by Nanci Arvizu

Created on: October 20, 2008

Do you have to travel to keep a travel journal?

Keeping a journal of just any outing could become boring. However, if you are paying attention to where you are, there are so many details to remember.

As a writer, and always in need of story idea, keeping a journal of the different places I go to, even on a daily basis, helps to create the smallest of details. Even though I go to the same little coffee shop 3 or 4 days a week, there is always something new to discover.

When I lived near Disneyland in Southern California, my daughter and I would constantly look for new things about the park. We discovered that there is a four leaf clover in the clover cover in the Bugs life area of California Adventure. There are also "Hidden Mickey's" everywhere; you just have to look for them.

Now I live in Scottsdale, Arizona, and everything is new to me. Keeping a journal of the places we visit as we explore this beautiful place helps me keep track of places I'd like to take my family and friends when they come to visit.

Going to watch the "Cactus-League" baseball games was a great experience to journal. Being so close to the players, enjoying the fans and the incredible weather we have during the spring gave me such inspiration to write! Reading back in my journal now reminds me that I better get on the ball and purchase my tickets for this up-coming season.

This past summer we took a "stay-cation" and spent the night at a resort that is just a few miles away from our home. We took a bunch of pictures and I had my daughters help in writing out descriptions of the pool, the room and the restaurants. She even wrote descriptions of the wait staff, taking what we considered "mini-interviews" of the staff, wanting to know where they lived and how they liked their jobs. It helped her to see how fun it might be to be a travel writer!

Sometimes, instead of taking an actual journal, I carry with me my little voice recorder. We went to the Arabian Horse Show that happens here in February at West World. It is one of the largest horse shows in the country and with so much going on, it's hard to get out a pen and paper to keep notes. I know I may have looked a little weird talking into my hand, but with so many characters around a place like that, it would have been too hard to remember everything later!

Journaling about the places you go, even around your home town, will help you to appreciate where you live by seeing the many details that make it home. It is also great practice for noticing details so that when you do travel, it becomes easier to write about your experiences.

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