Sunny Weather and Happy Dispositions

Whenever we go on a trip, we send our participants, members and friends at ClubTravelNOW!^TM a checklist of things to bring and some reminders. In these reminders, we always save the best for last. The last item on the list of things the participants should remember to bring - is always this:

A Happy Disposition, Sense of Adventure, and Spirit of Fun.

In our many travels with different people through so many places via our travel club called ClubTravelNOW!^TM, I have learned that even if the destinations never change, our experience of a certain destination changes with the character and disposition of the people on the trip with us. If the destination is a constant, and the participants are the variables, then it is their character and attitude that will determine whether the trip is going to be really fun and memorable.

ClubTravelNOW!^TM at the Hot Air Balloon Festival (02/12/11): Good times!

I have learned that when participants bring "A Happy Disposition, Sense of Adventure, and Spirit of Fun", whatever kinks in the trip we encounter, we always still end up having the best times of our lives. And this supports that cliche that says it is the journey not the destination. The same grouchy person you bring in the journey is the same grouchy person that arrives at the destination. The happy person with the sunny disposition may find the sun coming up shy in the mountain or beach, but that doesn't give that person's sunny disposition less of a sheen. And even a sunny sky is no match to the resolve of a committed Grumpy. Fortunately, people have been cooperative - no grouches nor Grumpies so far. :)

ClubTravelNOW!^TM in Singapore (11/26/10): We get our share of the crazy ones though.
LOL! Just kidding!

And that really is what ClubTravelNOW!^TM is about. A participant from our December trip to Banaue/Batad put it also simply:

It is about the company, not the destination. It is more than just travel, it is the people you come with.

At ClubTravelNOW!^TM, we make it a point to engage everyone on the trip, to talk to them and get to know them, and to provide opportunities for others on the trip to get to know one another on the trip, not on a superficial level, but on a deeper level. We want people to be calling each other by name during the trip, not through name tags, but through a real knowing and a genuine interest in one another.

More than pictures, we want everyone to come home with a new set of friends.
More than pasalubongs, we want everyone to come home enriched by an experience of a place and an experience of other people.
More than t-shirts that boast of surviving a destination, we want stories that speak of thriving in the company of new names, new places and new memories.

And in coming home, we hope it is not the end of a trip but the beginning of a new journey of friendship, a journey to more happy journeys with lifelong friends made on the trip.

ClubTravelNOW!^TM in Calauit (09/14/10): Clarification, wild animals not shown in picture. LOL!

We invite you to be a part of ClubTravelNOW!^TM This summer is an opportune time to make the most of the beautiful weather. Upcoming trips schedules are here.

Visit our websites/pages:
http://www.clubtravelnow.org
http://www.facebook.com/ClubTravelNOW
http://www.twitter.com/ClubTravelNOW

Book Recommendations:
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
1,000 Places to See Before You Die, updated ed. (2010) (1,000 Before You Die)
Lonely Planet Philippines (Country Guide)