Daily writing prompt

What’s a movie or book that inspired you to travel?

View all responses

WordPress occasionally asks questions that assume we all have unlimited vacation time, overflowing bank accounts and a passport filled with stamps.

“What’s a movie or book that inspired you to travel?”

Travel where?

I’m a teacher. Most of my travel involves driving to Atlanta and back, Orlando and back, or Tampa and back. When we really throw financial caution to the wind, we might spend a weekend in Savannah. Nobody has ever made a movie that inspired me to sit in construction traffic on Interstate 75, although that might make a compelling psychological thriller.

Big-time travel usually isn’t in the cards. I can be inspired by a movie set in Italy, but inspiration alone won’t pay for airfare, hotels or the person who will eventually have to cover my classes.

There was one exception, although the trip was already happening.

In 2017, we traveled to Hawaii for my brother’s retirement from the Navy. Before we left, I had been watching quite a bit of Hawaii Five-0. The show didn’t inspire the destination, but it certainly influenced the menu.

Characters on the show were always drinking Kona Big Wave, so I wanted to try one. They talked about the famous Coco Puffs from Liliha Bakery, so those went onto the list. I had seen loco moco—a hamburger patty served over rice, topped with an egg and covered in gravy—and decided that any culture brave enough to combine breakfast, lunch and Thanksgiving gravy deserved my full support.

Then there was the shave ice from Matsumoto’s on the North Shore. Not a snow cone. Shave ice. I learned quickly that the distinction matters, especially to people standing within earshot in Hawaii.

The entire trip became a culinary scavenger hunt. Even McDonald’s became an adventure because the breakfast menu included Spam and eggs. I don’t normally consider McDonald’s a cultural destination, but when the menu changes with the ZIP code, it qualifies.

And somehow, one of the final memorable meals was sushi at the airport. Airport sushi sounds like either a terrible decision or the opening scene of a medical drama, but it was excellent. It became the perfect finishing touch to a delicious trip.

Of course, Hawaii offered far more than food.

We stayed at the Navy Lodge on Ford Island, placing us in the middle of the history of Pearl Harbor. We could still see bullet holes left from the attack on December 7, 1941. Those physical reminders made the history feel immediate in a way no textbook or movie ever could. We also visited the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri, standing near the place where America entered World War II and aboard the ship where the war formally ended.

That combination made the trip unforgettable. There was beauty, history, family and enough food to make elastic waistbands seem like responsible travel planning.

So no movie or book has ever inspired me to plan an extravagant journey. My bank account generally overrules my imagination before it reaches the airport.

But Hawaii Five-0 did inspire me to experience a trip that was already on the calendar through my stomach.

And honestly, that may be the best way to travel.

Enjoyed this? Subscribe and get future reflections, bourbon notes, and assorted nonsense delivered straight to your inbox.