When you have significant influence over other people or events in the world, you are considered to “cast a long shadow”. Today, in the social media world, these people are just called influencers. Regardless of whether we would be considered to be influencers, we do follow several people who are and use them as role models. It isn’t easy to tell how far your shadow actually reaches as it is just a metaphor and not something truly tangible. Often times, people have greater influence than they actually realize. What if you could actually see the shadow that you cast? We love the way shadows provide a different perspective at times and perhaps seeing your own influence would change your perception of the things that you do on a daily basis.
Inadvertently Capturing Our Shadow in IcelandBalancing Rock in IndiaShadows Stretching from the Temple of Olympian ZeusLight and Shadows in Cochabamba, BoliviaColonial Building and Shadows in PennsylvaniaShadows Across a Trail in ColoradoTemple Column Shadows in Edfu, Egypt
Just like everyone else, the way that we travel today is no where near how we started out earlier in our lives. If we were able to go back in time and were to bump into our former selves on a trip, we’d likely shake our heads and laugh at ourselves. Likewise, we will undoubtedly change again as more time passes and more experiences are compiled. Just like human evolution, there has been a very distinct evolution of the way that we travel that has taken us from crawling on all fours to walking upright on two feet.
Phase 1 – After we first met, our jobs and careers sent us to several different states in different parts of the US. During those days, our children were young and we would explore the places where we lived, but we wouldn’t actively seek out everything that a location had to offer. We would save up for a big trip here or there to places like Disneyland where everyone would have that experience. These were simply family vacations for the sake of getting away and spending time together.
Kids with Mad Hatter
Phase 2 – As our children got older, we started going on what we lovingly call “education vacations”. We made sure that we took at least one trip together each year and the destinations were always one of important historic significance or one of the country’s many national parks. Although they were certainly enjoyable, it was all about making sure that we all had an appreciation for our rich history. We wouldn’t, however, see much more than the museums, recreations, and natural wonders.
Mount Rushmore
Phase 3 – We became empty-nesters and for the first time wanted to see more of the world than our own backyard and had a combination of actual beach vacations in places like Mexico or seeing parts of Europe that we’d always dreamed of. We’d pack up several suitcases, drag a variety of clothes and shoes, and go to places that were wonderful, but didn’t take us out of comfort zone. We went to large cities in countries that were familiar to us and, for the most part, people spoke English. We were still taking vacations.
Eiffel Tower in Autumn
Phase 4 – After getting our first taste of someplace exotic that challenged us in ways that we could have never expected, we gained a desire to see the world. The whole world, big places, small places, especially places where the people didn’t look like us, speak English, and the cultures were as foreign as the land itself. In our attempt to see more and go to places that aren’t always easy to reach, we learned to live out of a carry-on bag, only take what we need, and interact with the locals with respect and a true desire of understanding. We had become actual travelers.
Our Trip to India
Phase 5 – We told our stories to all of our friends and shared our photographs with them. With their encouragement, we started to share our experiences on this humble site. We had become travel bloggers. Now we not only seek out the experiences of our previous phase, but knowing that we’re going to write about the places after our return has caused to do even more research, learn more, and push us to go to even more places that challenge us, like jungles, frozen lands, deserts, and more.
Paddling in the Small Canoe in the Amazon
Phase 6 – Obviously we’re not here yet, so life will only tell what this next phase will bring, but we know what we’d like. Having enjoyed seeing many countries on 5 different continents and getting the opportunity to live abroad, we would like to live in countries throughout the world, especially ones that will challenge us. Spending two weeks in a place is wonderful, but to spend a year or two would provide an even greater experience. At that point we would graduate from a traveler to a world citizen.
The Giza Plateau in Egypt
So, we started with family vacations, moved on to education vacations, then started to see more of the world, and have finally become what we would consider to be true travelers. Regardless of where our evolution takes us, we definitely appreciate the growth that we have experienced over the years. Some of you have probably been able to jump straight to being a traveler, but there is some nostalgia about having moved through each of the phases of our travel lives.
Everyone brings back something from their travels, whether that is simply memories and photographs, or something more. During our early days of traveling, which was all within the United States, we used to collect coffee mugs from everyplace we visited. We even bought special coffee mug racks to display all of our mugs with colorful pictures depicting what is unique about each location. While they were fun to look at, it very quickly became too much to display as the number of coffee mugs grew year after year. Since those days, we have gone with a different approach for finding things that we want to bring home with us to remind us of the places that we’ve visited.
Painting of Quito, EcuadorOil Painting from ParisMarionette from PragueGluhwein Mug, Alabaster Vase from Egypt, and Greek Urn from AthensHand-Stitched Tapestry from Panama City, Panama
Walk through any tourist shop and you will find many of the common things that people collect during their travels. Keychains, refrigerator magnets, shot glasses, coffee mugs, snow-globes, and pens are all among the items that you can usually find in almost any city around the world. Although we used to collect some of those items, now we try to find things that are more unique and often hand-made by local artisans. We love to get inexpensive paintings or small works of art from the different places that we’ve visited. When we buy a painting, we will purchase unframed so that it can be rolled up and protected during our flight back home. We keep them on display and can fondly remember where we found each of the individual items. Some items are very indicative of the city or country, others we simply found intriguing and we still make a connection to the country where we found it.
Painting of the Colosseum in RomePapyrus Artwork from CairoCurrency from Around the WorldStatue of an Alsace Woman from Strasbourg, FranceEtching of the Duomo in Florence, Italy
In addition to bringing back pieces of art or other unique items, we also bring back money from the places that we visit as well as tourist maps. It is our intention to one day make a collage out of all of the unique tourists maps that proudly display the top tourist attractions within the city. We also intend to someday display that currency that we’ve collected throughout our travels. And even though we purchase them prior to visiting different locations, we also collect the travel books that we use to plan our trips. Perhaps we’re a little weird, but we have a lot of travel items that we’ve collected on display throughout our home. We also have digital frames that rotate through photographs from our travels as well. Is there anything that you collect during your journeys and do you display them for others to see?
Items on Display from France, Iceland, Bolivia, Spain, Ecuador, Mexico, India, and MorePainting of Bran CastleTravel Books in Our OfficeIndia, Egypt, Germany, and Austria Sharing a ShelfHand-Painted Plate from La Paz
