BLOG: The People You Meet Create the Best Memories

My best travel memories come from the people I meet along the way. I feel sorry for travelers who walk around constantly peering into their smart phone or guidebook, never connecting with the people around them.  

This past weekend I took a quick one night trip to Phoenix to see Chase Park where the Diamondbacks baseball team plays. I'm a baseball fanatic and plan to see all 30 major league parks. Chase Park was No. 10 for me.

The first part of my journey was in the sedan I had booked to take me from my home to the airport. I started talking with the driver and learned a lot about him and Tanzania, Egypt where he grew up. He moved to Germany in the '70s when he was 25 years old to escape the war between Tanzania and Uganda. He quickly immersed himself in a intensive German language course saying, "When you move into someone's house you need to learn to live like they do."  He got a job as a baggage handler with an airline and proceeded to form friendships and date a bit. 

During his seventh year of living in Germany he decided to visit a friend in LA for the holidays and then both flew to Dallas to visit another friend. The Dallas friend introduced my driver to his neighbor – a woman.  My driver and this woman immediately hit it off, and he declared that she was his soul mate.

And guess what? She was also from Tanzania. He had to meet his soul mate from his own country via Germany, LA and then Dallas. They've been married 25 years. Great story isn't it! 

And that was just the beginning of my two-day journey. I'd love to hear stories about people you've met while traveling and how they impacted you!