Perspective: Hungry for travel

It can be said that travel whets the appetite, both literally and figuratively. Not only does it expand your horizons and thinking, it also means that any food eaten from a car or train seat just tastes better in those environments rather than being consumed at a table.

I remember taking day trips to Browns Lake in Wisconsin on the weekends in the summer. My dad would drive and my mom would pack the sandwiches, usually salami and cheddar cheese with yellow mustard on rye bread. Sometimes we would be barely off the driveway and I would start chowing down. There was something alluring about slipping the diagonally cut sandwich out of the brown bag and devouring it all while seeing new sights.

I was reminded of this this past week when I was traveling on Amtrak from Iowa. My kind aunt packed a lunch and snacks for the train ride back home. At home, I usually eat at noon, but on the train, I started rummaging around in my lunch bag for some of the train treats at 11 am. My delicious ham and cheese sandwich soon followed and my aunt had packed a surprise: an individual container of chocolate mousse, complete with a plastic spoon.

As I watched the corn and bean fields roll swiftly by, I happily hunted in my treat bag for more goodies.

Yes, travel is such an important part of life and it is vital to have tasty snacks along for the ride.

I’m Rosie Klepper and that’s my perspective.