Its been five years since I've been overseas, and with the crisis seemingly easing, I'm getting that travel bug again. I'm still the only one in my immediate family that's ever left the country, and that's not gonna change anytime soon.
My state is roughly 300 miles wide, and 150 miles from north to south, so there's a lot to see just here. There are vast parts of my state that I've never been to, including a huge national forest filled with wildlife (and reportedly, Bigfoot monsters). :)
2 Weeks Of Vacation Is Plenty, Right?
It's an average-sized state, and there are many that are much larger. It takes roughly 6 hours to drive from one end to the other if the traffic is light and you floor it. At 46,055 sq miles, my state is a touch smaller than England's 50,346 sq miles for example. The average job in the US only offers two weeks of vacation per year, and some employers make you work an entire year before you qualify for even that pittance.
So there just isn't time for the lengthy "holidays" (vacations to us), that many Europeans partake of. Not to mention that the streets actually aren't paved with gold here, with half of the country of 330 million souls, living in poverty.
So there isn't a whole lot of money (or time) available to go jetting around Europe. The only reason I went to Germany back in 2017 was because I won a fellowship and they paid for a lot of it, otherwise I'd have never gone.
Stats show that a staggering 40% of Americans have never left the United States, and a surprising 11% haven't even left their home state! Half of Americans don't even have a passport, and I'll never forget the puzzled looks I got back in 2017 when I asked around about how to get one.
Turns out nobody I knew had one...
But after a lot of effort, I finally did get my passport and traveled to Europe. After five months of living in Germany, it was time to come home. There really is no place like, returning to familiar sights, sounds and tastes.
However, that wanderlust is creeping up on me again, and I'm reminded of some of the places I'd like to cross off my bucket list before heading to that big ol' decentralized blockchain in the sky.
Ayers Rock
- No, I'm not calling it by whatever unpronounceable name they've given it, but that's always been a spot I'd like to see. I hear you can no longer climb it, and that's a bummer if true. But to see it and touch it would be surreal.You have this giant thing rising up out of a flat expanse of desert, that's beguiled visitors ever since it was discovered by modern man. Australia in general is on my list of go-to spots, as the country is filled with natural beauty and amazing people.
I like to joke with Aussies that I'm going there to start a kangaroo breeding program, and to remove that Roo fence. Just imagine millions of them hopping around throughout Sydney! The thought brings a smile to my face, and someday I might actually get there.
Las Vegas, California and the West Coast
- I like to say I was born on the "wrong" coast, as my heart has always been out west. I'm more in sync with that California and Pacific Northwest attitude, than the cutthroat vibe that exists here "back East."Even though I was raised in the city, I've always felt the call of high places, wildlife, and lots of big trees.
The west coast offers all of that and more, including a culture of giving and selflessness which syncs with my core beliefs. I should have been born in the foothills of the cascades, near the redwood forests of northern California, or in the high desert of Nevada.
The UK and Ireland (Both Ireland's, there's two)
- With the best accents in the world, England has always been a country close to my heart. Filled with castles and packed with history, you can't throw a rock without hitting something old (or even Meesterboom, who's not old... I don't think. But he does have a solid-gold chrome-dome which attracts flying objects) :)I'd love to see Stonehenge before they start building McDonald's and a Walmart right next to it. They've already run a scar of a road right through the damn thing, so God only knows whats next. I've always wanted to kiss that Blarney stone thing, that is until I found out that the locals piss on it and then sit back and laugh as the clueless tourists smack their lips all over it. :)
And then there's that whole Ireland thing where England just invaded part of it and then said; "fuck it, we'll stop here" I've never understood why they don't finish the job (I'm joking, of course, settle down). So today we have two Ireland's northern and southern, kinda like North Korea, South Korea.
So I've always wondered; if I'm standing in Belfast, can I say I'm in Ireland? Very strange situation going on over there, but I'm sure they'll get it "sorted" out sooner or later. The grass is so green over there that I swear there must be a brigade of Irish people hired to spray green food coloring over the island for the tourists.
And that's about it for now, I could write another 10,000 words easy, so we'll save the rest for another edition. But I'll be so glad to get my happy feet tapping along on foreign soil. In Germany, my British friends told me that Liverpool has the best hookers in the UK and at a price of only 5 Pounds, you can't go wrong! :)
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