Seriously, how much coffee can one man drink?

5 simple coffee mugs.

One from Theonion.com.

The others representing trips to Miami, Scotland, New Orleans, and Spain.

Seriously – I’m a guy who lives alone – the most I EVER need is a few coffee cups, and that’s if I’ve got one or two in the dishwasher.

In some ways, these simple cups represent why I’ve embarked on this project – the memories are SO much better than these physical items I’ve held on to. But, for some reason, in the past — I felt obligated to bring some trinket, some item back from every vacation to preserve the memory.

No more.

This year I’ve been  Aruba and the UK, and last year I went to Costa Rica — I’m pleased to say no souvenirs were purchased for me to keep. The memory is so much stronger than any mere totem could represent afterwords anyway.

Obvious…in hindsight. But it’s amazing how these old habits are so ingrained in our culture – in the way we talk about travel.

It’s time for at least this traveler to change the conversation.

Here’s to preserving memories through low-carbon digital photos in the future.