“And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.” Luke 2:39 NAS
No wonder Americans love our cars! We want to go where we want, when we want, and stop when and where we want. We want control. The best things about travel without a car are: I am not in control. I never was. I only thought I was. I am not. I will not be frustrated. I will not get angry. I will see my importance in the relative scheme of time and place. I am only one person. I am important to only a few people on the planet. I know it is not about me, but it is really not about me.
The beauty of one hundred year old architecture in the Union Stations in the Midwest is exemplified in Kansas City. In 1914 the station was finished and at the peak, over 700 trains came through the station per day. Now we shop. Eat. Comment on the tiny doors, the distance to the restrooms, the beautiful ceilings and the decorations while we wait.
The trip through Missouri countryside goes on two lane highways when all we want to do is hurry down the interstate. Why? The scenery is just as good in the small towns. Even better. We go past the cliffs north of Jefferson City and I am back in a time when I traveled here for business 16 years previously. This road. Those white cliffs. That river. Familiar visions but memories that have softened and become fuzzy over time.
Entering St. Louis and heading south to the charming railroad village of Kirkwood is a trip back to another job, another time when I was on this road going to a hospital system. Did I appreciate the scenery then? No I was busy making things happen. Now things just happen. Amtrak and our couch bus have followed the rivers across three states and we see the Arch guarding the Mighty Mississippi. Time to change trains again. Uncomfortable, clean, cold, and unpredictable. Give me time to take a train any day.
Where do you “return” to? Where is home? What lessons have you learned when you travel that you apply to your life? What journey are you planning now? How do you try to maintain your comfort in the midst of travel?