Joys of trip journals

By Jo Ann Michetti
This item appears on page 52 of the December 2014 issue.

I’ve been writing journals of my travels ever since my first trip to Italy in 1980 with my husband. 

My dad died just before he and my mom were supposed to go to Europe after waiting until he retired. My husband and I decided not to wait, and our first trip to Italy was followed by others to visit my husband’s family. 

We also visited Morocco, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Cuba and many more. I kept notes on each one in a notebook, then wrote the journal after I returned home. 

Whenever friends or family are going on a trip to a place I’ve been, I give them a copy of the journal I’ve written on it. There are names of hotels, restaurants and historical sites, with occasional family history. Everybody seems to enjoy them, and they pass them around to friends.

I love writing the journals, and I even reread them once in a while and experience the trips all over again!