fbpx vie magazine subscribe button

The Destination Is Everywhere

By Greg Cayea

Webster’s defines destination as “a place worthy of travel or an extended visit.” My definition is far simpler.

A destination is anywhere and everywhere. If it’s something we’ve never experienced and is full of laughter and good conversation, it’s going to be well worth the visit. The great news is that we’re entirely in control of all of it—where we go, how much we laugh, and the number of times we smile at a stranger on the street. We can shape a beautiful journey no matter where we are, even if it’s going across the street to the gas station. Have you ever asked the gas station attendant how many children she has or where she is from? Ever gotten a hot chocolate there and drunk it by the side of the highway? It sounds silly, but at the core of that last sentence lies my philosophy of travel: to create adventure, no matter the destination. The destination is everywhere, and the grass is always greenest where we stand.

I can travel to Paris, but if I’m just going to stay at the Ritz on Place Vendôme, smile at nobody, and chat with the concierge in English about where I can take some fun selfies, then I might as well stay in Long Island and head to the mall to chat with the Urban Outfitters cashier. On a practical note, I could travel to Astoria, Queens—about ten miles from where I currently am—and venture out to a Middle Eastern restaurant with three tables and no prices or menu that doesn’t even serve iced tea. That sounds like an adventure to me.

Here’s a great trick I use no matter where I am: I wake up and ask myself, what could possibly make today fun? The answer always leads me somewhere new.

Staycations have been some of the best getaways I’ve taken—and I humbly accredit myself as a professional traveler. Playing tourist in my own town always gives me a new perspective and a pleasant sense of naïveté that allows me to wander aimlessly with ignorance and enjoy even the most mundane attractions—like wax museums. In Los Angeles, my ex-hometown, I decided I would stay put and go to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! on Hollywood Boulevard, the most basic and touristy thing I could think of doing. I went with a friend whom I didn’t know very well, and we played stupid and acted as though it was the most magical tourist attraction on earth. It was amazing—one of the best times I had during my six-year tenure in that terribly superficial yet magnetic city on the sand.

But you say, “No! I want to go somewhere really new, far away, and learn about an entirely different culture, Greg!” I understand! Stop yelling! All I’m saying is that El Paso felt just as foreign to me as Buenos Aires for many reasons—so did going from New York City to San Diego or Detroit to Boulder or Miami to the Everglades. You don’t have to travel far to find a new culture. Sometimes we confuse wanting a fresh cultural experience with wanting excitement.

Here’s a great trick I use no matter where I am: I wake up and ask myself, what could possibly make today fun? The answer always leads me somewhere new.

Let’s assume for a moment that you are traveling to a new destination, like Machu Picchu or Glacier National Park or wherever. As most people do, I start off with a plan and do as much research as I can, but I only do that to have a few ideas to fall back on if I’m not in a spur-of-the-moment mood. I then let go of every single plan or site I intend to see and give it a go without having any strategy other than keeping my eye on the goal: adventure. To start, I try to talk to as many people as I can—the guy at the café, the barista, the mom who is dropping her daughter off at college and sitting anxiously next to me, the guy making pancakes in my hostel, the front desk clerk from Italy, the street performers busking in the town plaza, the club promoters trying to get me to attend some horrid strip club that night and drop their name at the door. The equation is simple: the more words I exchange with people, the better time I will have. If that doesn’t work, I can always go to the Statue of Liberty or other local attraction.

Greg Cayea, Photo by Mark Pallermo
Greg Cayea
Photo by Mark Pallermo

I find that I remember the most unexpected occurrences best. For instance, I don’t recall the Plaza Mayor in Madrid very well—I mean, it’s vivid, but I don’t have any interesting memories of anything that took place there. I do remember the tiny Irish pub off that side street where my buddy got plastered with some Scottish girl who nearly died on the sidewalk from extreme intoxication. (That was fun.) And at the same time, I remember all the Gaudí buildings in Barcelona in the way everyone always hopes they’ll remember them because I went with some girl who was crying on a couch in the hostel after she had just been deported from England.

“Todo bien?”

“Noo!” she shrieked.

In Spanish, I asked her, “Why you crying?”

“They deport to me!”

“So you’re crying on the couch? In the living room?”

“I crying in the bathroom and sound to me more pathetic, so the living room I came! My room no is ready!”

“How can I help make your day better?”

She said, “I want to go to the playa.” We went to the Park Güell and some of the other more touristy places Barcelona has to offer—the places that all those dumb American travel companies overcharge you for on their websites—and then we went to the playa. It was a blast! She helped me have an incredible day, and I helped her overcome her deportation, and now we’re going to hang out in Santiago! It’s not about the place you go; it’s about the people you encounter and the community in which you immerse yourself. If you’re not one to meet random travelers at a hostel or go zip-lining in Costa Rica with a group of strangers that you met on social media, then bring a local group to that one joint in Ocala, Florida—you can zip-line just about anywhere!

I then let go of every single plan or site I intend to see and give it a go without having any strategy other than keeping my eye on the goal: adventure.

Adventure is not a matter of being somewhere far away; it’s a matter of enjoying and exploring the current moment wherever you’re standing. The destination is under the soles of your sneakers—already here! We’ve all already arrived! (Deep, I know. But it’s true.) The grass is greenest beneath your feet, and there’s nowhere to go that you haven’t yet gone, only actions to take that you haven’t yet tried.

Enjoy your next trip, wherever it may be. Even if it’s to the top of the Empire State Building, which I didn’t do (and I’m from New York!) until I was twenty-six and had some friends in town from Argentina. And you know what? That building is pretty damn cool. If you look hard enough, you’ll always see something new. Squint with care.

— V —


Greg Cayea is a Guinness World Record–holding traveler. He writes offensive short stories about his life exploits, then draws cartoons to illustrate them. Stay tuned at ScrambledGregs.com for his next adventure.



Read Responsibly

VIE Magazine - The Art & Design Issue November 2021
VIE Magazine January 2021 Special Commemorative Edition
VIE Magazine September 2020 Wanderlust Issue, Fancy Camps, The Idea Boutique
VIE Magazine August 2020 Art & Culture Issue, Nathan Alan Yoakum Art
VIE Magazine - Architecture & Design Issue - July 2020
VIE Magazine - Decor and Home Issue - June 2020
VIE Magazine May 2020 Entertainment Issue, Leslie Odom Jr
VIE Magazine - April 2020 Culinary Issue
VIE Magazine March 2020 The Fashion Edit, VONDOM, Alys Beach Fl, Digital Graffiti, Tres Chic, isidro dunbar Modern Interiors, Digital Graffiti Festival
VIE Magazine February 2020 Health & Beauty Issue
VIE Magazine - Travel Issue - January 2020 - Tanzania Safari Cover
VIE Magazine - Women's Issue - December 2019 - Tina Brown Cover
VIE NOV19 Goodness Issue
VIE Magazine, September 2019 Art & Culture Issue, Paul Hanninen
VIE Magazine - August 2019 - The Architecture and Design Issue
VIE Magazine - July 2019 - The Artist Issue
VIE Magazine - June 2019 - Fashion Edit
VIE Magazine - May 2019 - Culinary Issue
VIE Magazine - April 2019 - The Health & Wellness Issue
VIE Magazine - Special Entertainment Edition - March 2019
VIE Magazine February 2019 Luxury Homes & Technology Issue with Robbie Antonio of Revolution Precrafted
VIE Magazine - January 2019 - Southern Sophisticate Issue Cover
VIE Magazine - Special Anniversary Travel Edition - December 2018
VIE Magazine - The Goodness Issue - November 2018
VIE Magazine - The Art & Culture Issue - October 2018
VIE Magazine - Home & Garden Issue - September 2018
VIE Magazine - August 2018 Animal Issue
VIE Magazine - July 2018 Architecture & Design Issue - Subscribe to the magazine!
VIE Magazine - June 2018 Travel & Tech Issue
VIE Magazine - May 2018 Couture Issue
VIE Magazine - The Culinary Issue - April 2018 Cover - Chef James Briscione and Brooke Parkhurst
VIE Magazine - The Entertainers Issue - March 2018
VIE Magazine - February 2018 Destination Travel Issue
VIE Magazine - January 2018 Health & Beauty Issue
VIE Magazine, The Sophisticate Issue, December 2017
VIE Magazine - November 2017 Art & Culture Issue
VIE Magazine - October 2017 Home & Garden Issue
VIE Magazine | September 2017 | The Stories and Storytellers Issue
VIE Magazine - The Adventure Issue - August 2017
VIE Magazine - July 2017 - Art & Artist Issue
VIE Magazine - The Voyager Issue - June 2017
VIE magazine 2017 March-April Cover South Walton Fashion Week
VIE Magazine - January/February 2017 - The Health & Beauty Issue
VIE Magazine - Nov/Dec 2016 The Sophisticate Issue
christian siriano vie magazine september october 2016 vie magazine
the modern minimalist issue
Summertime!
the culinary and couture issue march april 2016 vie magazine
the voyager issue alys beach vie magazine january february 2016
cultural issue vie magazine november december 2015
home and garden issue vie magazine september october 2015
the art and style issue vie magazine july august 2015
the wedding issue 2015 May June vie magazine
the food and fashion issue vie magazine march april 2015
the travel issue vie magazine january february 2015
the music issue vie magazine 2014 november december
The Animal Issue vie magazine september october 2014
the home and garden issue vie magazine july august 2014
the wedding issue vie magazine may june 2014
emeril lagasse food and fashion vie magazine
the men's issue january february 2014
the music issue november december 2013 vie magazine
the home and garden issue 2013 october september
the wedding issue vie magazine july august 2013
the artist issue may june 2013 vie magazine
the food and fashion issue march april 2013
the men's issue january february 2013 vie magazine
The Holiday Issue
the love issue july august 2012
the all american summer may june 2012
the entertainment issue march april 2012
the fashion issue vie magazine winter 2011
the home and garden issue vie magazine fall 2011
the anniversary edition vie magazine summer 2011
the wedding issue vie magazine spring 2011
vie magazine the holiday issue 2010 Dec
vintage swimsuits vie magazine 2010 Fall
judith march designer vie magazine summer 2010
wedding giveaway vie magazine spring 2010
holiday gift guide vie magazine winter 2009
emarketing explosion vie magazine fall 2009
tribute to mother's day vie magazine summer 2009
james and robert redford vie magazine spring 2009
zz top vie magazine fall winter 2008
project dreams vie magazine new york fashion week
Sign-up for VIEmail

Sign up for VIEmail

X

A LIFESTYLE