(Kruiser’s Permanote Description: This column is intended to be a lighthearted, short-form way to frequently connect with our cherished VIP readers. Sometimes it will be serious. Sometimes it will be fun. Sometimes it will be a cornucopia of intellectual curiosities and fascinations. OK, maybe not so much the last one. Anyway, as this is a departure for me, I’m including this explanation at the top of each post for a while. Also, non-subscribers can see the first couple of paragraphs so I am in desperate need of filler until we get to the private stuff (subscribe here). Please remember that there is a standing invitation to ask me anything in the comments. Once a week, I’ll answer.)
FLY ME TO THE MOON…
I have been blessed with the good fortune to be able to travel for much of my career. I have gotten to see most (sorry, Dakotas) of the United States, and for that I will always be grateful. This is a magnificent country just to look at.
It has also been my privilege to travel abroad while entertaining U.S. troops. I’ve done that off and on throughout my career but in 2010 I pretty much circumnavigated the globe from February to October. I saw some beaches in the South Pacific that aren’t available to the traveling public that make post cards look dull. It was an amazing experience.
However — and I’m not complaining here — when you’re traveling for work you’re going where the people who are paying you tell you to go. Yes, I’ve been to a lot of places I always wanted to see doing that but there are many more I would like to see.
This is on me. I tended not to travel for vacations when I was on the road all of the time. If I had any time off, the last thing I wanted to see was an airport or a hotel. Now that I’m an empty-nest dad who spends most of his time writing, I wouldn’t mind doing some recreational traveling. There are many places in the world that I’ve been dreaming about going to for a very long time and it might be time to get around to knocking items off of this bucket list.
There is some overlap between this list and the one I offered as places I was considering being an expatriate. In fact, the first three on that list are 2-4 here. My number one travel goal has remained the same since I was a very young man.
Here ya go, my travel bucket list.
1. Machu Picchu
I can barely remember a time when I didn’t want to go here.
2. Kraków, Poland
The first part of my ancestral homeland tour. Everyone I’ve met who has been to Kraków says it’s the greatest city they’ve ever visited.
3. Dublin, Ireland
Part Two of the ancestral homeland trek. Honestly, after I visit the Guinness brewery and the Jameson distillery I might just stay.
4. Lofoten, Norway
I have just enough Norwegian blood in me to make this the last leg of an ancestral homeland trifecta.
5. Bali, Indonesia
This is Instagram’s doing. Sure, I was aware of Bali, but following a lot of travel accounts on IG made me AWARE of it. I have to see it.
6. Almost Anywhere in Switzerland
More of Instagram’s trickery.
7. St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
I’ve lost count of how many friends and relatives of mine have visited here and raved about it. St. Thomas seems to have been particularly popular as people were just beginning to travel again after the plague year. Sign me up.
There’s my bucket list, show me yours!