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.
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!
THAT FEELING!
Okay, so it’s two words, not one. But we were told to interpret this project how we wanted, so I’m using two words for this post. Deal with it.
The best way I can describe my infatuation with travel can be best described by that feeling I get. No matter what your passion is – travel, cooking, sports, running, music, theater – we all get that same feeling. You know the feelings I’m talking about. The feelings of excitement. Nervousness. Anticipation. Enthusiasm. Anxiousness. Happiness. Elation. Excitement. Hope.
I get it every time. And it doesn’t matter what type of trip it is. It can be a short weekend away. A one week trip to the beach. A few weeks out of the country. Or a year-long RTW trip. Every single time I’m about to take off and hit the open road, I have that feeling.
There are so many things I love about travel. I love exploring new cities and countries. I love trying new food. I love meeting new people. I love hopping on that next bus, train or plane, or jumping into my car and heading out of dodge. I love the down times and relaxation. I love standing atop a mountain. I love experiencing history. I love creating new memories.
But the one thing that keeps me coming back for more is that feeling I get right before I’m about to leave. It usually hits a day or two before. I start getting excited. I start getting anxious (in a good way). My blood pressure rises. When we’re within 24 hours of leaving, forget about it. I can’t work. I can’t sleep. I can’t think about anything else but leaving. About what’s to come. About the adventure we’re about to go on.
I’m like a junkie, yearning for that next fix. If we don’t have a trip on the horizon, I get restless. I don’t function well. I don’t feel right. So I read. I research. I plan. And I wait for that feeling to come back again.
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.
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.
The “Best of” for Week 4
Every week we’ll be gathering some of our favorite posts from the 30 Days of Indie Travel Project. We’re extremely excited that so many people have participated in our project, and the great submissions just keep rolling in. Here are some of our favorite posts from the fourth week of the Indie 30 Project.
This wasn’t just about getting juicy stories, we promise – but if Diana’s story of a nearly-Hollywood ending in Croatia doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, then… Well, then you’re probably not a girl. (Or a rom-com writer.) Seriously, though, this one held my attention right up to the end, hoping for the best.
I was immediately drawn into Zak’s technology post by the opening line: “I once hauled a typewriter through airport security.” I don’t know this guy, but I like him already.
Amid the expected items for which Katie is thankful this year are things like “indoor plumbing and central heat,” as well as “gluten free hamburger buns in Finland.” Sometimes, folks, it’s the little things.
Olivia’s thankful for lots of things, but I particularly love the photo she posted and the note underneath it: “Hello, world. I love you.”
Not only did Erin’s mother instill a “we’re not lost, we’re on an adventure” attitude in her children, she also had the good sense to tell her daughter “you need to marry a man who wants to travel.” Major props to Erin’s mom.
My favorite part of Erin’s “wanderlust” post is what her photo means to her. She says, “this picture is dear to my heart because it reminds me that there are no boundaries and limits in my life. Any goal I have, any dream I set my sights on, any country I want to visit, is completely possible. These are not just my dreams, they are my realities.” Amen to that!
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.
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.
