The photo below is showing my travel journal I used on my Alaska trip. I bought this beautiful journal in a small bookstore in Bragg Creek and knew immediately that I would like to use it for my trip.
I have never really been one for journaling. Many a time during my teenage years I would start a diary only to find it a year later with about 2 weeks worth of entries. I was just too busy having fun.
In my early years of adulthood I thought, I know, I am older, more responsible, surely I can keep a journal going for longer than 2 weeks. Wrong! I just got bored writing about my day or my feelings. This time however, I promised myself, would be different. I was on my own, so plenty of time in the evenings to do some writing.
I remember on my first night alone in Whitecourt, Alberta getting the journal out of my backpack and getting settled in at the picnic table to start my first entry. I am sure I am not alone when I say it is always exciting to make your very first entry into a new journal (after all, I have had plenty of experience of first entries – not so much with last page ones though). I was excited to write about my first day and got going with gusto. Quietly I thought to myself, would this last? Would I really be able to keep it up and write every day? I admit that some nights I was dog tired and would have loved to have just gone to sleep, but I forced myself to pick up my pen and journal and write. I am so glad I did! I read my entries back and it takes me straight back to my awesome Alaskan adventure.
I had planned to keep my journal going once back home, but alas the old routine has set in and yet again I have failed to keep myself writing about the everyday events I experience. So, this journal will now be exclusively for documenting my travels, of which there should be plenty come next year. I am especially looking forward to our month-long trip back to Europe to catch up with family and friends. So plenty of writing material to look forward to.
The journal looks like it is waiting for its next entry. Love the sepia toning.
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Thank you John & Lois, unfortunately it will have to wait until our Christmas holiday for its next entry.
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No blog will ever take the place of a hand written journal. I find it fascinating to look at someone’s handwriting. I have kept a journal since I was 17–I am now 60. For me, they key to success was in establishing from the beginning that I did NOT have to write every day. And it doesn’t have to be about What I Did Today. I only write when I feel the need to write. There were time when my kids were growing up and I was WAY busy that a full year went by without my writing. But–since I never said I needed to keep up with it on a daily or weekly or even monthly basis…that wasn’t a failure. I picked it up again when I felt the need and had the time. So–keep writing, when you feel the need and have the time. You’ll be surprised that it will become a great comfort to you when it’s not an obligation.
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Wow, I never thought about it in that way – what a great idea – not making it an obligation. I will give that a try and see how I fare.
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