"I was told...," as spoken by a tour guide

I was just having an e-mail conversation with a friend (Margie at http://www.jamga.blogspot.com/) about the capitol building in Juneau, Alaska. It went like this:

Margie: I just looked at your itinerary and see that you made it to Juneau. Did you see the Capitol?

Sue: ...we didn't visit it. According to what we remember, Juneau's capitol building is one of only two state capitol buildings without a dome. We don't remember what the other one is - but I think they told us.

Margie: Actually, there are several without domes, most notably the four "high rise" ones: Tallahassee, Lincoln, Bismarck, and Baton Rouge. New Mexico's is very southwest and Hawaii's is different.

I got a real kick out of learning that our information was wrong. Lauren and I learned early on, during our Alaska trip, that when a tour guide starts out with "I was told....," anything you hear after that could be fact, fiction, or some blend. We heard a number of "I was told ..." stories from our Alaska guides, and we learned just to sit back and enjoy them for what they were - interesting stories, the makings of myths and legends and fairy tales.

One of our favorite tidbits during our Alaska trip was a bit about the tides - "They just go in and out all day," a tour guide told us. Very true. They seem to do that, for sure!

Travel is good! Your understanding of the world changes as you visit places you've read or heard about in the news. You get some idea of the people behind the news or who are affected by the news. The information you gain makes the news more relevant. Even the "I was told..." stories enhance your experience because then the corrections to the "I was told..." are more meaningful.

I've always felt that a big benefit to traveling, for me, is that I am different when I come home. I see my life in a different light.

Depending on the trip, I may see our own grand country differently when we return home. So many times we have traveled to Europe and gazed with wonder at the magnificant mountains and green valleys, only to come home and realize that all that splendor and granduer is also right here in our own country. We don't appreciate it until we see it somewhere else.

Other times, we see how others live, and that changes our lives. We may bring home a better way to do something, or a way to never do something. We bring home a renewed and closer connection to someone we love, and sometimes we even bring home a new friendship we gained on the trip.