This is part of BootsnAll’s 30 Days of Indie Travel project, a daily blogging challenge with a prompt for every day in November 2011. Check out the prompt at the bottom of this post to find out how you can participate!
2011 was an amazing year of travel for me. I took a small ship cruise to Panama and Costa Rica, spent a week in Portugal, watched friends get married in northern Michigan wine country, visited family in Florida, saw the stunningly beautiful country of Switzerland, fell madly in love with Berlin, traveled to Oregon for BootsnAll’s annual meeting, took a girls weekend trip to Kansas City with my best friend, and explored coastal California.
So what does 2012 hold? At this point, I really don’t know. My husband was laid off from his job in late October, throwing our plans into the air. With no idea what our financial situation will look like, or even where we’ll be calling home in the next few months, we’re hesitant to make commitments. In June, we celebrate our five year wedding anniversary, for which we planned to renew our vows in the south of France. We’re holding out hope we can still make it happen.
If life returns to normal by then, I also hope to plan a big trip in the fall (perhaps hiking across Scotland in October) and at the very end of the year; I’d love to get back to Iceland – maybe for New Year’s Eve – though I also have Chile on the brain, along with Jordan or Iran, or possibly Southeast Asia.
Going into the new year without a single confirmed ticket makes me feel a little sad, but I also feel a bit excited at all the possibilities left open. If a great fare sale pops up, I can jump on it. If a friend returns from a trip gushing about a destination, I might decide to go. A random photo, a compelling video, a special event, or even an amazing meal might motivate me to visit a particular place next. And with no set plans, I can go where those whims take me.
Got any suggestions? Where are you going in 2012?
30 Days of Indie Travel Project: How to Participate
We’re inviting bloggers from around the world (that means you, too!) to join us in a daily blogging effort designed to reflect on how our travel experiences over the last year – or whenever – have shaped us and our view of the world. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.
We’ll share some of our favorites via Twitter and Facebook throughout November, as well as a round-up article at the end of the month, so if you’re playing along make sure to let us know – use the #indie30 hashtag on Twitter, and link to the 30 Days of Indie Travelpage in your post so we’ll be able to find it.
Find out all of the 30 Days of Indie Travel blogging prompts so far – it’s never too late to join in the fun!
Prompt #30: 2012 Ticket
Photo by SerenityRose