When Maria posts our travel photos on social media, some snide commenters ask if we work at all.  Believe me, we do.  And for every dollar we’ve spent on independent travel for vacations or long weekends, we’ve spent two dollars on visiting family far away, or paying for them to come see us - not only transportation costs, but also accommodation and food.  We wouldn’t have it any other way.  Family and friends have also been generous with us, just as we have been generous with them.  Most of us realize that we have limited time on this planet to spend with each other.    

Traveling is not a rigidly defined experience in which the goal is always to get totally awesome photos to make your social network happy.  Much of our recent extended travel has been for the purpose of spending time with family.  What we try to do is enjoy the place we are in, with our families and friends, as much as we can.  That doesn’t necessarily mean going to well-known tourist destinations or postworthy restaurants.  It could mean taking my father-in-law to a nearby park or lake with a nice view.  It could mean driving through a nice neighborhood with different kinds of trees from what we have near our home.  It could mean taking the grandkids to a cool playground near their house.  

Your travel experiences do not have to be special for the rest of the world.  They only have to be special for you and your travelmates, and the people with whom you spend time while traveling are key to making the experiences special, no matter who they are.  This is a key takeaway to making independent travel memorable.

How do you make travel experiences memorable?  Tell us in the comments, and if you haven't done so already, click below to register for the Top 11 Travel Health and Safety Myths!  ZING!