My Favorite Travel Memories Are the Boring Ones

I bought a dish drainer on my honeymoon. 

It was a wonderful trip, packed with sightseeing across three countries. We visited Notre Dame Cathedral (before it caught fire), the Louvre, Westminster Abbey, and the Cathedral of St. Gudula in Brussels. 

I saw places I read about in childhood books such as Bath – where everyone’s always going in Jane Austen novels – Beatrix Potter’s church, and Paddington Station. 

While biking in Bruges (don’t roll your eyes, it was romantic and charming and, yes, quite a cliche for a newly married couple), we found a little housewares store. A store for people who live in town, not a store for tourists. 

We didn’t have a dish drainer, so I bought a collapsible one for $5 and carted it around for the rest of our trip. At home, I used it until it fell apart. 

It wasn’t an exciting purchase. We have other mementos from that trip that are certainly more notable. But I liked having a perfectly normal piece of kitchenware from Belgium in my Los Angeles apartment. 

I think it says something that, years later, that memory still stands out. As does the memory of the croissant and cafe au lait I had for breakfast in Paris on that same trip. We splurged and went to nice restaurants, but I remember my little breakfast with friendly people at that random cafe much more vividly.

I’ve taken plenty of trips since then – first with just my husband, and then with our entire family. From once-in-a-lifetime plane trips to our annual road trips, the same principle holds. 

Some of my favorite travel memories are the boring ones. The unnotable ones. The everyday activities you might do when you’re not on vacation. The stuff that doesn’t make a good story and that you maybe didn’t even take pictures of.

Often, these opportunities aren’t planned at all. They just happen. On a road trip from Denver to New York, we grabbed sandwiches for dinner in a town near Lake Erie. We stopped at the first park we found. As it so happened, there was a live band. 

The kids ate, chased fireflies (which we don’t have in Colorado!), danced to the music with other kids, and walked by the lake. It’s still one of my favorite memories. 

Why I Love These Unremarkable Moments

I love tourist attractions, I really do! Something in you changes when you view great art, incredible architecture, or natural wonders. There’s a reason people flock to famous places, and I will never turn down an opportunity to visit one if I can. 

But when you do something “normal” on vacation like grocery shopping, stopping at a park, or eating at an unremarkable cafe, you create opportunities to meet local people.

You’re not just interacting with other tourists, although that’s fun, too! When you meet locals, you learn about what it’s like to live there and you’ll probably get some great local recommendations, too.

It exposes us to different viewpoints and perspectives, and isn’t expanding your understanding of people one of the best parts of travel?

I also like the feeling of pretending – just for a fleeting moment – that I live there. I like looking at groceries that are so different from mine (even in other areas of the U.S.). I like seeing what people might buy on a random Thursday. 

I like to think about the things in Colorado that I consider normal, but that would amuse or completely baffle visitors (one example: Everyone I pick up at the airport comments on the tornado shelters inside DIA!)

How to Create Boring, But Great, Memories

It sounds strange to say that you can create unplanned memories, but I think you can leave room for them to happen! 

In order to create more of them, I recommend you do the following:

• Leave some time in your schedule – Linger over breakfast, take a walk, or go to a local park. You’re more likely to interact with people if you have some free time. As a bonus, you’ll be less stressed than if you’re always rushing from one attraction to the next!
• Mix things up – Eat at a restaurant one night and grab some groceries for a picnic lunch the next day. Hit up a famous landmark or museum, and then spend a day on a hiking trail or just wandering and window shopping. 
• Ask for recommendations – If you’re staying at a hotel, ask the front desk person where they personally like to eat. If you know anyone who has visited, ask them about great local spots – not necessarily the most trendy spots.
• Venture out of your comfort zone – I feel weird talking to people I don’t know, and I think I’m pretty bad at it. But I really try to open up when I travel. Everyone has a good story or something to share!

I’ve noticed my kids appreciate these small moments, too. We usually talk about our trips when we come back. And every New Year’s Eve, we discuss where we’ve been that year and our favorite memories. 

Several times the kids have surprised me by mentioning part of a trip that I entirely forgot!

***

So, happy travels! I’m wishing you an excellent next trip (wherever you go), and hoping you make some very boring memories along the way. Up next, check out my article on why I let my kids plan our family trips.