Road Maps

I like maps. I think I have always liked maps. During elementary school I always looked forward to the unit on maps. When Jay was little, I had a map of the USA on his wall. We put gold stars on the places that he had been. It was a teaching tool and hopefully instilled some desire to travel or explore. Later I made copies of a map with just the state borders and no labels. We used it to learn the states. Ashley and I used copies to color in the states that we had visited. I still like to keep up with that map. Dale and I have used that method to determine which states neither of us have visited.
I am sure that my love of travel and exploration have added to my appreciation for maps. On our recent vacation, I picked up the maps that are photographed here. It's been fun to leave them on my coffee table this week and look back at the places we enjoyed. Over the years I have found that maps make great wrapping paper too! It's not just because it's free wrapping paper. I enjoy finding a map that might remind the recipient of a place that they love. Maps are beautiful and can be a great tool for navigation and to jog my memory. Yes, I know you can find maps on the internet but I love the paper in my hands. Of course, they must be folded correctly, as they were originally folded, after each use!