Do you know what's in your backyard? The lesson I wish I had learned sooner about domestic travel .
Breckenridge, Colorado by Lucas Ludwig | Unsplash.
Do you know what’s in your backyard? If it were a snake, would it have bitten you?
WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT SNAKES?
This expression is one of those sayings that my Southern mom has used as long as I can remember. I consulted the internet for a formal explanation, and it describes it as a "phrase said humorously when one is looking for something that is right in front of them." The snake in our backyard is a metaphor for the beautiful places under our noses in our own home countries that we've yet to explore - maybe because we didn't know they were there, or maybe because we've been looking for them in far-flung places. It would have bitten me, and I'm here to explain why.
THE LESSON.
I'm ashamed to say that I had to leave my own country to realize how much I have yet to explore in the USA. From the time I arrived in New Zealand, I was an accountant by day and full-on explorer by weekend. In my first few months, I explored somewhere new almost EVERY weekend. It was exhausting yet exhilarating. To me there was no other option because, my time in New Zealand was finite, and I wanted to see and do as much as I possibly could without collapsing at work or drinking 10 cups of coffee by noon. I was much more motivated to do and see it all than I ever was when it came to exploring my backyard, my home in the southeastern corner of the US, and not to mention all of the other beautiful corners of the US.
I realized this while living abroad, usually when others would ask me about a certain state or attraction in the US that I had never been. This was the snake that would have bitten me - when I realized that there was SO much of my 'backyard' that I hadn't seen, from national parks to certain states, and what about Alaska!? It's all in the US and no passport required for its citizens.
WHY AM I LIKE THIS?
I've spent a lot of time wondering why we have this tendency to put off our backyard bucket list and asking others the same question. Most people I've quizzed say that they haven't spent much time exploring their metaphorical backyard either but figure that they’ll get around to it. My English partner-in-crime is no exception. He'll be the first to admit that he's been to more far-flung places like South Africa, Nepal, and Vietnam than places in his backyard, the United Kingdom. He's never been to Ireland, and I love to give him a hard time about this. I've found that this is the same for New Zealanders (aka Kiwis). Most ex-pats in my circles in New Zealand have seen much more of New Zealand than Kiwis who have spent their entire lives here. Crazy, right?
The consensus is that we'll be able to get to it later - when there's time, when we're less busy at work, when we have kids or get rid of said kids, or even retire. The truth is that there is never a perfect time (although one could argue that now is as perfect as timing as it gets!).
TRAVELING DOMESTICALLY DOESN’T MEAN TRAVELING SMALL.
By all means, please dream about that big international trip - swimming with the humpback whales in Tonga, seeing the Northern Lights in Finland, or drinking a pint of Guinness in Ireland because there is a big fascinating world out there. But if the US is your home, don't forget that it is a BIG country geographically, the fourth largest in the world, with distinct regions and states which may as well be their own countries. From the snow-capped peaks of Colorado, the placid beaches of Miami, sweeping deserts of Arizona, and lush forest in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, US geography forms a large part of each area's identity. There is so much to see and do at home without considering the other advantages of traveling closer to home, such as expense, travel time, and environmental impact. Have you explored any of these places and met their residents? If you're not from the US, have you properly explored your country, region, or even city?
THE SOLUTION.
If there were ever a more convenient time to choose domestic travel over international travel, the time is now. As local hotels and attractions will re-open before international borders re-open, now's the ideal time to travel to all of those places closer to home that you've been wanting to tick off your bucket list. From national parks to beaches and everything in between, we're keeping up-to-date on the latest hotel and attraction openings, post Covid-19 promotions, and the safest ways to travel. We're not short of ideas, so please let us know if you want to have a chat about domestic travel (whatever domestic means for you!).
In the meantime, let's dream big, but let's not forget what might await us in our backyard. Travel can teach us no matter how far (or not far) away we are from home.
