Think about your most memorable vacation.
Where did you go?
What made it special to you?
Tokyo
The year after my wife died, I took our son, Harrison, to Japan.
Over the next two weeks, we would see.
We stood silent for a moment, trying to find a route to our downtown hotel.
One evening, we feasted on ramen noodles in a tiny alley cafe near Tokyos main train station.
Then we hopped on bullet trains to see more of the country.
That night, we soaked in the steaming waters of a traditional hot springs resort.
Another afternoon, he watched me successfully navigate a path between two stones at Kyotos Kiyomizu-dera Temple.
We flew home the next day.
Thirty-six hours later, I drove him to college.
While the world can be tragic and confusing, it also offers unimaginable wonders.
Larry Bleiberg, past president of the Society of American Travel Writers, lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
I hadnt seen a flush toilet for 100 miles and wouldnt reach a soft mattress for a long time.
What was I doing?
I was 52 years old I wasnt 20 or even 40 anymore.
Plus, at that moment, I was hungry and thirsty.
I cant do this, I told my husband, feeling inexplicably defeated.
This is too hard.
But look at that, he said.
We started down there this morning, and here you are.
That glinting dime looked a million miles away.
It was the entire trip, taken as a whole, that seemed impossible.
I could keep moving forward.
