Throughout my life I have been so fortunate to be able to travel not only in my beautiful country of the USA but also all over the world. I have visited a total of forty-nine countries and sincerely dream and hope that number will grow again one day. There are still so many wonderful places that I have not had the incredible opportunity to explore yet. These include the major cities of Australia and the fascinating Outback there, both islands of spectacular New Zealand, and French Polynesia. I hope to visit my dear friend Colleen Pringle in Auckland, New Zealand, in the near future. I want to journey to the South American countries and to more countries in Africa in hopes to experience more game drives there since I am a lover of animals. India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia are so appealing to me now. My free spirit would also really enjoy an expedition to Antarctica even though I am definitely not a lover of cold weather or snow. Many places are still left to visit in my own country, including the Hawaiian Islands, the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone National Park, and the Painted Desert just to name a few places. For the past thirty years, most of my traveling has been international so I have many things still left to 
see in my own country. 
To those of you who share my passion and have traveled extensively or to those of you who dream of seeing the world one day, I will share why traveling is so important to me and how it has affected and changed my life. The benefits of traveling are numerous and very personal depending upon what you want to gain from your experiences. Today I will discuss the first benefit of traveling.
To me traveling is always a great adventure. Before I leave for one of my trips, I thoroughly research the areas I will visit. I do this online or via tour guide books I purchase. If I am traveling with a tourist company, then I carefully select the tour that best meets my interests and desires. If traveling alone or with my husband Bill, I meticulously plan our itinerary for each day of the trip but do leave some free time each day for those unexpected local discoveries that can end up making the trip unique and more memorable.
The first benefit of traveling, of course, is to see completely new locations—ones that may be very different from yours in geography. Many mountains and forests, deserts, prairies, seacoasts, jungles, oceans and seas, lakes, and other picturesque terrain exist on our globe. The organic beauty to behold on Earth is breath-taking and awe-inspiring. Seeing the beauty that exists on our planet has often been healing and uplifting to me. It has given me the chance to put my pains and problems aside and has helped me to forget myself while on one of my great escapades. I become totally entrenched in the beauty of our “paradise planet” and marvel at all of God’s magnificent creations. Wandering around the wooded area to try to spot the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, driving through the Alps in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, trying to look deeply into the Black Forests of Germany, watching a sunset in Bali, Indonesia, cruising the Nile River, and lounging beside the deep blue water along the French Riviera and the Costa 
del Sol of Spain are remarkable sights to behold.
The many creations of man also always amaze and delight me. Witnessing and climbing the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, viewing the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, seeing the smile of Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris, walking on the Great Wall of China in Beijing, strolling through the Seven Hills, the Parthenon, and the Colliseum in Rome, and watching the once-in-a –lifetime event of seeing the King’s dragon boats in Bangkok, Thailand, are things that I wish everyone could experience. I have been so fortunate to see several of the Seven Wonders of the World as well.
I also delight in seeing animals I normally would not be able to see at my home in such unusual settings. Watching a mother whale and her baby play in the Indian Ocean off the coast of southern South Africa, visiting a penguin colony in South Africa, feeding giraffes in Kenya with my hand in a private reserve there, literally playing with two cheetahs in a private reserve in South Africa, watching pandas romp and play in China, petting dolphins as they swim close to my small boat off the Georgia coast, and viewing the herds of wild animals as I soar over the Masai Tribal area in Kenya in a hot air balloon will never be forgotten and are some of most special memories. 
I know that I have been so very lucky to have been able to do all of the traveling I have done and see all of the beautiful places in our world. I am not rich by any means, but my husband and I have always worked hard and have saved our money to be able to do this. I have no regrets about any of this. I would not trade these amazing memories of what I have been able to see and enjoy firsthand. The money I have spent was more than worth it.
The next blog will cover other benefits of traveling so I hope you will check back in a few days to read it.
Randi D. Ward
November 5, 2013
