When I was a teenager, Cinemax had a program that came on every Wednesday or Thursday at 8pm called Vanguard Cinema. Each week, they would show either a non-mainstream American or foreign film. This is how I saw the movies A Clockwork Orange and Orlando and many more like them. I absolutely loved Vanguard Cinema. It opened my eyes to so many films that would never have been played in the movie theaters back then.

The other reason why I enjoyed these films is because they were a way to escape to other parts of the world. To me they were like travel brochures that came to life. Vanguard Cinema would show films from all over the world, and I would get a peek at these beautiful places. Because of these films, I discovered a passion to see the places that were in these movies. I always dreamed that one day I would be able to travel around the world.

In October 2001, a friend and I went to Rome, Italy. And even though the world was on high alert our trip was wonderful. They had not put in place all of the high security that they have now. They were doing random screenings at the airport security check points, and I guess two black American women traveling to/from Rome were not on their stop and question list. In fact, they simply waved us in when we arrived in Rome. They didn’t even check my passport, which was disappointing because I could not wait to get the country stamp in my book. Either way, we had a wonderful vacation, and we met and became friends with some wonderful people. One of which introduced me to Facebook and has become a successful artist in Rome.

A few years later I went on a weekend ski trip with friends to Calgary, Canada. We had decided that we wanted to learn how to ski so why not go to Canada. This was an incredibly fun and inexpensive trip. It would be several years after this trip before I would go out of the country again. In 2017, as I was meeting with a client and we were simply talking about life, they said to me “Valerie, if you don’t do anything else in life, travel and see the world”. This statement would re-awaken that passion in me and the following year I went to Scotland.

It is also the reason I started traveling alone. Don’t get me wrong, I love going on trips with my friends but sometimes it can be or get a bit difficult and the trips would never happen. Especially when they ask you to “send over some information”. That has always been a clear sign that they are not going or that they are not taking you seriously. So I decided that when the mood struck I would act, and it has been a wonderful experience. Whether with a companion or independently, I hope you enjoy some travel adventures of your own.