Related to [[Type 2 fun]], there's a broader concept of trips being "fun in retrospect." Some studies show that travelers report higher levels of happiness before and after a trip than during it. Feelings of excited anticipation are the likely cause of the pre-trip happiness. And reliving memories and experiences accounts for the higher levels of happiness afterwards. So why is there a lull *during* the experience itself? Trips often aren't nearly as fun in the moment than they seem they were later. That's because we tend to overlook the more boring and less memorable parts of travel—such as the time we spent sitting on the train—and focus on the better parts. Our brain compresses those moments, which aren't happiness-inducing at the time, and expand the significance of the "wow" moments of a trip.[^1] <!-- should this connect to another note that clearly lays about why you can derive more enjoyment from your memories of a trip than what you got during the trip itself. In fact, maybe this note should be renamed, since this mentions more than just "in retrospect"? Maybe this should be about the lull *during* the trip itself.--> <!--But this also relates to the concept of sentimentality and nostalgia.--> [^1]: This relates to [[Book Notes - The Art of Travel - Alain de Botton#^03d518|a concept mentioned in The Art of Travel]]: "One's anticipation naturally focuses on the fun parts of travel, conveniently forgetting all the other bits (waiting, standing in lines, aimlessly looking out a window, etc) required to get where you're going.""