My row of journals sits right here by my desk and computer. I can't believe how often I refer to them -- especially when posting here, when I can tell you in an instant how much we paid for our meals at _______, what the cost was of an apartment we rented, or even how long it took to get from point A to point B.

One of the best and most meaningful gifts I ever received was a travel journal from my daughter. Previous to that, I started with a notebook on my first trip to Europe, and now I have a supplementary spiral book in case I need to expand on the basic journal info. I have sketched in this supplemental journal and also used it to write notes about my life situations in general at the time of the trip. Most helpful are the notes about who I met on the trip, what restaurants I found, and for an annual Caribbean trip I take with friends, the trip cost and likes/dislikes.

Hi
I'm new here and I'm wondering if any of you use an online travel journal? If so, which one? I would like one that is EASY to use and has EASY photo uploading.
Thanks

For our long road trip (once a year in August) I make an outline (Word document) of the places we plan to visit -- names, addresses, phone numbers, hours of operation, price, etc. Plus the list of hotels (confirmation numbers etc.). When we get home I revise it to include entertainment, restaurants, etc.

Usually my only souvenirs from that trip are the brochures & booklets acquired along the way. All go into a big envelope. Plus the CD/DVD of digital photos and I have a great "memory file".

I wish I did....the times that I have written notes, it is a very detailed personal experience with my impressions and reactions to events that occurred to me. It is an emotional photograph of that time and much more meaningful than the visual photographs I always take. One snaps the outside and the other the inside.

I tried keeping a travel journal, but quickly got tired of writing instead of gawking around.

Now I take a micro-recorder and just talk while I'm looking around.
I note places, prices, favorites and especially record info about pictures taken.

When I get home, I just play it back and make my travel album. I've been doing this for years and I label each tape and play it back whenever I want a good laugh.

I have a great travel journal source online. It is free, easy and fun.

What is this wonder you might ask -- we'll it is ... drumroll...

Fodors!!

I was very bored last night. I was sitting on couch with laptop and thought I would see how far back my posts go on here.

As I scrolled through the pages and pages of threads that came up when I clicked my name, it occurred to me that so many [of course, not all - especially the ones in the lounge] of them were question I asked before taking a trip and all the trip reports I posted after I took the trip.

I enjoyed looking back at the thousands [ yes, thousands] of thread I have posted on and seeing the questions I asked; that you all so graciously answered and it was truly a trip down memory lane.

Try it.

Deb

Texrockhound, I use Picasa as an online journal of sorts. It's easy to upload pictures, and you have a pretty good amount of space for captions.
picasaweb.google.com

Here's a link to our England and Wales pictures from 2007 as an example:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/25xs9t

Lee Ann

I keep a travel journal but wow, I wish I was as detailed as others. I have nothing but admiration for people who write down names of restuarants and what they ate and paid.

I jot down notes at the museums.

I go into an office supply store in whatever country I am in and buy some kind of notebook or blank book and a glue stick. Then I turn it into a collage of my trip. I often get two of brochures etc so I can use both sides in my book.

I don't journal but...www.tripadvisor.com has a neat website where you can post reviews of attractions, hotels etc. It even has a world map where you can place a "pin" for every area visited. I've posted more photos lately and I can always go back and read my reviews of sites to bring back the memories... Happy traveling.

oops, www.tripadvisor.com no "but"
;-)

And www.igougo.com has a system where you get points for each review, experience, journal and photo posted - and you can trade in points for amazon.com gift certificates and the like.

I didn't think I was but I was surprised to find out I did.

My ex-mother-in-law loved to hear about my travels so, after each trip, I would write a Charles Kuralt-like report of where I went and what I saw for her. I tried to write as if I were writing for publication and she especially loved my occasional drift into lyrical metaphor.

If I was busy and got "late" sending one, she'd be on my case about where it was.

When she died a couple of years ago, my ex-wife found out that she had saved all of those reports and the photos I sent with them and had put them into several 3-ring binders. Reading back through them both reminds me of the trips and of Wilma, who, by the way, was the best mother-in-law in human history.