Here at HuffPost Travel, we're fully committed to the idea that travel, no matter how close or far you go, is in everyone's DNA.
As the editor of this new section, I want to hear from you, the reader, about your best, your worst, your wackiest, your most stressful and everything-in-between vacations. What do you most enjoy, most loathe and most fear about travel?
As a child, my family went all over the world, mostly depending on my mother's latest whim -- a trait she's fond of exhibiting. We went to the Costa Rican jungle and discovered first-hand just how large cockroaches can be. We went to the South of France where my father still talks about the meals he missed because my friend and I were too busy crying. Every year we went to St. Barths -- this is before they even had telephones on the island -- and we've been able to watch that beautiful place transform from a rugged and charming French island to the crowning jewel of beach chic in the Caribbean. Still, though, I haven't seen some of what I call the "basics" of travel: Spain, Italy, Hawaii, the rest of America. I have high hopes that I'll get there some day.
Travel -- or rather, vacations -- aren't, however, always like this. I'm just back from vacation: a week-long cruise with my in-laws...all eight of them (plus my baby nephew) to Bermuda. We had a wonderful time with each other; after all, it's close quarters to be in with people to whom you're not really related, just legally-bound. But we had the most fun mocking our shipmates, who were essentially the 1,500 other cast members of The Jersey Shore. Since the ship left from Bayonne, New Jersey, we half expected it, but we didn't expect the hair, the nails, the accents. By the end of the week, I found myself dropping my "r's" at the end of words.
This is all to say that travel isn't always mind-opening in the ways you expect. I actually learned a lot about myself last week: that I could go two whole days without seeing land and not need my "no-crazy" pills, that I'm just as I was as a baby and can fall asleep to the sound of lapping waves at the drop of a hat, that a sunset will always amaze me, and even that I'm a more patient person than I thought.
I want this new section to be about moments we have when we travel: the good, the bad, the ugly. What inspires you? What amazes you? What do you even hate about other places?
If you ever want to get in touch with me, send me your feedback and ideas at travel@huffingtonpost.com.