Background

Based on my own personal experience, I believe there are benefits of journaling your travels. Journaling your travels can profoundly impact a travel experience in a positive way. I am not referring to journaling that becomes a blog, a book or a social media post.  Rather writing about a travel experience at the end of the day in a journal that only the writer will see.  That is not to say that it cannot evolve into one of these other things. But it does not need to in order to be beneficial.

There is something about wanting to have something at the end of the day to write about that elevates my mindfulness on that travel day. It does not need to be every day of travel of that particular trip.  Just pick one day and give it a try. Here are two examples where the benefits of journaling your travels can transform a day.

Pacific Grove, CA

The picture above is at Monterrey Bay in Pacific Grove, CA. It is a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean with waves white capping as they crash into the rocks along the shoreline.  At this particular spot is a park bench built as a memorial.  The inscription on the bench is “Be what you miss in the ones you have lost.” I remember that inscription and I saw that bench over a year ago. I believe that had I not been journaling about that travel day, I may have not noticed that inscription. Had I noticed it, I doubt I would have remembered it and be writing about it a year later.  I approached that day wanting to discover something that would inspire me to write.  I believe I was more aware of what I was experiencing than otherwise.  Maybe not, but I think it made a difference.

St. Paul, MN

A second example.   I once visited St. Paul, Minnesota, for a two-night stay.  Upon my early arrival into the city on that first day, it was cold and rainy.  As I recall, it was in the 30’s.  I was two months into my trip and my energy level was a bit low.  I was very tempted to stay in the warm and dry hotel for the day, hoping for an improvement in the weather the next day. But feeling the need to write about my St. Paul experience, I knew that I needed to take advantage of the day. I bundled up as best I could and set out from the St. Paul downtown hotel.

A few blocks away from the hotel, I walked past the historic Fitzgerald Theatre built in 1910. The theatre had held several names over the years, but now it was the Fitzgerald Theatre. It received that name in 1994, named after the author and native of St. Paul, F Scott Fitzgerald. It has played host to Broadway musicals, Prairie Home Companion, vaudeville shows, films and concerts. 

I am a fan of the author and instantly found my energy to continue on my tour of the city in spite of the weather.  Recalling a famous quote from the Great Gatsby by the character Daisy helped with my motivation: “What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon…and the day after that, and the next thirty years?” From that, I was inspired to carry on with my day in St. Paul.  In spite of the rain and cold, it turned out to be a wonderful day in the overall trip.  It started with the motivation to have something to write about at the end of the day.

Benefits of Journaling Your Travels

Maybe it creates pressure on that travel day that you choose to write about.  I do believe journaling at the end of a travel day can impact the day and I believe that impact was beneficial to the experience. Maybe you’ll find yourself taking notes during a historical walking tour or a bus tour around a city. You may find yourself asking questions to a museum docent or reading an exhibit’s plaque that you might otherwise pass by. It might motivate you to leave the hotel lobby on a cold and rainy day and discover something unexpected.

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