Well this will wrap up my re-posting of my previous wishlist; time to write some new stuff!
Wow, time can get away from you. Has it really been more than 3 months since my last blog?? Well, another Christmas has come and gone, and we had the best ski trip ever in early February, so my excuse is “I’ve been busy”. We went to Killington, Vermont, if you’re curious, and it was the week of “Winter Storm Nemo” (since when did they start naming blizzards and nor’easters, and why random animated character names?). It was bluebird skiing 2 days and snowing hard the third, my son proposed to his girlfriend (I see wedding planning blogs from the Dad’s perspective in my future), and the first time I’ve been skiing since I lost 80 pounds. I’ll just say I skied very, very well.
So back into the blogging groove. I hope you like my new theme, and I hope that it energizes me to … actually blog. I have a few new activities for blog fodder, namely ballroom dancing and home brewing, but how about we wrap up my travel wishlist blog that I left hangin’ out there the last three months. In today’s 6th, and final, installment, I cover all the places I’d like to visit outside the US, other than Europe since I blogged about the a couple of installments ago.
- Caribbean: outer/leeward islands – we’re settling into something of a “reverse snowbird” mentality when it comes to vacation. We’d like to spend the winters where there are mountains and snow and with skis strapped to our feet, while come summer we like to head to sun and sand. I’ve mentioned our trips to the Bahamas before, but I’d love also to see some of the outer leeward islands, like Montserrat, Guadeloupe, and (in particular) Martinique.
- Jerusalem – I think most Christians aspire to visit the Holy Land, at least they would if it were calm and peaceful. It actually does seem to have been at peace for a little while now, albeit uneasily. While we are typically the anti-tour sort of traveler, this seems like the sort of destination it might be good to enlist the aid of a local resource. In thinking about that and researching, I came across this site: http://www.toursbylocals.com
- Buenos Aires, Argentina – It was on my list before Pope Francis was selected. We came close to going to the “Paris of South America” a few years ago, and I even bought the Frommer’s Argentina book (ah, yes, one of the last paper books I ever bought). Something else came up. Like the Great Recession, I don’t know. Anyway, it’s still on my list, and with renewed consideration because of the Pope. And because Lori and I can tango now!
- Polynesia: Fiji, Tahiti – This is my idea of a “trip of a lifetime”: crazy remote, palm tree jungles, huts built out on the water, umbrella drinks. It’s not a high priority, but I’d still like to go…one day. That make it wishlist eligible, right?
- Japan – Mostly I’d love to see Tokyo, but there are a few other sites and to-dos, like Kyoto, Osaka, and riding the shinkansen.
- Singapore – A friend of mine has an office here and spends lots of his time in Singapore. In addition to the ArtScience Musuem and the Esplanade, I’d love just to hang out in this ultra-clean city.
- New Zealand – The apparent home to some incredible natural beauty, as showcased in the travel video “The Lord of the Rings”, New Zealand also has some nifty looking cities. But when I think of New Zealand, for some reason I think of really warm, friendly people–like Ireland. I’m not sure why that is, as I’ve not met that many New Zealanders; I guess they just have a really good reputation for being gregarious. I’ll have to go check that out…
