Entries about travel

As my first travel blog EVER, allow me to introduce why travel invigorates me.

For years, this Kansas girl has wanted to journey freely across the West. Such a journey has meant a chance to feel pioneering; feel my stomach hurt from rounds of laughs; ride horses and ride powder snow; people watch in a culture apart from my own; see exotic landscapes.

Despite the anticipation that comes with travel, it can also be wraught with disappointment and loneliness. So, in type A travel fashion, I have taken steps to hedge the "loneliness on the road" risks:

• Notify several girlfriends in advance, that I am willing to meet their random friends and family members if they will be in the vicinity of my upcoming destinations. If it's a good time, I promise to throwing in a bottle of vino upon my return.
• Email second cousins living in the surrounding target areas - it's time to reconnect!
• Read up on conversation starters at the Continental Breakfasts. So, I see you have a trucker's hat, are you a sports fan?
• Carry my Guidebook and a free local paper into the bar - this will suggest I'm open to talking to people when I otherwise wouldn't be in my hometown.

Approaching my first stop, I realize who my new companions will be for a little while: the front desk clerks, the coffee baristas, the waiters, whatever outdoor guide services I may render, the occassional Joe actually in a mood for conversations with strangers, maybe a random person at the locker room of a rec center where I've paid the visitors' fee, and of course, the retirees I see at the Super 8 free breakfast (with stories about their daughter and what a wonderful life she lives married with kids and a meaningful career).

Tonight, I'm at my recommended Solo Type A budget traveler accommodations: The grand ole Super 8. I get free coffee, free breakfast, internet and never seem to have to verify my Triple A discount rate card.

I am armed with tips from the Moon Handbooks and a mission for feeling a little extra jingle....like a good day of sun and powder snow - you can't help but hollar!