Be a Traveler Not a Tourist
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Chef, writer and traveler extraordinaire Anthony Bourdain and TV host of No Reservations, always says to be a traveler and not a tourist. I couldn't agree more. Tourists have checklists of places to see and things to do. Travelers care more about experiencing new places firsthand with eyes and heart wide open. They expect surprises both good or bad. When I travel, I like to immerse myself as a local as quickly as possible. While in Florida, we cruised around in an old, white caddy which felt as long as the Queen Mary and just so Florida. On this trip, I fell in love with palm trees all over again (yes, I took a gazillion shots of them) and the hyper-saturated colors of a 50's postcard Florida. On a drive to the North Naples farmer's market I spotted this creamy yellow caddy and melted. Vintage cars are happy there with no fear of winter salted roads and ice. With no GPS like at home, it felt more relaxed using a real foldout map and so what if we got lost?
As a kid, my family took lots of road trips. Like many other dads, my dad refused to ask for directions. We got lost. A lot. We studied maps, four pairs of eyes scanned the horizon, looked for signposts, announced street names, but we always found our way back home in one piece. It taught me that it's okay to get lost. Every wrong turn I've ever taken has yielded a hidden treasure. Trust. Take risks. Enjoy. Be a traveler. You don't need to leave town either. You can start in your own backyard.
Chef, writer and traveler extraordinaire Anthony Bourdain and TV host of No Reservations, always says to be a traveler and not a tourist. I couldn't agree more. Tourists have checklists of places to see and things to do. Travelers care more about experiencing new places firsthand with eyes and heart wide open. They expect surprises both good or bad. When I travel, I like to immerse myself as a local as quickly as possible. While in Florida, we cruised around in an old, white caddy which felt as long as the Queen Mary and just so Florida. On this trip, I fell in love with palm trees all over again (yes, I took a gazillion shots of them) and the hyper-saturated colors of a 50's postcard Florida. On a drive to the North Naples farmer's market I spotted this creamy yellow caddy and melted. Vintage cars are happy there with no fear of winter salted roads and ice. With no GPS like at home, it felt more relaxed using a real foldout map and so what if we got lost?
As a kid, my family took lots of road trips. Like many other dads, my dad refused to ask for directions. We got lost. A lot. We studied maps, four pairs of eyes scanned the horizon, looked for signposts, announced street names, but we always found our way back home in one piece. It taught me that it's okay to get lost. Every wrong turn I've ever taken has yielded a hidden treasure. Trust. Take risks. Enjoy. Be a traveler. You don't need to leave town either. You can start in your own backyard.
Posted by Layla Morgan Wilde at 2/17/2011 7:01 AM 
Categories: Baby Boomers, Travel, Photography, Art, Spirituality
Tags: vintage caddy north naples florida be a traveler not a tourist anthony bourdain family road trips
Categories: Baby Boomers, Travel, Photography, Art, Spirituality
Tags: vintage caddy north naples florida be a traveler not a tourist anthony bourdain family road trips
Fantastic old white caddy. Yes, we seem to have had similar childhoods. We went back and forth across the US each summer, and then we traveled out West or camped in the West. In my marriage, we have traveled, but we always took the untouristed route, the inner view.
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Your early roadtrips out west must have colored your writing.
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Yes, they did. And the 16 years in Utah and the 150 ancestral Utah years; I really do not like deserts at all or badlands or moonscapes, but they are interesting to see; my first trip to see lots of green trees was W. Virginia. I fell in love with the Appalachian Chain as opposed to the magnificant Rocky Chain, which is magnificient, but the green of the trees is what I fell in love with. And so, New England is by far the most lush area I've lived in, of Mtl, T.O. Utah, D.C. Chicago. Utah has such great national parks, but they are all weird, red sandstone formations.
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I feel that way even when I walk around town. No plan, no itinerary. Just following my whims. A sudden right or left turn here or there, and I'm in unfamiliar territory, seeing something I've never seen before.
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So true, it doesn't take much.
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Driving up I-95 alone, about the 10th hour, I hypnotically followed a truck down an exit ramp in Virginia. Instead of turning around and getting right back on the interstate. I took a sight-seeing cruise and a wake up break. It was beautiful in spring and a memorable side trip.
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Thanks for sharing. This is exactly the point.
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Once about 12 years ago, the kids wanted something from the ice cream truck, but as soon as we pulled up at the park, he started driving. I followed him, thinking he'd see us waving and stop. He didn't. We decided to follow where we went for fun and to kill time. About 45 minutes later, his battery stopped. I gave him a jump start and he gave us all free ice cream. To this day, the kids remember that as the most fantastic little side trip and happy coincidence of all.
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Excellent advice! I love to discover, too - it's the real way to travel!
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I actually envy those people that has the time and money to travel in different places. I can travel but not that often though. But you are right, I should start in my own backyard or in my town. And experience and discover new things without going that far.
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