Has it really been over 2 weeks already since I returned from my 30-day JetBlue All You Can Jet Adventure? Wow, time flies... whether you're having fun or not!
It was a fun 30-days, but it was tiring. I think it was the constant thoughts of... Where am I? Where do I go next? Do I need any reservations? Is it all set? Who do I need to call? Should I check the weather? Am I behind on my blog? Is there WiFi here? Did I print out my boarding pass? How am I getting to the airport? Which airport am I getting to?
All those little things add up. And of course your normal sleeping and eating patterns are completely confused. It's fun, because I tend to get bored when things are too routine for too long. But the other extreme can be exhausting! Like everything else in life, it's finding the balance that's the key... and the trick.
Flying 30 days for $499. It's a great idea, and a way to fill seats, during a slow season, on flights that will be flying anyway.
Turns out, back in 1966, my father did a similar... but different... trip. He traveled on a Greyhound bus for 99 days for $99. He broke it up into segments. I think it was 3 weeks in one direction, then home to the Chicago suburbs. Then 3 weeks in another direction, then home. For 99 travel days. He was writing for a restaurant industry magazine at the time, so he wrote about restaurants he found along the way.
Personally, I think I'd rather spend 30 days on a plane, than 99 days on a bus. But it's all relative I guess. I took a 24-hour bus ride from Chicago to Denver once, many many years ago with my friend Mary Beth. It was a fun adventure too. But, we were much younger then... 24-hours on a bus is a fabulous adventure... the first time. Its glamour can wear thin after that.
Travel can be tiring, but I enjoy exploring new places. Maybe it's genetic, being willing to travel for days on end, for a little adventure, to explore new places, to shake up our normal routine working lives. I sometimes envy people who are travel writers, who explore new places for a living, and share what they have found. But I suppose even that can become a routine of sorts.
I met a woman in Wales once, on a girl's choir tour I took (that's a whole other story). She asked us to call her Auntie Joyce. Auntie Joyce loved to travel. She enjoys being home, but after she's home for awhile, she said, in her lovely Welsh accent, "If I'm home too long, I get itchy feet. I have to travel and go somewhere new." Itchy feet. I love that expression.
So, here's to itchy feet. That desire to explore, to expand our horizons, to meet new people in new places, and learn more about the world. JetBlue's AYCJ pass satisfied my itchy feet for now... but who knows what travel adventures lie ahead?
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