Preserving the Journey: Why Travel Journals and Postcards Matter

Preserving the Journey: Why Travel Journals and Postcards Matter

In a world where most of our photos live on phones and our words disappear in the scroll of social media, analog is making a comeback. Travelers are rediscovering the joy of slowing down, picking up a pen, and writing their journeys into something lasting. It’s not just about documenting where we go, it’s about preserving stories that will outlive us, connecting generations through small scraps of memory.

I know this because I found them in a box.

My Mother’s Box of Memories

My mother loved to travel. She never kept what you’d call a formal travel journal, but she created something just as meaningful. She mailed postcards home, tucked away napkins from restaurants, slipped store bags into her suitcase, and scribbled notes in the margins of guidebooks. She even saved foreign coins and matchbook covers as if each one held a piece of the adventure.

One of my favorites is a guidebook from our time in the Philippines. On a page with a photo of a horse-drawn wagon, in her familiar looping handwriting, she wrote in German: “wir fahren in diesen wagen.  Die haben here hunderte von denen” In English it means “ We’re driving in this wagon.  They have hundreds of them here!”  Just a few short words, but they anchor a memory in place and time.

Opening her wooden box today is like opening a time capsule. Postcards from Hawaii, money from France, napkins pressed flat, brochures with notes scrawled in the margins, it’s all there. These weren’t things meant for display. They were personal, tucked away, kept because they mattered. And decades later, they still do.

Hidden Gems from My Father

As I sifted through my mother’s box, I discovered something unexpected: postcards from my father. Some were from his military travels, others from the honeymoon he and my mother spent in Italy that were addressed to other family members but never mailed.

My parents divorced years ago when I was young, and my father has said very little about their life together. But these cards? They were like hidden gems. Snapshots of love, adventure, and the excitement of being young and exploring the world together.

On one card from Italy, they wrote home to family, sharing the simple joys of their honeymoon. Reading those words today, knowing how their story unfolded, feels bittersweet but also beautiful. Those little postcards preserved a version of their love that would have been lost without ink on paper.

It struck me then: postcards, journals, and scraps of writing aren’t just about the places we visit. They carry the voices of people we love, capturing pieces of them we might never hear otherwise.

Why the Written Word Lasts

There’s something about handwriting that pixels can’t replicate. A scrawl in the margin, a doodle on hotel stationery, a joke scribbled in the moment.  It all carries the personality of the writer. These pieces are tangible, touchable, and enduring in a way digital files rarely are.

When you hold a postcard written decades ago, you don’t just see the words, you feel the presence of the person who wrote them. It’s like they’ve reached across time to say: I was here. This is what I saw. This is what mattered to me.

My Aunts’ Hawaii Diary

The love of writing things down didn’t stop with my parents. Years later, my two aunts and great aunt traveled to Hawaii together as senior adults. They decided to keep a diary of the trip but instead of buying a fancy notebook, they used hotel stationery.

Each night, one of them would take a turn writing about the day’s adventures. When the trip was over, they copied the diary so each sister would have a copy to keep. The handwriting is plain, the paper ordinary, but the diary itself is priceless.

Reading their words, I hear their voices, their laughter, and their sisterly bond. It’s proof that it’s never too late to travel or to write it down.

Why Travel Journals Still Matter Today

Looking through these keepsakes from my family made me realize the deeper value of travel journals today. They are more than notebooks. They are memory keepers, legacy builders, and time capsules all in one.

Here’s why:

• They slow us down. Writing makes us notice details: a scent, a sound, a fleeting conversation, that photos can’t always capture.
• They preserve personality. A scribbled note or messy sketch carries your unique fingerprint.
• They hold keepsakes. Journals can store tickets, pressed flowers, or receipts,  Tiny treasures that tell the fuller story.
• They connect generations. Decades later, your children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren may open your journal and meet you on the page.

Passing the Story Forward

One day, someone you love may open a box like my mother’s or flip through a journal you left behind. They might laugh at your stories, smile at your notes, or even discover something they never knew about you.

That’s the power of a travel journal. It turns an ordinary trip into a living story. And it ensures that your adventures don’t end when you return home.  They live on, passed from one generation to the next.

Start Where You Are

You don’t have to be a writer to keep a travel journal. Start small:

• Write one line a day.
• Tape in a ticket stub or postcard.
• Sketch a scene, no matter how imperfect.
• Jot down something funny you overheard.

The point isn’t perfection it’s preservation. Your words, your scraps, your perspective.  Because one day, decades from now, someone might find your journal tucked away in a box. And to them, it will be a treasure.

A travel journal isn’t just about the places you go.  It’s about the story of who you were while you were there. Write it down. Keep it safe. Your future self, and your family, will thank you.   It's your return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.

Why We Created The Wilds of Alaska Travel Journal

That belief is at the heart of why we created The Wilds of Alaska Travel Journal. Just like my mother’s postcards, my father’s honeymoon notes, and my aunts’ Hawaii diary, I wanted a way for travelers to capture their journeys, big or small, in a way that lasts. This journal gives you a place to jot down your thoughts, tuck in your keepsakes, and preserve your story so it can be passed forward, one page at a time.

One day, your Alaska travels could be the stories your family treasures most. The Wilds of Alaska Travel Journal helps you preserve them. Get your copy →