If you like Pina Coladas:
Something absolutely wonderful is happening to me, and I love it: I'm mapping out future trips/adventures!
There is currently a large-scale wall map hanging on the wall beside my bed with roughly 60 destinations pinpointed in various areas of the US. Including Nat'l monuments, Nat'l Parks, man-made buildings and cities, beaches, rivers, mountains, and more, I've done research after research and I've marked every place I am going to go in the US.
The way I've set up my map is this: the places where I've lived, visited for a significant amount of time, or where family lives is permanent marker-ed with a big star; the roads I've driven are permanent marker-ed en route from start to finish; the places I have YET to go to are post-it noted with little blank arrows. The purpose of the little blank arrows are to write exactly what I want to see in that area and why I want to see it (i.e: Albuquerque arrow has "a picture of a sign and me with a confused look on my face"). :) The other reason why I'm using post-its is because when I visit there and see the sites I want to see, I can easily peel back the post-its and replace them with permanent marker stars to symbolize a permanent memory!
I've spent three months pin-pointing, reading, deciding, planning. Next Summer my first trip will be based in Wyoming. Zuzzie's family lives out there and Eric and I are going to fly back here with her and stay for two weeks. Not only are we going to see her family, however, but we will see sights I've pinpointed, too! :D From Greybull, WY, Yellowstone Nat'l Park (I've been there already, but I want to go again) is only a two hour drive, Grand Tetons are only a 2.5 hour drive, Devil's Tower is only a 4 hour drive, Mount Rushmore is only a 5 hour drive (as is the Wind Caves Nat'l Park) and the Badlands aren't too far from that! That's FOUR POST-ITS off my map within the year! Plus the smaller sites in FL I'm going to knock off by 2k9 (swimming in the Gulf, white beach tanning, 10,000 island Big Cypress Reserve kayaking, watching the sun rise on the east coast of FL and watching the same sun set on the west coast).
I'm not looking at it like it's a race, or anything like that. The map just serves as a constant reminder of where I want to go and the things in my PERSONAL (not professional) life that I want to accomplish. I think sometimes I get the two of them so confused that I end up tired, frustrated, and worn out. So no more of that shit. I'm a very visual learner, thinker, and planner. I like to be able to have my hands on ideas and be able to put them into action. Putting this map together was my first step! Sam laminated for me at her work so I will never damage the ink and map itself. :D
I figure the last step of this process will be completeing the last of my post-it/permanent marker replacing and taking down the map entirely, only to put up a similar one I've had laminated as well: a world map. Then on to bigger and more expensive trips! I just want to start closer to home, that's all.I think a lot of Americans overlook what America has to offer and look elsewhere for something more grand. Sure, if I get the opportunity to go over seas I'll take it in a heart beat...but for now, I'm working towards conquering the US first.
But seriously, for whoever reads this, you have no idea how happy this makes me. I know it may seem ridiculous, far-fetched, childish, whatever...but I refuse to leave this earth without seeing most of what it has to offer. It seriously baffles me how some people spend their entire lives in the same 50-mile radius in which they were born. Different strokes for different folks, sure, but this is a huge place. I don't want to live my life just hearing stories of penguins, fall leaves, great waterfalls, bear catching salmon in the streams, stalagmites, craters, volcanoes, ocean reefs, canyons, mountains, mardi gras, the great salt lake, the golden gate bridge. That would fucking suck! I want to see them myself!
and I will. :)
There is currently a large-scale wall map hanging on the wall beside my bed with roughly 60 destinations pinpointed in various areas of the US. Including Nat'l monuments, Nat'l Parks, man-made buildings and cities, beaches, rivers, mountains, and more, I've done research after research and I've marked every place I am going to go in the US.
The way I've set up my map is this: the places where I've lived, visited for a significant amount of time, or where family lives is permanent marker-ed with a big star; the roads I've driven are permanent marker-ed en route from start to finish; the places I have YET to go to are post-it noted with little blank arrows. The purpose of the little blank arrows are to write exactly what I want to see in that area and why I want to see it (i.e: Albuquerque arrow has "a picture of a sign and me with a confused look on my face"). :) The other reason why I'm using post-its is because when I visit there and see the sites I want to see, I can easily peel back the post-its and replace them with permanent marker stars to symbolize a permanent memory!
I've spent three months pin-pointing, reading, deciding, planning. Next Summer my first trip will be based in Wyoming. Zuzzie's family lives out there and Eric and I are going to fly back here with her and stay for two weeks. Not only are we going to see her family, however, but we will see sights I've pinpointed, too! :D From Greybull, WY, Yellowstone Nat'l Park (I've been there already, but I want to go again) is only a two hour drive, Grand Tetons are only a 2.5 hour drive, Devil's Tower is only a 4 hour drive, Mount Rushmore is only a 5 hour drive (as is the Wind Caves Nat'l Park) and the Badlands aren't too far from that! That's FOUR POST-ITS off my map within the year! Plus the smaller sites in FL I'm going to knock off by 2k9 (swimming in the Gulf, white beach tanning, 10,000 island Big Cypress Reserve kayaking, watching the sun rise on the east coast of FL and watching the same sun set on the west coast).
I'm not looking at it like it's a race, or anything like that. The map just serves as a constant reminder of where I want to go and the things in my PERSONAL (not professional) life that I want to accomplish. I think sometimes I get the two of them so confused that I end up tired, frustrated, and worn out. So no more of that shit. I'm a very visual learner, thinker, and planner. I like to be able to have my hands on ideas and be able to put them into action. Putting this map together was my first step! Sam laminated for me at her work so I will never damage the ink and map itself. :D
I figure the last step of this process will be completeing the last of my post-it/permanent marker replacing and taking down the map entirely, only to put up a similar one I've had laminated as well: a world map. Then on to bigger and more expensive trips! I just want to start closer to home, that's all.I think a lot of Americans overlook what America has to offer and look elsewhere for something more grand. Sure, if I get the opportunity to go over seas I'll take it in a heart beat...but for now, I'm working towards conquering the US first.
But seriously, for whoever reads this, you have no idea how happy this makes me. I know it may seem ridiculous, far-fetched, childish, whatever...but I refuse to leave this earth without seeing most of what it has to offer. It seriously baffles me how some people spend their entire lives in the same 50-mile radius in which they were born. Different strokes for different folks, sure, but this is a huge place. I don't want to live my life just hearing stories of penguins, fall leaves, great waterfalls, bear catching salmon in the streams, stalagmites, craters, volcanoes, ocean reefs, canyons, mountains, mardi gras, the great salt lake, the golden gate bridge. That would fucking suck! I want to see them myself!
and I will. :)