Travel Souvenirs: More Than Just A Magnet

How the things we bring home from our journeys can make our travel memories more accessible.

Do you remember the first time you traveled? How old were you? Where did you go?

Though I was too young to form detailed memories about my first trip (I was barely out of toddlerhood), I distinctly remember the incredible rush of landing on the water in a seaplane on a vacation to Catalina.

It’s odd which snippets our brain chooses to file permanently and which it puts through the shredder, but I’m grateful for that one little movie in my mind where our small plane glided closer and closer to the water until suddenly our aircraft became a watercraft. 

I even remember what I'd brought with me, partly because I still have the tiny aqua suitcase with vinyl leather trim that I’d dragged along. I’d packed it with the essentials: a bag of jelly beans and a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sticker set to entertain myself on the flight. More importantly, I still have what I brought home from that trip: a little pink shell from the seashore -- the first I'd ever seen.

My first suitcase

That trip was the first of hundreds of adventures across America and abroad. My father was a travel agent, and our family trips were the shining highlights in my life. One trip involved a long drive to Mount Rushmore. Again, I was so young that only slivers of memory remain, but there’s a firm image in my mind of seeing those carved marble faces getting smaller and smaller as I stared at them from the backseat of the car as we drove away. This was before seatbelts were a mandate, and my brother and I perched ourselves facing backwards with our chins resting on the seat. The little necklace I've saved all these years serves as a talisman to keep that memory from fading to oblivion. 

Memory on a chain

Since then I’ve collected over 100 refrigerator magnets from my travels, which I keep affixed to a large file cabinet in my office. Each time I want to remember a trip, I grab one of the molded mini scenes and let my mind wander back to that special place. 

My prized magnets

Sometimes I bring home a rock from a distant locale, and I label it with a Sharpie pen so I don't forget its origin.

Proof I was there!

 I also collect T-shirts from far and wide, and when they don't fit anymore, I have them made into quilts.

Wish they still fit!

Probably the most unique item I've collected is a film canister that I filled with water from Loch Ness. Somehow, it still hasn't evaporated.

It continuously astonishes me that I have been fortunate enough to explore so many iconic landmarks -- places that it would have been impossible for my ancestors to get to in one lifetime.. I have a pair of shoes that has touched the stones of the Great Wall of China, the gravel of Machu Picchu, the snow of Iceland, and the stairs of the Eiffel Tower. It's hard to think of tossing them out.

Each trip has changed me and made me more enlightened, more thankful, and more wise. Each journey brought me closer to the loved ones who accompanied me. I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything, and I'm thankful I have my souvenirs to keep those memories strong..

What souvenirs have you collected? Which ones would you like to gather next?

Explore more journeys, or perhaps embark on your first, with the Wonder Guides at www.eyesofwonderjourneys.com