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You can take plenty of photographs on your vacation, even digital video is fairly
easy, but those things won’t help you record the little incidents that give meaning to
your vacation. That is why keeping a travel journal is so helpful. The journal of
your vacation is the place to keep notes of the small things that give color to your
trip. It is also the place to keep the details of the big things that make a vacation
memorable.
If you don’t usually keep a journal, that’s okay. There is just one rule in journaling:
it’s your journal and nothing else matters. It isn’t necessary to go into great detail if
your don’t want to. You shouldn’t worry about your spelling or grammar. The
important thing is to record those things that will trigger the memories of the
vacation.
For example, what did you feel like when you found out that the gentleman who
gave you directions in Washington, DC was the Ambassador from France. You
discovered that when you saw him being interviewed on the national news. The
photograph of the outdoor food court in Singapore was nice, but what did the place
smell like; what kind of food did you try and what was it like; and how did the other
patrons react to seeing an American tourist away from the usual tourist places.
That is the kind of experience that everyone has at one time or another, but only
those people who keep a travel journal will be able to savor the memory long after
the trip is over.
Keeping a journal can also be a learning experience. The longer you keep the
journal the more you will find yourself mentally noting the small things that should
be recorded. A young girl’s eyes when she first sees the Grand Canyon can only be
properly described by a parent who keeps a journal. The teen age boy, who
considers himself too cool to be seen with his parents even on vacation, can’t stop
talking to you about his first ride on the Powell Street cable car in San Francisco.
There is no way to keep that memory except in your travel journal.
It is your journal and that allows you to keep your thoughts on all of the things that
are important just to you. Your mother-in-law met your father-in-law in New York
City fifty years ago. They always meant to go back, but something always came up.
He has since passed away, and now you are taking her back to the Big Apple for the
first time in half a century. While you are there you ask her about her memories and
what it was like to be young and falling in love in New York City. Those are the
things that go into a journal.
Having the proper tools is important, of course. The journal can be just a few
scraps of paper, but those are likely to get lost. A book of blank pages designed
specifically as a journal is the best way to go. You should look for the kind of book
that you feel comfortable carrying and using. And you should look for a journal that
can be used for many trips and will last for many years. After all, this is likely to be
the book that you go back to to regain the warmth of that trip that meant so much
to you. When the children are grown and the grand parents have passed away, it
will be your journal, chosen so carefully today, that will be there to remind you of
the good times and the not-so-good times.
A vacation is a set of shared experiences between friends and family members. You
may find that the memories of those experiences are quite different among the
people who were there. A travel journal is an excellent pre-vacation gift for
everyone who travels.
Now that you have a journal be sure to have it with you at all times. Perhaps place
the journal with your camera so that, just like the photographs you should be
taking, you will have your journal handy to record the memories in a different way.
Keeping a journal in a pocket or purse is always a good idea. Once again, just like
your camera, a journal is only good as long as you use it. So keep your vacation
handy while you are traveling and be sure to record all of the events and activities
that make up a vacation.
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Source by George Barnett
