Some of my favorite travel memories would make terrible itineraries.

There isn’t much to put on a schedule.

No tickets to buy.

No reservation to make.

No attraction to check off a list.

Sometimes it’s just a cup of coffee, a porch, and nowhere else you need to be.

This summer, that was Grandpa’s porch.

Going Back to Montana

Montana was one of the places I was most excited about on our three-week road trip.

Not because I needed to see Montana.

I’ve seen Montana.

I grew up there.

I know what the mountains look like. I know how far apart the towns can be. I know that a drive that sounds ridiculously long to someone else can feel perfectly reasonable when you grow up there.

This time, Montana wasn’t really a destination.

Grandpa was.

There were certainly things we could have planned around the visit. Places we could have driven. Things we could have gone to see.

But when you’ve spent enough of your life traveling, you eventually start understanding that being somewhere and being with someone aren’t always the same thing.

I didn’t want to squeeze Grandpa into our Montana itinerary.

I wanted Grandpa to be the itinerary.

There Wasn’t Much on the Schedule

And honestly?

There wasn’t.

We sat around.

We talked.

We drank coffee.

We watched the dogs.

We spent time outside.

We drove around some.

We visited the cemetery.

We saw deer down by the creek.

Nothing about it would make a list of the “Top 10 Things to Do in Montana.”

And I wouldn’t trade it for any of them.

Because the older I get, the more I realize that the moments I want to remember aren’t always the impressive ones.

They’re usually the ordinary ones.

The ones you don’t know are important while they’re happening.

The Porch

There is something about sitting on a porch that makes time move differently.

Maybe it’s because there isn’t much you’re supposed to be doing.

You’re already sitting down.

You’ve already committed to staying awhile.

So you talk.

Or you don’t.

You watch what’s happening around you.

You drink your coffee before it gets cold—or, if you’re anything like me, probably after it gets cold too.

And eventually somebody remembers a story.

Then that story leads to another one.

That’s how so much of our time with Grandpa felt.

There wasn’t an agenda.

Nobody needed to entertain us.

We were simply there.

And after weeks of driving, national parks, new places and constantly changing scenery, sitting on that porch felt like its own kind of destination.

Travel Has a Funny Way of Making Ordinary Things Important

When we think about travel memories, we tend to think about the big things.

The first time you see the ocean.

Standing in front of something you’ve only seen in pictures.

Walking through a national park.

Seeing a famous landmark.

Those moments absolutely matter.

I’ve had plenty of them, and I’m grateful for every one.

But travel also creates these little pockets of time that wouldn’t exist at home.

At home, there’s laundry.

Work.

Appointments.

Something that needs cleaned.

Something that needs answered.

Something you’re supposed to be doing.

When you travel to see someone, all of that gets left somewhere else for a little while.

You get to sit on the porch.

And somehow, doing absolutely nothing becomes the thing you’re going to remember.

Maybe Grandma Started This

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the way my grandparents influenced how I travel.

I don’t think either of them ever sat me down and explained some grand philosophy about slowing down and enjoying life.

They just did it.

Grandma could sit with a book while we spent an entire afternoon swimming.

There didn’t need to be something after swimming.

That was enough.

And Grandpa can sit on the porch with a cup of coffee and talk.

There doesn’t need to be an activity attached to it.

That’s enough too.

Maybe I spent years trying to figure out how to make travel feel more relaxing when the answer had been modeled for me my entire life.

Sometimes you just stay awhile.

The Memories I Didn’t Know I Was Making

This is one of the strange things about getting older.

You start realizing that ordinary moments aren’t guaranteed to stay ordinary forever.

A porch is just a porch until one day you’d give anything to sit there again.

A story you’ve heard a dozen times suddenly becomes one you want to make sure you remember.

A cup of coffee becomes something much bigger than coffee.

I don’t say that to make the moment sad.

Actually, I think it’s the opposite.

It makes me appreciate how incredibly lucky I am to still have moments like this.

I got to sit on Grandpa’s porch.

I got to listen.

I got to laugh.

I got to be there.

There was nowhere else I needed to be.

We Could Have Seen More

I’m sure we could have.

That’s almost always true when we travel.

There is always another scenic drive.

Another attraction.

Another town.

Another thing someone online says you absolutely shouldn’t miss.

But every time you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to something else.

Sometimes saying yes to another attraction means saying no to another hour on the porch.

I’m getting much more careful about that trade.

Because I’ll probably forget some of the places we didn’t stop.

I won’t forget sitting with Grandpa.

Maybe This Is What Travel Is For

I love seeing new places.

I want to keep exploring for as long as I’m able.

There are still states I haven’t visited and places I haven’t seen.

But I don’t want to become so focused on seeing the world that I forget why I wanted to travel in the first place.

Sometimes travel is adventure.

Sometimes it’s discovery.

Sometimes it’s standing somewhere completely unfamiliar and thinking, I can’t believe I’m actually here.

And sometimes it’s going all the way back to where you came from.

Sitting on a familiar porch.

Drinking coffee with someone you love.

And realizing there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.

No attraction could have made that day better.

Grandpa’s porch was exactly where I was supposed to be.

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Keep Reading

Yellowstone Was Never a Vacation
Growing up in Montana, Yellowstone wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime destination. It was a day trip—and I didn’t realize until much later what that taught me.

The Best Travel Memories Usually Aren’t Planned
Some of the moments that stay with me the longest never appeared anywhere on our itinerary.

I Thought Great Vacations Were Supposed to Be Exhausting
For years, I thought making the most of vacation meant doing as much as possible. Eventually, I realized I was measuring the wrong thing.

When Beautiful Places Start to Look the Same
Our three-week road trip taught me that seeing more isn’t always the same as experiencing more.

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☕ Comfort Corner

The things that make travel comfortable for me aren’t necessarily exciting. They’re the simple things I reach for again and again.

My Owala Water Bottle
It goes almost everywhere with me, whether we’re spending the day exploring or sitting around visiting family.

My Merrell Shoes
They’re comfortable enough for the adventures we plan and the walks we didn’t know we’d take.

My Travel Backpack
It keeps the things I use during the day together, which means I can grab what I need without digging through the rest of our luggage.

My Fire Tablet
This one feels especially appropriate here. Grandma could happily sit with a book while the rest of us did our thing. The older I get, the more I understand the appeal.

Find all of my travel favorites in one place.
You can browse my Travel Comfort & Style Amazon Storefront to see more of the things I actually use when I travel.

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Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. That means if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and genuinely believe make travel more comfortable. If it hasn’t earned a place in my travels, you won’t find it here.

Travel isn’t about having the perfect gear. It’s about finding the little things that help you enjoy the journey a little more. These are mine.