Pullman car on a passenger train, ca. 1910s.

This year traveling to see family for the Holidays may not look the same with plane rides and road trips, but travel has evolved over the years and continues to evolve to this day.

Travel is becoming more virtual, to which you may think “How? Virtual can’t be traveling!” But through interacting with family via Zoom, reading a travel novel, or taking part in a virtual cross-cultural experience (Airbnb does them a lot) people are finding new ways to explore their world.

Throwing it back to the 1830s, the newest way to travel was by train. Trains made it so that people could get from one place to another in a few hours or days rather than weeks. This made it so that families could see each other, even if just for a weekend, and vacations were not solely month-long affairs. To read more about the history of travel, visit Falvey’s digital exhibit “Are We There Yet?”. 

Through advancements in technology, traveling is continuing to evolve, this time in a more digital way. Where will you be traveling (either safely in person or virtually) this holiday season?

Jenna Newman is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department. Current mood: Not ready to virtually travel to work today.