Mapping our adventures

I do not know of anyone who travels who does not want to share their stories about their experiences. My wife and I have created a simple and effective display that shows our travels and prompts questions from visitors.

We purchased a world map, mounted it on a half-inch-thick foam board that accepts the pins easily, then framed it with readily available finished molding and hung it by the stairway in our house. The map is the kind readily available from National Geographic or other publishers and, including the frame, it measures 52 by 36 inches.

If we had spent at least one night in a city, we would put a stickpin to mark the spot on the map.

Over the years, we have developed three categories of pins that we think are worthy of note: red pins are for our own travels, blue pins show travels of our oldest son, and, most importantly, white pins are for the cities of origin of foreign visitors who have been in our home for a meal or an overnight.

Now when visitors happen to see the map, the inevitable question is “What are all these pins for?” This opens the door to sharing our experiences and learning of places visitors to our house have been. It never fails to start conversation and stories about travel adventures.

CHUCK ADAMS
Damascus, OR