It's hard to believe that our first real road trip was almost four years ago. Traveling from Virginia Beach to Maine and back again in my '96 Chevy Cavalier with a broken driver's side window over a span of four days was quite the adventure. A friend suggested we take along a GPS and offered to let me borrow one of his; however, I decided we'd be fine without one and what would be the fun in a road trip if we knew exactly where we were going. Of course, ever the planner we did actually book lodging along the way so we had to be at certain places each night along the way.
During the course of our trip we made stops at Dover Downs, Philadelphia (though we got lost and barely found our way to a cheese steak), West Chester, PA (where we spent our first night camping and canoeing), Salem & Boston, MA (where we stayed at a "haunted" inn and I enjoyed my first - several - shots of Patron Tequlia before missing the last train back to Salem and having to take a cab ride back), Southern Maine (got to visit some good friends of ours, ate lobster for the first time, and enjoyed a quaint pizza restaurant that I would gladly go back to again), and our final stop before the long ride home was Foxwoods Casino. Along the way we flew past NYC where I ran a 10.00 toll right in the middle of the Bronx and the pink fluffy bunny gang was born! I also fell in love with Connecticut due to the beautiful scenery we drove by, not to mention the state smelled good. Seriously, it actually smelled good! Fresh air is an amazing thing when the stench of Jersey has been seared into your nose. While there were many highlights to the trip and several laughs, there are two things I won't forget. Getting to spend time with people I adore in the most interesting of places and having to open my door every time we had to pay a damn toll. You can bet after this trip I broke down and had my window fixed.
We tried to recreate our road trip experience the following summer and decided to make a grand tour of the south since we had already had some northern exposure. Due to poor planning in the financial realm we ended up taking a few days in Savannah, GA which was absolutely wonderful though not quite the same experience as the summer before.
Check out one of my best photos from our northern road trip... taken from our campsite in West Chester, PA.
Throughout my life I have made mental notes of the different places I wanted to see and things I wanted to do. I clearly remember wanting to trek through the rain forests, which now just seems ridiculous considering my overwhelming fear of spiders of all sizes and bugs in general, and wanting to explore the pyramids of Egypt due to my fascination with their ancient culture and mummification process. Over time my notes have changed or have been forgotten. Several years back, after creating a mental travel list with Brian, I decided to actually write things down. This list included both travel destinations and a variety of things I wanted to. Most would call it a bucket list but I feel I'm far too young for that, so I refer to it as my life's to-do list. My original list was lost after my computer was mistakenly reformatted by one of Brian's friends and though I created a new one shortly after that I couldn't remember every item on the original and cannot find that copy now when I search for it. So, for the third time I have created a list - which I have posted below in case you're interested.
With my mom outside Harpo Studios after watching a taping of the Oprah Show during the 25th and final season!
What I find interesting about the list is how it has changed over the years and I'm sure will continue to change. Items get marked off as I travel and seek out these items each year (which always makes me a little giddy) and new things get added as I learn of new places to visit or get interested in new activities to try. Some remain constant because they will take a while to get crossed off. Keeping track of my life's to-do list allows me to choose new travel destinations and different activities to seek out instead of always going back to the same old places each year. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have my favorites. Whether I've been there multiple times (ex. Las Vegas, Disney World) or I enjoyed it so much the first time I can't wait to go back (ex. New Orleans, Denver, Savannah) I almost feel guilty going back to the same places because it takes away from the opportunities I have to travel elsewhere.
Brian & I rafting on the Arkansas River in Buena Vista, Colorado
I encourage everyone to keep a life's to-do list. It doesn't have to have a theme and it doesn't have to be travel related, it can be anything you have an interest in. Keeping a list allows you to have a variety of goals instead of just living for the weekends, getting a higher salary, buying a house, or raising a family. If you don't already have a list created take some time to jot down a few things today.
Sunset off the coast of Clearwater, FL
Here is my latest list... can't wait to see what items I cross-off next!
I'm keeping my first post of the New Year simple with a picture from my trip to Denver two years ago. I found many of the views in Colorado to be amazing and majestic; in fact, my first view of the Rocky Mountains on our way to go whitewater rafting brought me to tears. This one, taken from the visitor center at Red Rocks, is one of my favorites and I often find myself coming back to it every time I look at my Denver album. Enjoy! I wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that you each have experiences that taken your breath away and leave you amazed.
