Friendships forged through travel

Do you belong to a travel group?  A club that you gather together to celebrate the things you love?  Whatever your group may be, gathering with those that share an interest in a hobby, travel, or as a group of friends helps forge bonds of friendship that last for the long haul.

Keith and I are tractor collectors and we go to tractor shows throughout the years.  We find that the friends we have met over the years have become lifelong friends. One couple we met through the hobby, we travel with together to Florida when possible.  It has become an event, we meet up in St. Louis at the toy show, plan our trip (because you have to stop somewhere on the way either to or from the destination! Then when winter is at its darkest and coldest, we flock south just like the snow geese for an albeit short respite!

Recently I joined the Midwest Travel Bloggers and through them have made some wonderful new connections.  One fellow writer, Theresa Goodrich just recently wrote a new book titled Two Lane Gems about her trek from Chicago to California on Route 66 and back. She focused on my favorite topics, those out of the way drive by towns that have stories all their own.  She wrote the book after we roomed together at the beautiful Red Cedar Lodge on a press trip to Charles City, Iowa.  After getting to know Theresa, when she had her book launch, Sara Broers, one of the founders of the group and I traveled up to her book launch.  Sara and I bonded over travel and talk and we took Chicago by storm on our one night event that turned into two events after meeting fellow writers that before we just knew by name.  These days, I am finding, if you are open, one thing can lead to another!

The travel doesn’t have to be exotic or even far.  Some trips to events just a few hours or even miles away with an interesting companion can create memories that are sometimes almost as fun to recall as to live.  Friendships forged through travel and a linked love are priceless!