Michael Manring gets sounds out of a bass guitar that you could never even imagine. www.manthing.com John Popper of Blues Traveler plays the harmonica the way Jimi Hendrix plays the electric guitar. I spent my high school years listening to Blues Traveler and driving fast!

I think these stories are best exchanged over a beverage of your choice. :-)

To me, the best part about traveling is meeting local people who can give an inside look at their culture. If you're viewing a country through the tinted windows of a tour bus, you're wasting your time (and your money)! Get away from the tourist traps and out onto the streets! Make friends with the locals and experience the culture from the inside out--that's traveling! The most amazing experiences only happen if you're comfortable enough to travel on your own. Of course sometimes it can be smart (and fun) to have one travel buddy--especially if you can't speak the native language. But traveling with two or more friends inevitably encloses you in a bubble of familiarity, and worse--the locals will be too intimidated to approach you.

Gemütlichkeit! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gem%C3%BCtlichkeit

Meeting people from different cultures helps me see life from different perspectives. Traveling feels like being a child all over again, because there are so many new experiences.