Introduction<br > Many of us approach travel expecting to be<br > invigorated by the new experiences we anticipate. That s why<br > we re thrown off base when a week after returning home from<br > vacation we feel as though we never left. The trip is a memory，<br > except for the bills， and we find ourselves feeling deflated but<br > we can t quite articulate the source of our malaise. We vow<br > that next year we ll go someplace more exotic， someplace<br > flashier， someplace that will give us the sense of fulfillment we<br > want from a vacation. Chances are we ll be disappointed again.<br > Fortunately， there s a solution， and it doesn t involve<br >spending increasing amounts of money or traveling to the far<br >comers of the earth. Often our dissatisfaction stems from the<br >fact that we return from vacation unchanged. Maybe we re a<br >little more rested， a little tanner， a bit better traveled， but<br >basically we re the same. Instead of enriching our lives， our<br >vacation has simply served as a respite from routine.<br > One good way to change that pattern is to purposefully<br >look at Vacations as opportunities to explore， expand， and<br >challenge our own physical， spiritual， cultural， and intellectual<br >resources. When we start using travel as a means for achieving<br >growth， that s when we start coming back from vacation<br >leehug strong and energized. Great American Learnin9 Adventures<br >can help make that happen.<br > This is a book for people who want their vacations to serve<br >as a springboard 1o personal enrichment. The places and<br >