Random Traveling Thoughts
I had these thoughts the other day that meandered into my mind: Does seeing photos and reading reviews ‘ruin’ the experience when I actually travel to the place and see it for myself? Do I feel that I ‘take away’ the essence of surprise when I research a place? Do I ever wish I had not read the reviews or looked at a lot of photos ahead of time?
I do enjoy researching before trips, and I think I would do myself a disservice if I didn’t research and try to find out as many details as possible. I love being prepared for a trip or excursion, and I try to think of everything ahead of time. For instance, when we went to the Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas, I made sure to pack my swim/water shoes (not really sure what the proper term for these shoes are!) and clothes that I was okay with getting dirty. For the Cathedral Caverns in Alabama, I made certain to pack jeans to wear into the cave because I knew I would get cold, and then I had shorts on top of my suitcase so I could change into them afterwards, since I knew it would be hot outside of the cave.
I like being prepared and knowing what to expect. I hate not knowing what to expect. I do not like surprises. I will sometimes say after an event that I wish I had known XYZ so I could have done ABC. I am quite detail oriented, and I want to know what will happen, when it will happen, and how it will happen.
However, I do enjoy researching a place, knowing what to expect, and not giving my husband, David, the full details, and then watching him be surprised! For example, we went to the Drunk Tank Winery in Rockville, Indiana to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. I had read reviews on Facebook that the hostess was hilarious and that she liked to joke and poke fun at people to get laughs. I decided not to tell David this, so he could experience the banter and laughter without having an idea ahead of time that it was going to happen! He loved it! The hostess kept calling him “Johnathan” and was trying to figure out his occupation. She actually got pretty close and guessed a surveyor, which is somewhat close to a civil engineer! I told him later that I had expected this entertainment, and he seemed fine with not knowing about it ahead of time. It was fun to watch his reactions!
There are sometimes where I will try not to see all of the photos of a place, so I myself can be surprised at the attraction, but it can be hard to do that. I like to get as many details as possible without spoiling the fun of actually seeing the place with my own eyes. It is also fun to see David’s reactions when traveling! Now that there are YouTube travel vloggers, it’s hard to research enough without giving away the magic of travel. What are your thoughts on this?
