Back home Corey Shay.
Far Afield No 08

Travel.

I travel to get a little lost on purpose. Less itinerary, more wrong turns.

The meal you didn't plan, the street that wasn't on the map.

The small hotel whose name I can never remember but whose breakfast I never forget. I come home with too many photographs and a notebook of places I swear I'll go back to. Some I do. The list, mercifully, never gets any shorter.

I plan just enough to get there and not a minute more. The best parts were never on the schedule: they were the detours, the long way back, the afternoon that ran late because nobody wanted it to end.

The List I Keep How I get lost
01
A Wrong Turn, On Purpose The first rule. Pick a direction, leave the map in your pocket, and see what the day hands you.
No Map
02
The Unplanned Meal The table you stumble into, full of locals, where you point at what looks good and hope.
Local Table
03
The Small Hotel Name long forgotten, breakfast never. Found by luck, remembered far longer than the famous ones.
Found by Luck
04
The Street That Wasn't on the Map Always the one worth walking. The quiet ones, away from the arrows and the crowds.
On Foot
05
The Notebook of Maybes Places I swore I'd return to, scribbled in the margins. Some I've made good on. Most are still waiting.
Someday
06
The Long Way Back No hurry to get home. The trip isn't over until you've taken the scenic route to the airport.
No Hurry

Too many photographs and a notebook of places I swear I'll go back to.

The Postcards A few wrong turns