In the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen more and more friends post on social media about taking off for destinations near and far. With vaccinations, boosters, open borders, and the call to visit family and friends, I wasn’t surprised that so many people who were itching to travel over the past year and half are taking to the skies. In fact, TSA reported that just this weekend was the closest they’ve come to matching pre-pandemic screenings. But what is it that makes travel so important to us? Is it the journey or the destination?
Why can’t it be both? This week in the U.S. — Thanksgiving week — is usually the busiest travel week of the year. The call to go “home” or join family and friends is strong enough for people to put up with the crowds, delays, logistics, and cost of traveling this week. Clearly, it’s an example of the destination being more important, but if you were on social media at all during the pandemic, you’ll likely have seen videos of people pretending to be on a flight or recreating the airport experience. For all its ups and downs, the journey is just as important to us. It’s why people took to social media to commiserate. Even the little things came to mean a lot… little quirks and rituals most people have when they travel.
Me? I’m inexplicably drawn to visit Hudson News. Don’t ask me why! It’s the paragon of chain stores with overpriced nuts, candies, and toiletries. It’s where WIRED Magazine hangs out next to Sunset Magazine and Rolling Stone. Where fuzzy, fickle teddy bears hold fluffy hearts with city names changing with every airport. It isn’t necessarily Hudson News, itself, that draws me in. Any similar store in an airport does the trick.
Every once in a while, though, you come across a gem in the form of an unexpected great book, fascinating magazine article, or the nondescript snack you bought that turned out to be a lifesaver during a delayed flight. For me, it was in Paris in some French version of Hudson (Le Hudson?). I discovered the French/Spanish singer, Manu Chao. A store worker told me all about him and his music being played on the speakers. I was late to the game, but now and for the rest of my life, Manu Chao’s “Clandestino” will be the soundtrack to my first trip to Paris. Not because the songs are about Paris or travel, but because I listened to it so much during the trip. Here at HIGH BEAM, we talk a lot about the transformative power of travel. I think music serves as a bookmark to a specific point in time — like a vacation — and in the 3.5 minutes of one song, you can relive your experience complete with mental images, emotions, and scents and flavors so real, you’ll get hungry for that crêpe you had in a random café in Paris — all thanks to a few moments in the middle of a journey to my destination. What’s your travel ritual?
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