Oh, the places you'll go

Back in my youth (yes, I'm going to consider "my youth" behind me now), I created a "vacation destinations" list of a dozen cool places I wanted to go.  I always wanted to be a traveler and just never had much of a chance, but that didn't mean I couldn't dream.  The high school choir trip to Boston was pretty great (and it really was!  They crammed in a lot of good stuff that us high schoolers didn't appreciate as much as we should have), and I loved our family vacations to Colorado, but I always wanted more.  I wanted to cross oceans and explore and discover.

One quick observation - the fact that I made a list for this...well, I still make lists for everything, so at least I was being true to myself.

I regret never doing Honors College London/Paris program because it didn't "fit into my accounting schedule" and "cost too much."  Must impress appropriate priorities and experiences on impressionable young minds whenever presented with such an opportunity.

You know what snagged spots on the old "vacation destinations" list?  Well, I live in one of them now, so that's saying something.  And I've been to NYC four times and am heading back next month.  And I've also managed to knock out Hawaii and San Fran/Napa/Sonoma:

 

And Las Vegas (family Christmas vacay 2004!) and New Orleans and Germany:

And places I didn't even know I wanted to go, like Chicago (what a great city!) and Provincetown and Prague:

And my dreams have only expanded.  I want to go to places I'd never considered before, like Chile and Hong Kong.  I want to soak up the world.  I find travel to be eye-opening and life-changing.  And also potentially hazardous to your health - picked up hepatitis A and typhoid shots today in preparation for Bryan Family Christmas Cruise.  Don't worry, we're not sailing anywhere super-scary.  Although this might prove to be scary. 

Go see the world, people!  It does a body (and soul) good!

If you're curious, the widely varied original "vacation destinations" list included D.C., NYC, San Fran/Napa/Sonoma, Hawaii, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Virgin Islands (what??  Something must have inspired me...), London, Ireland, Italy, Australia, and Germany.  Some very specific, some very vague (as in, you know, an entire country or even continent), and altogether remarkably random.  I can live my life without visiting the Virgin Islands, but you can bet I'm going to cross London, Ireland, Italy, and Australia off the list.