You know what a homebody I am so no big surprise that I fear traveling. Maybe it’s because we did so little of it when I was a kid. A few-hour car trip from our Louisiana home to a beach just over the Florida border was as far as any of us needed to go for the best trip we could imagine. Sometimes we only made it to the Alabama coast, but if it was beautiful white sandy beach, we figured, why go any farther? Thi is where the angels want us!
So when Edward Grinnan came in to my office and told me the biannual Guideposts Writers Workshop was taking place this year in Washington State with bestselling author and longtime Guideposts friend Debbie Macomber, rather than in nearby Rye, New York, our usual spot, I was excited and… terrified. Port Orchard, Washington? I couldn’t even point it out on a map. An hour to JFK airport, a six-hour plane ride to Seattle, another hour to Port Orchard — that meant a full day of travel. What if we missed the plane or had bad weather? What if there was an emergency at home and I was three thousand miles away? Other editors were more adventurous and jumped at any chance to discover someplace new. Did I really have to go? “It’ll be good for you,” Edward said. “Besides, your guardian angel can come along too.” That made me laugh. A little. But I was nervous. So many thing to worry about!
Now I’m here in Port Orchard, with a dozen new wonderful workshopper friends, a sackful of new story ideas for Angels on Earth, and only one day left before returning home. Another full day of travel. But you know what? I feel good. I’m glad I did this. Maybe I’ll even try a little more “adventure travel” (well, adventure for me!). Some things are just worth it. And besides, as Edward reminded me, I always have a travel companion.
