Traveling the World for Absolutely Nothing

I’m traveling alone. That way, no arguments. I’ve been in every continent, but I missed a lot of sites. I’ll see them later, or not. My choice and no else to please, negotiate, or bargain. I have at least one place in each continent that maybe I’ll visit again. Maybe all the times I want. 

I’ve gotten used to traveling solo since it’s all virtual and vicarious, from pictures and videos, in the comfort of my own living room. Drinks are available from my Brita pitcher, and if I get ravenously hungry, I’ll visit the burgeoning refrigerator.

My “real” travel got somewhat “iffy” when, due to my stroke, it was the wheelchair for now, and that meant uneven sidewalks, no curb ramps to the streets, bathroom nearby, all difficult to determine from the places I had never actually been. And then there’s the climate-changed weather. One never knows, yes?

But “pretend” travel suits me fine. Or maybe that’s just a rationalization that pretend travel is ok. I have no other choice. It has to be ok.

I thought I invented the term–virtual, vicarious travel–but it’s been around for a long time, before in print magazines like National Geographic which first came out in October 1888, (no longer be carried at newsstands beginning in 2024 as a result of downsizing), and in the latest pics and come-to-life videos from more recent sites.

My favorite site is thrillist.com where you can find such titles as:

• Get Lost and Found on a Solo Journey Through Japan
• Find Your Turkish Delight in This Vibrant Eurasian Metropolis
• This Immersive Music Festival in Fiji Is Everything Fyre Fest Wasn’t

You can get used to anything, one of my sons told me. I realize that now.