In March I wrote a series of entries about travel Here, Here and Here. I had started with the idea that an awful lot of travel was status display. I was wrong. I had underestimated how much travel is to escape and how much is for the experience. A reason to travel that came up since I wrote the earlier posts is affinity group travel. We were going to go on the Arizona Glass Alliance trip to Santa Fe, NM but had a conflict. We are planning to go on a walking tour in France this summer. The walking tour self selects people who are in relatively good shape and have the resources and patience to see a few things in depth. Because of that we have found the groups to be quite simpatico and a big part of the reason we do the walks. The Glass Alliance trip is not just an affinity group it is also directed travel.
Directed Travel is when you go alone or with small groups to see specific types of things. The Glass Alliance goes to visit the studios of well known glass artists. Other examples of directed travel are: When you go to your ancestral home and try to find the actual places where they lived. Or perhaps you try to visit the top flower festivals in the world. Or the top space museums and launch site in the world. Foodies or Oenophiles would like directed travel.
The idea is to go small and get off the tourist track. It is where you are likely to experience serendipity.