Wanderlust…
Its meaning aside, I’ve always loved that word. While exhaling those three rhythmic syllables, it’s difficult to not stare through the nearest window to watch the trees sway restlessly in the wind (as I just did), or to dig up past travel photos, and, thus, past emotions.
But really, wanderlust, with all its gut-poking meaning, is what I feel as I write this. We haven’t yet made it three months since returning from our last adventure, and I’ve already spent weeks subtly (or not so subtly) lobbying my husband for another trip.
Oh, you know, just a long weekend…somewhere else, and preferably somewhere new.
It’s not much to ask, right? Wink, wink. But that’s just how it works: travel triggers a veritable domino effect, where the first truly eye-opening adventure can quite possibly result in wandering out for ten or so more adventures…give or take. Maybe you could call it an addiction, but it’s not the trips alone for which”lust”, nor is it the enjoyment I get simply from the optimism and planning associated with an upcoming vacation. It’s a totality of experience that is absolutely personal, contains positives and negatives, and it is totally inseparable from my being until I am no longer. Bits and pieces of this whole include:
- When we sat a seaside restaurant in Praiano and watched a diver come ashore to deliver freshly-caught mussels to the cook;
- When we shared an Oktoberfest table with brand new German and Russian friends while clinking glasses and singing songs;
- When we watched a pub crowd go respectfully silent to listen to three gentleman performing traditional Irish tunes;
- When boarding an astonishingly crowded bus in Rome, and bearing the brunt from a lady who quite literally ran and threw herself into the crowd in order to fit;
- When reminded – around nearly every bend – of the power of time and nature in the incredible Southwest U.S.
And, if it isn’t apparent, wanderlust includes your memories of past lustful wanderings, because those unforgettable moments grab the wheel and drive towards one’s next destination.
Which naturally begs the question…where is my next destination?
Travel Notch 