Tt is rather strange how I got caught up in this desire to travel.  Back in the “old days”, I really didn’t go anywhere.  I had no desire to.  Then….one day I got a letter from my local selective service board inviting me to become a part of the U.S. Army.  To say that I did not want to go to the Army is vastly understating the situation.  But….this was one of those “command performance” sort of deals.  So….I went.  And….I liked it!

While I was stationed at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, I had a very desirable job.  I was administrative assistant to the commander.  I was happy there….and my boss was happy……and I was also good at my job.

Then one day, I got another invitation…..an invitation to give up my desirable job and go to South Vietnam.  I wanted to decline the “invitation”, but Uncle Sam insisted that I honor the invitation.  So…..I went to South Vietnam.  And…..again…..I liked it.  Again I had a very desirable job.  I was secretary to the Adjutant General of the U. S. Army in Vietnam.  A very good job.  I liked my job…..my boss liked me….and I did a very good job.

While I was in South Vietnam, I was given the opportunity to take several short trips in

Southeast Asia…..Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok…..while some of our airplanes were receiving maintenance.  These places were exciting and fascinating….a world that I had never known before.  And, I liked it.

When I left the Army, I had a wonderful opportunity to return to South Vietnam with an organization called the International Voluntary Services.  After a year of teaching English in a provincial capital called Phan Rang…..I was promoted to the position of Chief of Education.  In this position, I had as many as 72 teachers working under me.  Part of my job was to visit them in their local town and give them support.

I spent three years in this position….and during this three years, I was able to travel to many of the countries in Southeast Asia….Hong Kong, Philippines, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Taiwan.  There may have been others, but those are the ones that come to mind.

 

It was these experiences that hooked me on travel.  For several years, I limited my travel to places in the U.S.A……mostly the Oregon Coast…..and points in-between.  In fact, I have been to every state west of the Mississippi River……and several to the east, too.

 

 

The next major event in my life was hosting my first foreign exchange student…..a student from Germany.  I made my first trip to Europe in 1995….and I have returned there….mostly to Germany….almost every year since then.  Sometimes more than one time a year.

My first “grand tour” of Europe was in 1995…..in the summer time.  Although I have made return visits to Europe three or four times in the summer, I quickly discovered that traveling in the “off season” is much cheaper.  And for a not-too-well-paid school teacher, that was very important.  For the next several years, most of my trips were made during whatever vacation time we had in the school year…..mostly of the time during cold months with a few summer trips thrown in now and then.  After I retired, I discovered that the month of April is the most ideal month for me to travel.

After a rather long string of rather unsatisfactory “house sitters”……I had a dog….and I also burned wood, at the time…..I almost became reluctant to leave home.  My last wonderful dog, Abby, died in 2004.  And while it was a wrenching experience for me….it left me free to travel almost any time I wanted.  By April, it was warm enough to simply lock the house and take off.

I spent the summer of 1989 working in Yellowstone National Park…..and the summer of 2006 working in Big Bend National Park.  Both of these jobs were interesting and rewarding experiences…..although in vastly different ways.

During my travels, I have seen sites, experienced things and met people that I never even dreamed of before I served in the U.S. Army.  It is one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about, I suppose.  You never know what you are missing until you try it….and I am glad that I tried it.  It is a lot better to be hooked on travel than a lot of other things that I can think of.

An extra added benefit of my travel experiences has been the decision to host a wide variety of foreign travelers, that I met through a couple international hospitality organizations.  Some stay for a couple days…..some for a couple months. I have hosted a strange and exotic bunch of people:  Europeans, Asians, Africans, Americans.  Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims.  And also a couple of communists from China….who laugh at the thought of China ever engaging militarily with the U.S.A.  Not only are they interesting people from whom I have learn much….although I rarely agree with them….but hopefully,they have learned equally as much from me……but I have made some life long friends…..and now I also have a place to stay (for free) in my future travels.

Until now, I have visited twenty-one different countries…..and I hope that I can visit at least that many more in the future.  In my way of looking at things….travel is never time spent unwisely….and is a good investment for the money spent.