Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After our whirlwind tour, it's time to wrap up our journey. No matter where you go, the
final stop is always the same. And thankfully, home is the best destination of all.
Having traveled makes being home feel homier than ever. Part of my re-entry ritual is a
good, old-fashioned, American-style breakfast at the local diner. I know just how I like it:
eggs—over medium, hash browns—burn 'em on both sides, and toast—sourdough done
crispy with marionberry jam. As the waitress tops up my coffee and I snap my sugar pack-
et before ripping it open, I think of how, across this planet, there are thousands of entirely
different breakfasts eaten by people just as exacting as I am. And of all those breakfasts,
it's clear that this one is the right one for me. I am home.
Considering all the fun I have traveling, feeling thankful to be home affirms my sense
that I'm rooted in the right place. I enjoy the same Olympic Mountains view from my kit-
chen window that I did as a kid. I look out my office window and still see my junior high
school.
While I relish the culture shock of being in an exotic, faraway place, I also enjoy the
reverse culture shock of returning to the perfect normalcy of home. As if easing from my
traveling lifestyle into my home lifestyle, I still function out of my toiletries kit for a few
days before completely unpacking. The simplicity of living out of a single bag slowly suc-
cumbs to the complexity of living out of a walk-in closet in a big house with light switches
and an entertainment system I've yet to master.
Over time, I willingly fall back into the snappy tempo and daily routine of a busy
home life. I do this because I am not fundamentally a vagabond. I love my children, have
fun running a business, enjoy the fellowship of the coffee hour after church, and savor my
daily stroll across town for coffee. If I had a top hat, I'd tip it to the ladies I pass along the
way.
And yet, after every trip, things remain a bit out of whack...but only to me. There's a
loneliness in having a mind spinning with images, lessons, and memories that can never
adequately be shared—experiences such as finding out why the Salvadoran priest ignores
his excommunication, why the Dutch celebrate tolerance, and why the dervish whirls. I
enjoy the trip-capping challenge of making sense of the confusion, and splicing what I
learned into who I am and what I do.
Travel doesn't end when you step off the plane into your familiar home airport. The pre-
ceding chapters—while ranging far and wide across the globe—all illustrate how travel is
