"February 10, 2002----A comfy chair, a snapping fire, the hiss of snow at my window, and a good book can satisfy me most any time….but sometimes, well, I feel restless. Like tonight, for instance. I just couldn't concentrate. Finally, I closed my book, (and a good book it was, poor thing, but I just couldn't concentrate), put the screen in front of the fire, and stared out into the night, wishing I were about to embark on a long journey. Quite frankly, the destination isn't even that important. The journey is the thing! The crowded trains, the windswept decks, the scents, the sounds, the people! My Friend Charlotte Hitty would be aghast. 'Why ever would you want to sleep in a strange bed and eat dubious sandwiches in filthy train stations?' She would say, one hand waving away my nonsense. 'No, Hitty Alice, such a journey is not for you.'

"Well, why not? Why shouldn't I take such a journey? No reason I can think of….I shall! Oh, but there's so much planning to do…I must call upon my dressmaker first thing in the morning. And my trunk! It must be hauled out of the attic and refurbished. And of course I shall have to plan my itinerary. A nice list of Travel Hosts is a good start. Now, where did I lay my pen…?"

An entry from Hitty Alice's Travel Journal, dated February 10--2002.