One Place To Visit Before I Die

I've committed to participating in #Trust30, an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Each day you get a new message/task and can write about it in a journal, in a blog, on Twitter, even Facebook as long as you write something.

Travel by Chris Guillebeau

If we live truly, we shall see truly. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?

(Author: Chris Guillebeau)


My immediate response to this question is Ireland. After further pondering, it's still Ireland. Sure, I'd love to go to Russia, China, Australia and most of Europe but Ireland is where my roots are. Both sides of my family can be traced back there (along with a lot of other places as I'm a true American mutt) but it's the one place where I think I'd feel most at home. Well, that and Switzerland as my German-Swiss genes make me a militant rule follower.

The funny thing is that I've talked about going for years with a lot of different people but have yet to actually make the trip. Part of that is because I use so much vacation for Parrot Head events and other annual pilgrimages with my friends that I don't (choose not to?) have the ten days to two weeks that I think I'd need to fully explore the country.

It's also the money. Airfare, hotel, bus and train passes (no way am I driving when I'm there), food and drink. It can add up to a lot more than one of my week long cruises. I keep hoping The Rocket Scientist gets sent there for work so I can tag along and at least save on the hotel. But, he's not making that happen.

What will I do to make sure I get there? Hmmm. I guess it would take forsaking some of my traditional trips for a year to save both vacation time and money. And, finding the right companion(s) to travel with. My dream itinerary is rather simple. Guinness Brewery, of course, Waterford to see where my people came from. Visit as many castles and museums as I can fit in.

But, mostly, allow for plenty of pub time. I dream of hanging with the locals, enjoying a few draughts, maybe throwing some darts and soaking in the current culture and environment. And, I hope I'm not the ugly American in the process.

My travel schedule for 2012 is nearly fully booked. I know, we're not even through half of 2011 yet but that's how it works in my world. I'll look at 2013 and see what events I can take a year off from and start putting some funds into a travel account with the strict rule that it's only an Ireland travel account.

We'll see how it goes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TV At Its Finest

I was talking to someone today who didn’t know who Bob Newhart was. I cut him some slack because he’s a youngster and didn’t grow up in the U.S. I told him about The Bob Newhart show and how it became a college drinking game and about Newhart, "Hi, I'm Larry; this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl." He was going to go to Wikipedia and do some research. The conversation got me thinking. Back in the day (like when dinosaurs were alive and I was young and there were only four channels on TV), we caught a lot of reruns of what are now considered classic TV. Especially, if you were a latchkey kid like I was, there wasn’t a lot going on in the afternoon/early evening so it was either soap operas or reruns unless you were allowed to be outside and play. And, of course, during summer vacation you had even more time to watch the boob tube. Here’s what I remember watching during those years: Gilligan’s Island, Big Valley (I’m still looking for my very own N
Read more

This Is How Fat Thinks

I was in Vegas over the weekend and Thursday night found me sitting at the bar in Margaritaville with some friends. We were having some drinks, talking to strangers and watching both the baseball and football games. All was well with the world. Out of nowhere, a young (20s?) guy came up behind me and snapped a selfie with me in it. He moved away before I could even get out "What was that about?" Less than 30 seconds later, another young guy came up and did the same. He also bounded away before I could stop him. My very first thought was that they were doing a photo scavenger hunt and one of the items was a picture with the fattest woman they found. Hell, could even have been the fattest person they saw if I let my mind take it further. Now, assuming a scavenger hunt, there are other reasons they could have wanted a picture of me. Maybe they needed a ginger, maybe it was someone with their hair in braids, maybe it was someone in the brightest colored shirt they could fin
Read more