Friday Travels

     Blogging is a new venture for me and I am still figuring out what I really want to talk about and share with others.  I have been gifted enough throughout my life to have had many different experiences.  One of those has been travel.  

     I can thank my dad for introducing me to the world beyond the neighborhood and making me want to venture forth...  We did not have money growing up.  My parents were both workers who made the bills month to month with not a lot left over, so my dad's creativity in creating opportunities was a huge influence in shaping who I became as an adult.  Most of our vacations were spent in state parks camping.  It was magical (although my mother would disagree :) ).  I learned to love the outdoors and camping and exploring. 

    This translated into my 20's when I received the opportunity to travel with a group of college professors to Ireland.  I worked and saved for over a year to take that trip and pinched my pennies, giving up a lot of social things that my friends did to be able to go.  It was life changing.  The first castle we saw and I touched brought me to tears.  As corny as that sounds it is true.  I had never been anywhere, even in the United States, that had that kind of history.  I was hooked and I wanted to share that experience with others.  

    When I began teaching at the high school level I started offering the chance for students to travel to the areas that we studied in the class.  I also bridged that opportunity into my college classes I started teaching.  Travel became a part of my courses and I saw the change that it caused in people.  I was hooked.  I have continued to travel, on and off, over the years with the ultimate goal to travel when I retired, each year going a different place, one trip out of the United States, one trip in the USA.  I am all about budget travel, so I look for and plan ways to go places and have experiences in a economic way while still being comfortable.  

    So on Fridays I am going to share my travels and plans for future travels.  

    My first trip (of memory) that I took was with my family and dad to a place called Goose Creek.  It is located in Missouri and my dad had received a small piece of land from his grandfather that was located on the lake at Goose Creek.  It was undeveloped but a part of a small community in rural Missouri, specifically in Bonne Terre in St. Francois County.  I have great memories of swimming in the lake, jumping off the dock and camping at a Missouri state park St. Francois.  These trips held such strong and powerful positive memories that when I had my first child I took her to Goose Creek when she was just over 2 months old to swim in the lake.  

    Camping at St. Francois https://mostateparks.com/park/st-francois-state-park  also holds powerful memories.  It is a small state park located in eastern Missouri that offers primitive and electric camping.  The state park has many different activities for individuals and families to do including hiking, horseback riding, camping and fishing to mention a few.  It is a great get-a-way for a few days or to spend a couple of weeks exploring.  You can reserve a camp site up to one year in advance and the cost is minimal.  

     Goose Creek https://www.goosecreeksubdivision.org/ is a private owner resort.  The investment into land is minimal (unless you are looking for lake front).  Most lots are undeveloped and can be used for camping or if you so choose you can build and make it a great weekend place or live there.  

I am not receiving any funding for sharing these. 

Until next Friday......Safe Travels

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