AAA lodging and restaurant inspectors visit many places that the average person would never get to in a lifetime of travel.  Sometimes these places can be rather exotic or exciting, often they’re simple and mundane, but they are all opportunities for memorable experiences. Here are just a few of mine:
- The majestic sights as you first enter into the Rocky Mountains on the Trans Canada Highway from Calgary to Banff.
- The sign that declares, “New York is big, but this is Biggar” as you enter the town of Biggar, Saskatchewan- Hiking through a mountain meadow alive with spring flowers.
- Miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles of wheat waving in the prairie breezes like a golden pelt of fur.
- The unnerving exhilaration of standing on the clear plexiglass floor in the C.N. Tower, imagining what it would have been like to be one of the workers that built this monument to enterprise.
- The sheer vastness of miles and miles of nothing in the northern Canadian tundra.
- The undisguised hospitality of a One Diamond motel operator in a small Texas town who took such pleasure in teaching me about the paper shell pecans that grew on a big tree on his property. 

I’m sure you too can think of many magical moments in your own travels and I encourage you to take the time to recognize and enjoy them for what they are and the importance they play in enriching your trip. Share a few below.
So, the ultimate travel tip:
Relax, don’t hurry. Take your time, smell the roses along the way no matter what road you’re on. There’s a beautiful world out there.  Don’t be in such a rush that you miss the sights and opportunities along the way, big or small.