"Life's a Journey, Not a Destination"

While I'm all too aware it wasn't the epically profound Steven Tyler who penned this famous quote, it's through his melodic delivery that these words resonate through my hyperactive brain.


In an effort to see who, what, when, where, how and why is infiltrating the current travel writing market, I have schlepped through a sizable stack of travel tales since my journey in Spain began.  My current victim makes note that not everyone is meant to travel.  Travel, in the most literal sense, being the getting to from Point A to Point B.  Spaniards, for instance, have the tendency to need to scoop their jaws off the ground when they hear my response ("24 hours") to their question ("How long does it take you to get home?").  Mind you, we're talking from my door in Jaen, Spain to my door in Fresno, California, utilizing several modes of transportation, including planes, trains, metros, cars and good old-fashion walking (I don't believe in taxis when I have legs, especially when, these days, two miles feels like two blocks).


It is during these moments that some of my favorite travel memories are born.  For example: 


...being stuck in a snowstorm on a train in the middle of the Spanish countryside sure shows you something about a country's character.  How does the train company handle it?  Are the passengers calm or is it pandemonius mayhem? (Let's just say I learned a few new vocab words that I won't be repeating in front of children!)


...running into a new friend you just met last weekend in Jaen who happens to be on the same flight as you from Madrid to Dallas is not just ironic, but a surefire way to form a solid bond perhaps not otherwise made.


...helping an elderly Madrileño know what to expect when he lands in the US of A for the first time through a smattering of attempted broken English and slightly better Spanish.  Poor guy was going to miss his connecting flight and had not a clue how to rectify the issue, especially in English.  I guess I can add translator and international travel agent to my list of current job titles!


...seeing one of the most spectacular sights I will never forget thanks to my new Spanish friend: the actual meeting of the day with the night, as we soared through times zones and continent jumped the globe.  As clear as, well, night and day, the two were joined with an incredibly defined horizontal line of sunset pinks and starry blacks.


Like my last trek's eye-opening encounter with the German one regular Tuesday on a Metro in Madrid, life happens on the road and luckily, you have a moment to actually notice it.  The time of travel is meant for reading, writing, relaxing and interacting... living, if you will. 


As Steven Tyler says, it's "Amazing... with the blink of an eye..."