Two for the Road

One of the many joys of traveling for me is getting to share the experience with someone else. Obviously it's not necessary, solo travel offers its own reward, but it can be fun to travel with someone else or several someones.

I can't overstate how important it is to know your own travel style. Are you ok flying by the seat of your pants? Do you need to know where you'll be every minute of every day? Figuring this out will be very helpful when and if you decide to travel with someone else. Isn't that one of the big rights of passage of a new relationship, that first trip together. The excitement and anticipation, feeling nervous, not knowing how things will go.

It may not lead to disaster but let's just say a Sally happy-to-not-have-a-plan  and a Johnny must-have-a-plan may not make for the best travel buddies. Best to be of one mind when it comes to travel styles. Not that you need to do every little thing together all the time. It's good to at least be on the same page. It's nice to have someone to split entrees with so you can try more things on the menu, someone to remind you that you may want decaf coffee this late at night and who understands that you can be full from dinner and still want dessert.

I'm lucky. My travel companion likes a lot of the same stuff I do and vice versa. Our travel styles mesh well most of the time. If you find someone that can put up with your travel idiosyncrasies (like my obsessive need to be two hours early for any flight) count your blessings. I was very fortunate in that regard. I'm thankful for it every time we hit the road. Don't let me give you the impression that we never disagree when we travel cause we do. But, that's the exception not the rule. And if it works 90% of the time I'm calling it a win.

Having shared memories is one of the perks of any long term relationship. Making these memories through travel is just another benefit. Looking through photos and reliving the experience we both had. Funny how we were in the same place, doing the same things, but each came away with a different point of view. That's the beauty of it, seeing the world through someone else's eyes, not just colored by your own experiences and expectations.