The mystery of stars, time and large distance travel..?

Time is not an illusion, but it is also not a constant, fixed, reference across the universe. Time is relative, so it is different for all observers. If you travel to a distant star, it will certainly not be where you saw it when you left here. What you are seeing when you observe that star is the past history of the star within the reference frame of your present. Their past and your present can be seen simultaneously at this location in space. From their location in space, they would see our past within their present. If they decided to make the journey here, then by the time that they arrive, their present and our present would be essentially identical, since we would share the (approximate) identical location in space. They would not arrive in our past, even though that is what they "saw" when they left their home. In order to accomplish that, they would have to travel faster than the light that carries the information describing that time, and they cannot exceed the speed of light. They would have to, in a sense, arrive before they left. Time and space are therefore intimately related.