I knew from a young age that I wanted to travel:

    These days so many young people travel, I think we call them "jet setters"; it seems that journeys abroad come easy for so many of our youth. Even my own young daughter will go to London with the girl guides in a couple of weeks; she has already been to China and the Philippines; as well as many places in Canada. I believe that travel was more of a dream when I was young. I remember that my dad told me that he always wanted to travel but he never did make it abroad. After so many years of travel I can see now that I (and we, my wife) often just squeaked by financially to make a trip happen. Yes, just like a first home buyer somehow pulling all the strings to make a purchase happen, I even took out a bank loan to get on the plane. This is an open question.......do young people appreciate travel the way my generation did or do they feel entitled?
  My wife has been so supportive in helping me continue with a life of adventure and I am sooo thankful. What I am wondering is did I get the "travel itch from a very young age?"
     Besides some local summer holidays with my family my first trip alone was on the school trip to Ottawa. For grade 7 and grade 8 we had a school trip that took kids who could afford it (parents) from Dundas, Ontario to Ottawa. I went both years and although my parents kicked in I used my own money from a Sunday job that I had for years. I can honestly remember that I was excited to go on those trips to our capital; perhaps the most important emotion was feeling fortunate. We did not have a lot of money so being able to go both years (many students could not go, others only went once) was good for my moral.
   The next time I went on a big trip was around 1980 with my ex-girl friend and my close friends Dave and Janet. We traveled by car from Hamilton, Ontario to Perth-Andover, New Brunswick for a holiday in a cabin. That was a great experience; for discovering new territory, spending time with close friends and making our big tree fort on the mountain; while living in the wild. What I learned on that holiday had nothing to do with travel, the lesson was more personal.......do not announce to your girlfriend at the beginning of a trip that you will break up with her when you get home (hey I was young).
    The next year I headed to Perth-Andover again with my younger brother in my 1970 Dodge Challenger. We picked up an older guy who was hitch hiking east of Toronto; by the time we got to Montreal it was dark and this guy knew his way around. He asked us if we wanted to go into a bar; I was just of age and my brother was under age. We ended up going in to the small nightclub and fairly quickly a young lady asked me to dance. While dancing this new acquaintance asked me where we would stay for the night, I told her in the car; she said you can stay at my place but your brother will have to sleep on the couch. In the morning my brother was knocking on the bedroom door saying "Ian, Ian, her boyfriend is in the living room". I was expecting some big trouble; when I came out he said good morning, and there was no problem....go figure.
    In  1982 I took the trip that changed my life forever; I told my friend Rick that I wanted to go west and he also thought it was a good idea. I sold many of my belongings in preparation for the new adventure. After some nights with close friends and a tearful goodbye with Rick's family we headed out in my old Chevy pick-up for our trip west. What I remember was that I thought we could go up north in BC and make really good money so we could travel abroad, NOT....1982 was a recession year in BC. Rick went back east after about 8 months and I stayed out west to build my life here. Anyway our trip west was fantastic...so many experiences that I remember clearly (we shared those experiences with our dogs, I had the mom and Rick had her pup). Since we both love nature then the north of Ontario was something we cherished. I cannot understate the joy I felt on this eventful trip; when we saw the Rockies from east of Calgary we were impressed, once we experienced the mountains from within we were awestruck. Famous places like Lake Louis and Banff were right before our eyes. I truly appreciate the opportunity to see the scenery that Canada has to offer.
   Did I have the "travelers itch" at that time, I am not sure. It seems that when I put my mind to something I make it happen...somehow.
  I love hearing a new traveler talk about her/his trip, there is excitement in the story that can only come from that first journey.