I've been fortunate to have the opportunity to take many of my dream vacations:
- Alaskan Cruise
- France
- South Africa
- Japan
- Washington DC
(I've done other travelling as well, but these are the ones that fall in to the "long-time dream" category that had nothing to do with social obligations such as visiting family.)
I'm perfectly happy to visit my dream destinations just once, and I don't feel the need to travel constantly. When I went to DC in the fall, it was my first "real trip" in 6 years, and my one (and probably only) trip to that area.
I stretch out my travel enjoyment by immersing myself completely in all of the phases:
Phase 1. Before: Dreaming / Planning / Anticipating (Good for a year or more of happy times)
Phase 2. During (The Trip Itself): Taking it all in, enjoying the fruits of the planning, and being able to leave with no regrets about things left undone.
Phase 3. After: The Fond Memories / Looking at Photos and Souveniers / Being able to relate when you hear stories about the place on the news, etc. (Good for a lifetime of happy memories and a much richer existence)
There are several more places I would like to visit.
I've been to NYC before, but never during the holiday season, and I think it would be really special to see the shops all decorated, to see the Rockettes at Radio City Hall, and perhaps take in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
I'd like to go to England/Ireland/Scotland, to see the lands of my ancestors, to see where JRR Tolkein lived & worked and what inspired him, and to visit the Princess Diana memorials.
But my biggest travel fantasy, the one place I feel almost an ache to visit before I die is ... believe it or not ... Cuba!
My Cuba obsession began after seeing the Bueno Vista Social Club on PBS. I'm a big jazz lover. [Surprise! I'm not ALL about money.] I have the CDs; when I play them they never fail to lift my spirits. I just pop in a CD, and before long, I'm fantasizing about sitting in a jazz club in Havana, sipping a mojito, surrounded by people of all colors of the rainbow who are enjoying life and each other's company.
Today Fidel Castro resigned. So ... I have allowed myself to become hopeful that someday before I am too old, relations between the USA and Cuba will thaw, the travel restrictions for US Citizens will be lifted (I'm not the sort to go on a "back door" illegal tour), and I'll be able to fulfill this travel fantasy of mine.
My DH knows of my dream (and now you guys know too), and he has promised that, if the travel restrictions are lifted, we WILL take a trip there together. In the meantime, I will enjoy my free travel fantasies, and will keep saving so that there will be no financial barriers to taking the trip when/if the legal barries are gone.
Viva Cuba!
Travel Fantasy to Become Reality?
February 19th, 2008 at 07:19 pm
February 19th, 2008 at 07:46 pm 1203450410
February 19th, 2008 at 08:15 pm 1203452155
February 19th, 2008 at 08:38 pm 1203453503
I am with you. I don't feel a constant need to travel, but some of my fondest memories were trips to east coast and other countries.
I have Australia, Egypt/Africa, Alaska on my list for the long term. But some of my favorite trips were much more frugal - New Orleans, DC, Boston, New York, etc.
Well here's to Cuba!
February 19th, 2008 at 10:18 pm 1203459480
February 19th, 2008 at 10:19 pm 1203459595
I find the whole restriction thing very hypocritical. If we are supposed to be a free country, we are supposed to be free to travel anywhere, including the countries with regimes/ideology our government does not approve. Soviet Union used to impose this kind of travel limitations on its citizens. It does not anymore, yet the US still does. What does this say about us?
February 20th, 2008 at 12:29 am 1203467387
February 20th, 2008 at 05:24 am 1203485076
Justme: I'm in love with Bora Bora, too!...LOL!...it is on my dream list!...
travel is definetely what I miss the most about my marriage (hey, we had cheap tickets! LOL!...and it's ok, ex hubby knows!...what HE misses most about our marriage is my cooking, so in a way we're even!)