“Once a year,
go someplace you’ve
never been before.” 
Dalai Lama

My sister, Cathy, is a world traveler. Due to her status with the airlines (she’s more than just a frequent flyer), she is often treated like royalty — as she should be. After all, she is a queen. Seriously! 

Back in the late 1950s, a new section was added to the San Francisco Zoo. It was called Storyland. It featured illustrations, artwork, and exhibits bringing childhood fairly tales and rhymes to life. It also featured a petting zoo for the little ones. Cathy was given the honor of serving as the first Queen of Storyland. So, of course, it’s no surprise that she would be treated like royalty even to this day.

I’ve been blessed with two sisters and one older brother. Cathy is the older of the two sisters. I recently came across a quote from Pam Brown which describes my relationship with Cathy quite accurately. Brown wrote, “An older sister is a friend and defender, a listener, conspirator, a counselor and sharer of delights. And sorrows, too.” 

Cathy and I have shared many life experiences, but when it comes to international travel, Cathy left me in the dust many years ago. I’ve been to Japan, Jamaica, and the Bahamas — multiple times to each country. Other than that, however, I have not crossed international borders — sadly, not even to Canada or Mexico. Cathy, on the other hand, seems to have embraced the words of the Dalai Lama quoted above.

Prior to her current trip, Cathy has visited (you might want to sit down for this)…  Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Iceland, Ireland, England, Wales, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Morocco, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. She is now visiting Scotland, a country known for its natural beauty, myths and legends, castles, literature, traditional music, unique Scottish fabrics, and St. Andrews Links, the oldest and most revered golf course in the world.

Author Henry Miller pointed out that “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” Surely, despite her extensive world travel, Cathy will return from Scotland a changed person. Travel does that to a person.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.” Cathy most definitely brings beauty to wherever she goes. This enables her to find beauty in each destination she visits.

I don’t share Cathy’s passion for travel, though I hope to return to the Bahamas at least one more time. I also intend to visit Ireland, the birthplace of my four grandparents. Cathy, on the other hand, seems to have an attitude which mirrors that of American writer Susan Sontag who wrote, “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”