Like Grandparent, Like Grandchild

Although my father and mother imparted wisdom about their travels to me, the individuals the most inspired me to become a Wanderlust travel junkie are my grandparents. They hand spent almost their entire lives in York, Pennsylvania, but did indeed escape from its maw at one point to see the world. Both of them graduated from schools in the area, my grandfather from the Catholic school and my grandmother from the city school. They got married shortly after graduation, at which point my grandfather was in the Air Force and on his way to becoming one of their head cryptologist. This was during the time of the peace riots and protests, and he also happens to be in Birmingham, Alabama. When things got too crazy, and safety was becoming endangered, they left and went to Fairbanks, Alaska. Although their honeymoon was short, they more than made up for it by being in Fairbanks.

In Fairbanks, Alaska, there really is no such thing as a light and day cycle for most of the year. And the summer, the Sun never sets. In winter, the Sun never rises. The weather is usually pretty frigid, and as such, the only people that would walk the streets at night or to and from work would be government officials and my grandfather. Not even the locals there to face the chilling Arctic winds that sometimes reached 30°F below 0. He saw the Northern Lights more times than he can count on his hands, lived in an igloo for a month, met with the locals in the Alaskan Bush People (literally), and ate the food of the locals, which included a lot of potatoes and fish. And yes, he even went dog sledding once or twice.

To this day, my grandparents continue to tell me all some stories about their travels. After having their 5 children, they didn't get to see her do a whole lot, but when they did have enough money scraped together to get away, they took full advantage of it. A lot of family day trips around the area were had, and once or twice, they even got to see things in a different state. Thanks to my grandparents, I have been inspired to see the things that they have done and the places they have gone.

And so, within budgetary constraints, that is my goal. I want to see and do as much as I can, in the spirit of the locale. And I will do this as long and as often as I am possibly able to. I want to get to my grandparents age and have a lot of stories to tell. Let's make it happen.