Travel thoughts...

It's funny when you think about something and then it happens.

On the way to the airport this morning, talking to my cabbie (writing this on the plane so no link), I was reviewing some of the trips I've taken for work over the past few weeks.

• Seattle (twice)
• Fargo, ND
• St. Louis
• Austin, TX

On my way out of Fargo, I made a point of saying that I wanted to run into the Roger Maris museum (one of the town's big/few attractions). I saw some of the eyes roll among my colleagues..."why such a big deal?" they must have been thinking.

The reason why is that you need to make your travel memorable and the way to do that is through connecting with the local people and taking advantage of the unique, local experiences.

As you might imagine, I'm a big plane-talker, so when I run into some solid seat companions, I feel blessed. It's not unusual for me to meet someone on a plane and still be in touch w/them years later (right Carol? :-)

Well, today, I had the good fortune to meet Molly and Dino, two Australians taking a month-long trip through the US.

Aussies are almost always affable folks and we've had a good chat about their perceptions of American culture. Plus, I got to share some of my passion for US history and sports with them.

Love to expand my frame of reference and perspective (and welcome new members to FOJ as well!)

They are headed to Las Vegas, LA, and SF in the next two weeks, so if any of you want to help out two travelers (who are afraid of driving in the US-particularly in LA (Jan 20-24), let me know!)

Updated: big call out to Dan who's offered to be an LA host/guide for them! Love it.