Inspiration - Motivation · Lifestyle · Travel · Weave that Dream

It’s Almost Time For A Jaunt. Let It Start Brewing In Your Mind…

jacquelineobyikocha

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There is nothing that gets the creative zing flowing like the discovery  and experience of new places, new people, new things.

My curious mind is always on the look out to see the common man blending in his environment getting on in his own way. There is that inner satisfaction that it brings to the soul, to see people milling about in harmony or to be out and about in nature. I capture a lot of these moments in photos and review them on lazy days.1452944377477[1]

For me, thoughts of travel does not only entail major hauling or tramping across Continents by air or sea, in actual fact, traveling by air is my least fun way of seeing new places and having new experiences, because you don’t see much while up in the air, except the miles of cloud and an occasional thrill of seeing another plane at a distance, if you are lucky. I guess it’s indispensable at times, when there’s a huge distance to be covered.1452944616829[1]

However, my favourite ways of gadding about is by road followed closely by train.

I love the leisurely way of traveling by road with my family. The kids nicely ensconced in the back, my dear Himself, otherwise known as daddy and husband drives most times and I get to ride shot-gun, filling his ears with idle chatter, oohing and aahing over the large open skies, pointing out the rolling meadows or whatever catches my fancy and keeping the kids entertained simultaneously.1452945518395[1]

The joy of traveling with your own vehicle or a leased one is that you get to dictate the pace of your movement, take all the stuff that you want, make as many pit-stops as required because the children can and do get antsy with repeated demands for loo run and the countless ‘are we there yet?’ moments.Image result for images of credit cards

It definitely beats the removal of shoes, belts, this and that at the airport under the scrutiny of raised eyebrows of security.

I can’t forget the silly smirk on the faces of one or two airport security, when I used to haul my younger son’s special trainer potty all over the place – he refused to sit on any toilet seat except on his Nemo and Dory aquamarine coloured one and it was one of the travel heavy season of my life, so we went everywhere with potty and his favorite duvet. Thankfully, the potty days are over 🙂1452943875832[1]

Of course, for individuals who are traveling alone, they get to have that quiet time to mull over things, play their long musical playlist without interruptions, or listen to an audio book, just about whatever they like.1452944064852[1]

A lot of times, I gaze at the long haul truckers in pure admiration. They have seen things and have tales to tell of their long journeys. At a point in my younger life, I wanted to experience that, but I guess it was just a passing fancy.

The road trip excitement starts building up days before we depart and in my home, we have our own travelling made easy, tailored-to-fit must have list to help make the journey seamless, fun and a worthwhile experience.

Our GPS is always updated. It is a priceless gadget that can get you to your destination with few hitches, though I love the colourful traditional maps and always acquire one for the place we are visiting.1452944754322[1]

Travel doesn’t quite feel the same without those maps – though for the life of me, I never seem to read it right and I end up confusing my husband to no ends and we get a little lost. GPS to the rescue.1452942777037[1]

We always carry extra blankets and pillows. My youngest, who is eight, tends to snooze off once the going gets on. After a bit of sing along, he’s out like light and it’s more comfy to set up a cosy spot at the back with the pillows and blanket to stop his head lolling all over the place, yet it never ceases to surprise me when the sweet, wafting aroma of dunkin donuts or burger rouses him from sleep.

There is something about traveling that makes the body peckish. A thermal hold-all with a flask of warm drink, bottles of water, sandwiches, paper napkins, chewing gum, cookies and other stuff like first aid box and basic pain relief drugs is a must have. 1452943838431[1]

I am the family entertainment generalissimo. I concoct stories to amuse the children, I read and share snippets from the dailies or a book with Himself and I shuffle the music playlist to soothe everyone’s taste.

Writing this article has my eyes glazing over with memories of the beautiful open Texas skies, of jaunts from Houston to Dallas, to Waco, to Austin…

Of road trips taken in the yesteryear’s in Africa; the drives from Lagos to Benin Republic, to Togo, to Ghana…

Of stopping by the roadside to eat fresh roasted corn and pear, breaking coco-nuts to eat the soft flesh and drink fresh coconut water, of local delicacies here and there, of dancing Makossa and Soukous to African beats in local clubs.

There are so many beautiful places to see on planet Earth and I really look forward to the opportunity of enjoying the simple thrills of life through visiting as many States as possible in North America and beyond.

Ah! It will soon be time to get out of the doldrums, especially for those who are experiencing the chilly climes.1452942193476[1]

The bone-chilling cold will pave way for warmer season and indeed the siren call of the road thrums in a traveler’s blood.

I learnt that these days, one can get to do some road travel and also earn from it. I wonder how that works, but it might be worth giving a thought. TURO is a unique car rental community that offers such opportunities.

Now, go pack your bags, dust your maps, don’t forget your travel essentials and ‘Own Your Adventure.’ 1452943911858[1]

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

P.S. ”This is not an advertisement, neither is it a sponsored post. Every word generated in this post is from my experience and are my words. TURO sent me an email inviting me to share a travel fun blog if I so choose.”

Published by jacquelineobyikocha

A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, an eager mind and a burning desire to carve out tales. As I journey with my muse to that land of all possibilities and self discovery, I hope my personal evolution will serve as a beacon of inspiration for anyone who chooses to stop by.

66 thoughts on “It’s Almost Time For A Jaunt. Let It Start Brewing In Your Mind…”

  1. this is awesome…there is nothing like sharing the open road with ones you love…your post makes me want to jump into my car and drive, however, I cannot right now but I will add it to my to do soon list 😀

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      1. I will have a few weeks between jobs once the weather improves…then I will take a ride to the city for the weekend 🙂

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  2. I have dreamed of being a trucker before as well, with my bull dog sitting in the passenger seat! I don’t have a bull dog but that’s what I would get and then we would travel all over together. LOL!

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  8. A great post, Jacqueline. I love to drive, and if I’m being honest, prefer to do it alone. Not sure why, but I like being able to stop when/where I want, taking long breaks if I find something of interest. My family seems to want to get there as fast as possible. Husband will drive non stop for hours/days !

    One other note…I much prefer the traditional paper map to GPS. We have traversed the U.S., and I’ve never gone wrong with the old fashioned map ! Can’t say the same for GPS, or even Google maps !! ☺☺ Have a great weekend.

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  10. Lovely post sis as I love to travel. Road trips are great but it’s basically by air for me. Wherever I go, I shoot to get inspirational photos and write my quotes. :0))

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  11. This was a wonderful post Jacqueline! Traveling is one of my biggest dreams, I love it. I wanna travel the world one day.. I love watching the road unfold itself and beautiful sceneries! This was a great post! 🙂

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  12. I just sold my motorhome. Lived and traveled in it for about six years. Now I’m deleted to be in a home once again and tethered to one spot. Don’t know how I would have survived without GPS, though it did get me in a few jams. Not easy to make a U-turn when your motorhome and tow car are fifty feet long. 😉

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      1. LOL … damn that spellcheck. It was supposed to be delighted, not deleted. One time I was in Oregon and and the GPS took me to a little commuter ferry … my motorhome was bigger than the ferry. Things get especially tricky because you can’t back a motorhome when it’s towing. You have to stop and unhook the car. Turn around and re-connect the vehicle. It’s a workout under the best of conditions and stressful when you’re blocking traffic.

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      2. My phone does that all the time. Has a mind of its own. I can imagine the stress and then some impatient people staring at you with annoyance written all over their face. I think I have a little idea of how big your motor home was. A lot of folks in Houston owned one and over the weekends they simply take off to explore.

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  14. I love traveling by car best…if I’m driving alone, I can listen to audiobooks or just listen to music and let my mind wandering. If I’m traveling with someone, the car just gives us the freedom to stop when we want. Every other mode of travel involves relying on someone else to get you there and being confined for the time it takes.

    Stephanie
    http://stephie5741.blogspot.com

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  16. When I was younger, and gas didn’t cost so much, I would get bored and just take off and drive with the kids until we ran out of gas. Most modern cars will take you about 200 miles on a tank of gas. That’s about four hours one way. Then we’d have a meal wherever we ended up, fill up the tank, and drive back. Of course, we’d stop at tourist traps, parks, or whatever was along the way because what’s a road trip if you’re just stuck in the car? I kinda miss those days.

    I don’t travel by plane at all so it’s just car and the occasional train trip, but mostly car. I’ve driven across the USA about… six?… times by now, and up and down each coast I dunno how many times. It’s the best way to travel in my book. I’ve never been outside the US though I’ve always wanted too. I just cannot seem to get myself onto the plane. >_<

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  17. Such a lovely post! I love stories of your travels. I used to dream of traveling as a child and still do. It’s very breathtaking getting a scenic view of the many places this world have to offer.

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  20. Oh my goodness…So funny how you had to bring your son’s potty seat everywhere! I, too, am ready for an adventure. I agree about the car being the best mode of transport. It’s nice if there is more than one driver. 🙂

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    1. Dear Sunflower, now that I look back it’s actually funny, but then, for the life of me, I couldn’t understand the little boy’s adamant attachment to his potty seat and his blankie. They were the first things I had to pack lest I forget 😉

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  22. I don’t drive right now but I have experienced many fun road trips in the past. I think my favourite was camping in the Okanagen in BC, Canada and along the road were always stands with fresh fruit and sometimes products made from fruit. I hated the camping part. Never again unless I’m in a trailer. I like to be somewhere that a train/metro can go to most places in the city. Or you can walk and take taxis. Many cities have these tour buses you can ride around that stop at many popular places in the city. Forc $30 or $40 dollars you can take this bun and get on and off all day or for two days. It’s very helpful. I’m trying to decide where to go this year. I want a beach or a poolside but Quebec City is also beautiful and old. Mexico might be good. Vancouver or Kelowna. still trying to decide. Luck on your adventures. Wonderful post.

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  26. Travelling to new places is so much fun. Seeing new places and experiencing new things is always something to look forward too. So far, we have two trips planned for this year. One by plane with just t me and the hubby, the other a family road trip, God willing! The last trip we took we missed our early morning flight by minutes (thanks to tsa lolly gagging around) and had to stay at O’hara airport for 20 hours with 4 kids….the youngest in the middle of potty training and wetting through all of her trainer underwear. Like you, we had a travel potty seat but she just wasn’t having it that day. Thank God I had about a weeks worth of extra pants for her in her bag…I can’t believe they don’t sell diapers at the airport (least not that one).

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    1. Those 20 hours must have been hectic! I can only imagine. Most airports I have been around, except London Heathrow don’t sell diapers. It’s funny now that we are talking about it, I wonder why. Maybe it doesn’t sell fast enough. No lolly gagging this time around. You must catch the flight and have some fun 🙂

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  27. Traveling is so much fun! Yes, and when you do it not by airplane, most certainly you get the most out of it! I swear by it! Thanks for sharing. This one was really warming to read 🙂 Much love Jacqueline ❤

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