The journeys I missed, the adventures I found, and why group travel matters
By Dave Bodle
Growing up in central Pennsylvania, my family wasn’t what you’d call adventurous travelers. We took a few memorable vacations, but travel wasn’t about discovering the unknown. It was about tradition. Like many families, our idea of a getaway often meant a trip to Gettysburg or Colonial Williamsburg, and when I became a parent, I found myself taking my own children to those same historic destinations.
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It wasn’t until much later that I realized how much of the world had been waiting just beyond our familiar routes.
Over the years, life took me to Kansas City, central New Jersey, Baltimore, and Detroit. Each move introduced me to places that deserved far more exploration than I ever gave them at the time. I lived among remarkable destinations without fully appreciating what was in my own backyard.
That realization came into focus recently while producing Leisure Group Travel’s latest Michigan itinerary. Working alongside passionate destination marketing organizations and tourism partners, I discovered experiences I never knew existed, despite having once called Michigan home. Scenic coastlines, charming downtowns, outdoor adventures, and cultural treasures reminded me that travel isn’t always about going farther; sometimes it’s about looking closer.
Today, after more than four decades in the tourism industry, most of them dedicated to packaged group travel, I’ve been fortunate to experience destinations across much of the United States and several countries abroad. I’m only a handful of states away from visiting all 50, and I’ve enjoyed travel experiences that my younger self never could have imagined.
Yet I occasionally find myself thinking about those missed opportunities. What hidden gems did I drive past? What festivals, museums, small towns, and scenic byways did I overlook because I simply didn’t know they were there?
Perhaps that’s why I remain so passionate about telling travel stories today. Every itinerary we publish, every destination we highlight, and every group tour we inspire represents an opportunity for someone else to discover what I once missed.
Travel has taught me that adventure doesn’t begin when you board an airplane. It begins the moment you’re willing to see a destination with fresh eyes. If sharing these stories encourages even one group to explore a place they might otherwise have passed by, then every mile of my own journey has been worthwhile.
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