---
author: "Robert Pearce"
authorTwitter: "@RobertWPearce"
desc: "Travel is a way of discarding what you know and embracing that which is strange..."
keywords: "travel, discovery, new places, travel thoughts, bilbo baggins"
title: "Travel Ruminations"
---

Travel is a way of discarding what you know and embracing that which is strange;
a way of unburdening the comforts of life in search of a truth about which you
cannot quite say, but you know it exists.

But it is as important to remember yourself and your values as you explore
strange new lands. Frodo quoted Bilbo in _The Lord of the Rings_,

> It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.
> You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet,
> there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.

Thus, travel is as much about discovering wonderful new places and customs as it
is holding on to what makes you who you are, hoping that the "you" that makes it
back home isn't the stranger you encountered on the road but a combination of
the best aspects of both you and it.
