My Friends, the Travel Ambassadors

I’m in the basement of a Seattle friend’s house. I should be in bed. I mean, technically, I am in bed, clicking away on my laptop before I finally shut down for the night. But I had to jot down this quick thought, while it was still a thought.

I’m up in Seattle for a couple days of travel-related meetups – I went to two of them tonight, and the third is tomorrow night. Every single person at each meetup is someone I’ve met online, and they’re all travelers. One is here in Seattle after two days in Portland, which was the first stop on what’s going to be a long-term trip. She departs for Asia in a little over a week and isn’t planning to come back for at least six months. Another pair from tonight’s meetup are 18 days away from their own departure date, and they’re off on a multi-year adventure.

The rest of the crew is made up of a bunch of travel lovers with whom, it turns out, I have a fabulous time with. Yes, we share an interest in travel, and that’s definitely good for a conversation starter, but it’s more than that. These are excellent human beings with whom I’m proud to be associated and humbled to spend time with.

And now my thought.

As I was sitting in the gelato shop tonight, at the second meetup of the evening, surrounded by some of these wonderful people and thinking about how many miles we’ve all traveled collectively, I thought, “These are exactly the kinds of people I am pleased to have out in the world representing travelers. These are the perfect travel ambassadors.”

I love knowing that they’re out in the world, on long trips or short getaways, sharing their hospitality and generous natures. I love knowing that I know them all. The world needs more of them.

Big hugs to @nerdseyeview @pwcarey @kag2u @aghman @wtalbot @betsytalbot @spunkygirllogue @dogjaunt @c_johnston @CAroundtheWorld @hbaskas – and I swear I haven’t been drinking. These are honest-to-goodness heartfelt hugs here, folks.