One of the greatest pleasures in life is travelling–it doesn’t have to be far, sometimes a simple journey into a tent in the great backyard can bring about an adventure. Going out there, doing things that haven’t been done (by you) before is something that has a special sparkle to it that is hard to find anywhere else. But once the journey is over, even if it is only in a tent to one’s own backyard, a journal is a marvellous way to record the experience: learning or otherwise!
Camping in the Backyard
This can be a trial run–nothing is worse than having to put up an unfamiliar tent in the dark–or an adventure in and of itself. Get a tent, get some sleeping bags, and some roll mats, and pitch it in the backyard to spend a night (or two or three) outside of the house.
Camping in a Holiday Park
A holiday park typically has many necessary conveniences–road access, hot showers, and flushing toilets. Often they are close to other attractions: a town in a different location, beaches, or scenic lakes and rivers. This provides the ideal base for different activities–and lots to write in a journal!
A Motel
Motel’s are most commonly associated with road trips–which I will come back to later–but as accommodation, they are hassle free, feature a television (sometimes television in a place that isn’t home just feels so much better–it hits different. And a motel in a place that isn’t your home town is an adventure in and of itself.
Hiking
A day hike into the countryside, out of the house and into the elements can be a wonderful adventure: plants, rocks, trees, mountains, bushes, streams–mud.
Overnight Hike
While an overnight hike with kids sounds intimidating, with the proper planning and preparation, it can be a pleasure. Going into the woods, or anywhere with a tent and food, having a campfire and roasting marshmallows: this is an adventure.
Road Trips
The call of “are we there yet” is a hackneyed phrase. But it is often a way to get to a destination. Fun and games can be had on a road trip: car cricket being a favourite game. Taking stops for rest in small out of the way towns and then finally: the destination is in sight! This is an adventure to write about.
Indoor Camping
Sometimes there is no room to pitch a tent. Sometimes the best laid plans are mislaid by the weather. Sometimes, we are stuck at home. In times like these, it is good fun, to build a tent out of blankets and chairs, and dream–dream of the wilds of the imagination
Every Day
Every day we go on an adventure. School. Friends. We come back home a little wiser. Why not write down the little adventures of the day: a birds nest found, or the epic tale of a knee-scrape.
Keeping a Travel Journal
The world of adventure and travel is a wide one, and one that is open to kids. You don’t need to travel far, but everyone should have adventures, and a place to record memories and excursions.
And then there is journal writing, a time to debrief, relax, and think about all the great memories.
To this end, I have two treasured possessions: a beautiful journal, embossed with my initials, and, a beautiful pen, engraved with my initials and last name, from Pen Heaven. The journal is beautiful–with a map of the world on it’s cover to remind me of my adventures, with pages that just beg to be filled.
This beautiful travel journal can be purchased from Pen Heaven with the option to get it embossed with your own initials or name. Last week I went hiking to the Silver Peaks and I was able to record my experiences in my new travel journal.
A Fountain Pen for Recording Travel Adventures
What made my travel experience even better was having a beautiful fountain pen to write in my journal.
The pen is a fountain pen–link to pen here–made by Waterman. From it’s nib, ink flows like my wonderful memories–it is wonderful in the hand, the metal construction is solid, and it brightens my day every single time I use it–and the icing on the cake is my name engraved upon it.
Getting kids a travel journal or even having one for teenagers or adults is a great idea. It can help preserve memories and is a great way to decompress after a long hike or busy day out and about on holiday.
Written by Joshua Brunt: Otago University Student, Hiker and Avid Writer. The journal and pen were gifted.
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