Travel Factory Blog
Family Travels
Some of the best education you and your family can experience is through travel, getting away from your comfort zones and discovering new cultures and lifestyles. One travel contributor to the Dallas Morning News said, and rightly so, “the freedom to travel is something to savor”. That is an attitude or reality that we often forget or just take for granted, but when I see on the news and pictures of folks over in Syria or other parts of Africa in their day to day struggle just to survive, that's when the concept of “freedom to travel” becomes a reality for us in the United States.
Travel with the family is often a hassle, probably because we didn't plan well....or even if we spent a lot of energy in the planning, sometimes things just don't work out like we planned. But, as one author stated, travel broadens our perspective and gives the family a chance to see how some other communities function. But even the best of plans goes awry some time, so the advice from another travel writer encourages us to “enjoy the journey....and the detours”.
Travel is also inspiring and educational for the entire family, but again, good planning keeps the family from wasting time. I've found with my own family that taking them to foreign countries, letting them observe how that country lives and functions, makes them so happy to get back to the United States, and makes them appreciate our livelihood so much more than before.
Depending on where you and the family might want to travel, a good step in the planning process is to do a little research on where you want to go. As we have mentioned before on our June 27 issue regarding the State Department issuing public advisories on places around the world that were safe or unsafe. That's a good place to start. The advice in that newsletter was to use caution, stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. That's good advice if you're going to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio.......or even Abilene.
Again, having a positive attitude and outlook helps in handling the variety of situations that occur on vacations. I always say, you can't help what you can't help, so just do the best you can under the circumstances. Take weather for example. You can't help or control what the weather is going to be like next summer, but be adjustable with your intentions and do activities indoors. Some folks book a river cruise and there have been times when the river is too low, so the cruise line has to bus the guests from city to city, then back on the ship where the water level is higher. Well, the bus trip to those cities will introduce you to some areas that you could not have seen from the ship, and the towns that you visited were certainly not on your original itinerary. Some folks have likened that attitude as someone who makes lemonade out of lemons. Or, as one person says, travel can be unpredictable, and the key to overcoming that bump-in-the-road is to keep a good, positive attitude, and even mix in a little humor.
The following advice really doesn't relate to family travel, but I thought it was some good advice as well as humorous. One fellow said that “it's not where you go but also what you do when you're there. If you want to avoid 90% of your risk, stay out of nightclubs after midnight”!!
The experienced travel counselors at The Travel Factory will be overjoyed that you would allow us to help you plan your vacation, so consider giving us a call at 698-1421 or drop in our office for a face-to-face visit at 4150 Southwest Drive in the Plaza at Park Central between Rosa's and Chick-Fil-A.Visiting with a travel agent will give you added confidence about your vacation planning experience.
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