are a million and one niches, and we all have to choose one, but you, my friend, have chosen wisely.
Think about it. I write about blogging. I’m stuck at my desk, reading and writing and thinking about words on a screen. You’re out there on a beach in the Pacific Ocean somewhere, taking pictures of today’s choice of fruity beverage with an umbrella in it.
You get to travel and see things that many people will never see. Hopefully, you’re successful enough that you get hooked up with some cool extras.
Back in My Day
I guess I’m extra jealous because, at one point in my life, all I did was travel. I’ve been to 47 countries on 5 continents and only have Alaska to cross off my life of all 50 states.
I’ve been to Russia 4 times.
I got food poisoning so bad in Brazil that I thought I was going to die.
I’ve had a root canal in New Zealand.
I didn’t know Macedonia was actually a country until I went there.
I took a week off in Portofino and did nothing but drink wine and look at the ocean.
I’ve seen Metallica in at least 5 countries (I think more).
I once was flown to a private island that took me 5 minutes to walk across.
I’ve crisscrossed Europe so many times that I lost count, but I do know that during a 5 year period, I spent a little of 3.5 years in places other than the US.
I’ve eaten in more Waffle Houses than you can imagine.
I had a favorite place for pork sandwiches in Köln, and although I can’t tell you where it is, I can get us there from the Dom without a map.
I’ve eaten illegal shellfish at a cliffside restaurant in Croatia.
Point is, I used to do a fair bit of travel myself. And I actually wrote about a lot of it at the time (the word blog wasn’t all that popular). It was widely read, and sadly, it no longer exists on the internet (some of it exists in the Wayback Machine, but that’s a story for another day).
Travel blogs are still my favorite, and I love reading about new places I haven’t been and old places that I still love dearly.
Keep On Keepin’ On
So please, keep doing what you do. I may be jealous, but I’m also loving what I see. Thanks for providing those of us sitting at our computers the digital equivalent of staring out the window for a few minutes to clear our heads. Maybe someday we’ll cross paths and trade some stories. I know I have some good ones – ask me about how I got to see Lenin’s Tomb…at gunpoint.
