I spent a lot of time when I was growing up with my travel-phobic grandparents. Most summer days consisted of lounging on a reupholstered Pullman brown couch while watching various syndicated reruns and eating from tin television trays adorned with cartoon couples eating Ritz Crackers.

Reasons for leaving the house had to have practical purpose.

My mother was the adventurous one, but her spontaneous attempts to broaden my travel repertoire were met with resistance and anxiety. I’d already spent too many hours witnessing borderline agoraphobic behavior, resigning myself to safe travel within the pages of books. It took marrying an American G.I. who traveled for love and necessity for me to step outside of my comfort zone and meet the world.

Today, I wouldn’t dare leave home without my Sony reader, but here’s the caveat; I’m not afraid to turn it off so I can experience my surroundings. I allow myself to enjoy real life adventures so I can appreciate the fictional ones even more.

How about you? Are you an armchair traveler, a frequent flyer, or both?

Regardless, I hope your summer is an adventure in every way.