My name is Lisa Iannucci, and I’m the Virgin Traveler. Yes, I’ve traveled, but not as much as I always dreamed of doing. There are so many things I haven’t seen where I live in the Hudson Valley, in the United States, and in the world. What’s stopped me? Life.
When I was young, I saw my life going like this: I would travel and write on the road (I’m a professional writer, but more on that later). I’d see the world, write articles to pay the bills, and would pursue my passion – screenwriting.
Then, like most people, I graduated college, fell in love, got married, and had children. Then my husband passed away. Our children were 6, 4 and 2 at the time. I became a single mom overnight, and my entire focus changed.
As a single mom of three kids, either money or time was tight. I was ripped off by a contractor so I had to come back from that huge financial hit, and I don’t think I ever really did.
Just do it?
When I tell someone what I want to do – travel more with the kids – I often hear, “You’re crazy traveling with the kids by yourself,” or “Just do it” (yeah, where’s my money tree?). Don’t get me wrong…I’ve scraped together some trips. We went to Disney (I saved up because I wanted to do this one while they were young), Vermont, Atlantic City, and a few other places closer to home, but I’ve always wanted to have a bigger scrapbook of places I’ve been to by now in my life.
When I hear about my friends going off here and there, I get jealous. Even my honey, who has jetted off to several islands and taken multiple cruises before he met me, makes me jealous when he tells me how much he’s done. Every time I get ahead financially, something comes along to set me back. I no sooner had the idea for this column that my furnace decided it was on its last legs. I could’ve paid off three bills with what it’s going to cost for me to replace it. Two steps forward, three steps back. Story of my life. But I’m going to get there.
In two years, my youngest will be off to college, so I’m going to have time to do more traveling. Here’s the catch, I’m in debt. So while I travel locally and start small, I’m going to be getting out of debt because when I hit the road for bigger trips in 2015, when my youngest goes off to college, I don’t want anything hanging over my head. You’ll come on that journey with me.
Travel Writer
I realized that I’m new to the traveling scene. I wrote a book on “Healthy Travel,” and I’ve written articles on traveling with children, but overall I’m new to this. Believe it or not, I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never even used such booking sites as Priceline, and I don’t have an updated passport. (I did when I was younger because I was supposed to go to France while I was in high school, but I decided not to go because my mom was a single mom too, and it was a lot of money). I’m new again to traveling…a virgin per se…and that’s how I came up with the name The Virgin Traveler.
But now I’ve decided it’s time. No, I didn’t hit the lotto and am now traveling the world. Instead, I’m taking it one step at a time. Little by little. Town by town. And I want you to come on this journey with me. You’ll overcome your fears of traveling along with me because to be honest, I’m excited but scared.
Once I started talking to others about my idea, I heard things like, “I’m in the same boat. I always wanted to travel but can’t because of money, time, or maybe I’m just too old to start.” Nope, not happening anymore. I’m heading out, doing what I’ve dreamed of doing. In a few years, I’ll be working while on the road, seeing things, and meeting people. I want to see the congested touristy things and the out-of-the-way places. I also want to go places and meet people, and then I want to find a space that’s open and quiet, and I want to just sit there and enjoy the quiet. In other words, I want it all.
Looking Back
I remember when I was a little girl, and my mother took us to Cooperstown, New York. The trip was cut short (I can’t remember why), but I loved being there just because we were ‘traveling’, driving to our destination. I couldn’t wait to travel again, but we didn’t. As I said, my mom was a single mom too — my dad died when I was 7 — and it wasn’t something she could afford.
When I was in third grade, I was asked to write what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I wrote a stewardess so I could see the world. This boy, Greg, who was a special needs student and I was his tutor, had taken a trip to China with his parents to see his heritage. When he came back, he had a gift for me – a set of wings from the stewardesses on the plane. He had an adorable crush on me and had told them about me, and they gave him the wings to give to me. I’ll never forget it.
Today, I’m apprehensive about flying, but I always remember those wings. Yet there are places I want to see around the world, so I have to get over that fear. You’ll come on that journey too. I also get excited about the thought of driving across the country though.
I want to hear your stories – when did you start traveling? Are you afraid to start? Are you like me and in debt and just can’t afford to travel? We’ll find ways of traveling and having fun together.
So that’s a lot to know for now, but that’s me, the Virgin Traveler. And I’m thrilled to be here. My journey has just started.
