Working for a wine importer over fifteen years afforded me many luxuries that I otherwise wouldn’t have had.  Of course, there was the wine itself and regularly dining in elite and expensive restaurants.  Additionally, I had the luxury of traveling to many different countries being wined and dined by winery owners and managers along the way.

In the years that I worked for this importer, I tried to go somewhere extraordinary each year.  Over the years, I traveled to France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, and South Africa, and most of these countries I visited more than once.  By visiting these countries and the wineries that I represented, I gained expert status.  Each year, I bid for my work travel trip.  And despite the requirements of playing host to ten or twelve people along the way who weren’t always the best travel companions, it was ALWAYS the best week of work for me for the year.

But after nine months of traveling around the USA and still seeing only a tiny fraction of what my own country has to offer, I am a little embarrassed by the value that I placed on this international travel.  Why is it that an African safari took precedence over a trip to South Dakota’s Custer State Park and the daily self-guided game drives that we participated in several evenings in the week that we were there?  Why did seeing New Zealand’s waterfalls and fjords seem more important than a trip to Michigan’s own Upper Peninsula with the beauty of Tahquamenon Falls and the cliffs of Pictured Rocks?

I know that I’m not alone in this.  I see it when couples are planning honeymoon trips to Italy.  Somehow the twenty-five miles of the Amalfi Coast has replaced the 95,000 miles of seashore in the United States.  I get it because I’ve had certain places on my list for years.    For years, I wished that I could fly over 8,000 miles away to New Zealand when I had barely seen any of our own country’s wonders.   I tried to figure out a way to get myself on one of the work trips.  In giving up my career of working for this wine importer, I honestly felt like I was sacrificing my dream of going to New Zealand.  At least a “free” trip to New Zealand.

I still have a dream of going to New Zealand someday.  And Germany.  And Greece.  And Australia.  And Japan.  And Iceland.  And more.  My bucket list doesn’t seem to be getting shorter.  In fact, it’s growing as I learn about more places to see and to explore.  What I’ve added over these nine months of travel is a better understanding of just how rich my own country is and how much I want to see it.  As I sit looking out the window at Lake Mead, I am truly thankful for the time that we have and the opportunity that we’ve taken to explore the country.  And, God willing, the journey has only just begun.