Travel

All About Traveling: the Thrills, the Sights, and More

In any dictionary, travel would be defined as the movement of people between distant geographical locations. But I know it’s more than that. When you visit other places, you are exposed to new people, sights, sounds, smells, languages, landscapes, air, sunrises, sunsets, and coastlines—just so many new things.

My Traveling Experiences

Experiencing travel happens in two ways: you travel somewhere or others travel to where you are. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, or Silicon Valley, means we get a lot of people coming to us. I loved it. One of the greatest feelings is the kind, warm-hearted reception you get from locals when you visit somewhere—and we offered that to the visitors of our community.

Earliest Travels

As a child, I grew up a competitive water skier, so our family would travel during the summer to water ski tournaments all over the country. When I was 15, we went to Florida for the National Water Ski Championship. I remembered the feeling of the humidity when we got off the plane, and I said out loud, “What's wrong with the air?”

In my senior year in high school, I was part of a large group that drove down to San Diego, CA for our senior trip and stayed in, at the time, at my girlfriends’ parent’s house. Our main objective was to experience Tijuana, and WOW, we really did experience the local culture.

I'll never forget the little kids selling stuff on the bridge as we crossed the border both ways. I remember turning to my buddy Mounter at one point and saying, “Damn, this is like a different country.” He looks at me funny and said something like, “Yeah. That's because we are in Mexico.” This was my first experience outside of the U.S.

New Adventures

A couple of years, later my friends and I experienced Maui at a timeshare. Hanging out in Lahaina was special, and the beaches were better than the ones seen in postcards. A few years later, me, my brother, and my mom experienced Paris together. My brother and I extended our trip to the Greek Islands. There was nothing quite like it.

As I write this, I think of local destination gems like Big Sur and Napa Valley. I believe travelers from all over the world would say the same thing: that there’s nothing like those places. As a local, I've experienced both Big Sur and Napa like a king.

Working and Traveling

In my early 30s, I was recruited by a Canadian software company. Because of that, I made many trips to Vancouver, BC for training and Christmas parties within a seven-year period. Vancouver was an amazing place. My territory for this company was California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii. I will share more of my stories about my trips in the near future.

Being a sales professional, I understood how travel is synonymous with work—it’s THE GIG. This is what we signed up for. “It goes with the territory” would be words you’d take to heart when you visit Vegas half a dozen times a year and see all the same people.

New Orleans, Orlando, San Diego, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Philadelphia—all these were cities I frequented regularly. Working almost feels like being a rock band on tour in this arrangement.

Once I am done with the “tour,” I start all over again, maybe tossing in a few new cities and dropping a couple for whatever reason. This is an experience that every salesperson knows. One thing is for sure, when a city has a high population, there is most likely a convention center. In true fashion for sales: build it, and they will come.

Recent Travels

In the last three years, my girlfriend, a travel and leisure writer, and I have done some serious, extensive travel together. While living in this amazing place, we have explored a ton of local special spots that I will soon cover.

We've had incredible experiences at Grand Velas in Los Cabos, Mexico, at Four Seasons in Oahu, HI, at Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, CA, and on Meadowood Napa Valley in St. Helena, CA. These are just a few places that come to mind. Look for links to these specific places and enjoy! I will continue to cover our future travels for your reference and reading enjoyment.

What I Learned

While visiting various places, I learned that travel is life and travel is living. Unforgettable memories are created while away from the familiarity of home, and people grow as they are exposed to new things. And while you visit a community, you are also supporting their economies.

Plan for the Unknown

No matter how much planning goes into a trip, you will always explore and deviate into the unknown. Some of the best memorable experiences come from what's unplanned.

The Best Ways to Travel

You can travel by car, by plane, by boat, by train, by motorcycle, by bike, or on foot. You may even hop onto self-driving vehicles as well as flying mobiles in the future. In my opinion, the best kind of travel will incorporate all versions of transportation.

I forgot swimming! Okay, not everyone knows how to swim, ride a bike, or a motorcycle, so you don’t have to do that if you can’t.