Travel is an interesting topic to discuss. By land or by air or by sea, getting from Point A to Point B is about as oversimplified as an automatic butter slicer. Sure, we all have different definitions of “hassle-free travel” and we typically identify these journeys in our own unique ways. That cruise ship buffet with enough pizza to plaster a submarine or that flight with so much Mr./Mrs. T’s bloody mary mix that you would think the A-team just had an all-you-can-drink bar installed in first class bathroom. But for how second-nature mankind’s  reliance has become on transportation, we often forget the ingenuity, time, and sacrifice those before us had to make for getting us to that exotic beach getaway in Fiji and snow-capped excursion on the French Alps.

As I head out to Hawaii today to start my training for HI-SEAS, I can’t help but be overcome by this sense of gratitude as I gaze upon the blood orange sky. We’ve lost the sense in understanding just how far we’ve truly come. It’s always difficult to follow behind a great presentation or speech, one of the most unpredictable dilemmas we all have had to deal with. But when it comes to feeling the direct impact of a person’s genius firsthand, one often forgets about the treacherous road that once lat ahead of those before us. When it comes to wanting to become an explorer, the ultimate jealousy cards are always in play.

Cheers to those with the brains, balls, and beat. For not taking no for an answer, for pushing the envelope, for setting their sights on the horizon even when they couldn’t see it. Bravo.

*FLL to IAH, 1/10, 11F