In 1989, I moved to Italy to live with my mom for my senior year of high school. We traveled a lot. In fact, while the rest of my senior class went to Rimini to get drunk over Spring Break, my mom and I went on a pilgrimage following the artwork of Piero della Francesca.

The experience solidified my desire for travel to be a part of my live. I fell in love with Europe particularly. Now I try to get back there as much as possible. That's the reason I started and keep running my Celtic Invasion Vacations.

Today, I read a blog post by Seth Godin called “The Show Me State (of the Art)“. Seth talks about the popularity of the “punchline”. When you see anything these days, people want the 30 second elevator speech. They want the trailer to the movie to find what it's about. They want the Cliff Notes. They don't want to be surprised. How odd! I find the surprises to be half the fun.

It got me thinking about annual Invasions. I opened up the Celtic Invasion of Wales this year with one detail, where we are going–Northern Wales. That's it. I already have two people who laid down their deposit to join the Invasion. They don't know anything about this trip. But they trust me. Because my trips aren't ultimately about the destination. They are about the journey. 

I will have a basic itinerary available in another month. But anyone who's followed my Invasions knows that the itinerary changes. Anyone who's been on the trip knows that the best stuff is the stuff that is unplanned and unscheduled. That means, it's not about the itinerary. It's about the surprises.

Those captured, unrepeatable moments will never be experienced again. Only you will play will drink wine overlooking San Gimignano's many towers with the perfect weather and rose petals falling at your feet. Only you will walk along a cliff and shout/chat with local fisherman. Only you will be invited to a tour of graveyard owned by a local after he serves you some homemade soup for lunch. Only you will go for a hike to a local loch only to have the heavens open and spill its joyous drops before you even reach your destination.

I built a growing list of passionate invaders who join me because they want to be led on a fun journey abroad. The details are just the icing on the cake. 

I must say I am extremely grateful that so many people put their trust in me to give them an adventure that we will never forget. Thank you!