The Tradition
Justin and I have been dating for a long time now -- going on seven years. That won't seem very long to some of you who will be reading this, to which I say: you're hardly a representative sample. But for most people my age, seven years is a pretty long time.
Anyway, we established a travel tradition seven years ago. Once a year -- usually in January or February -- we go somewhere we've never been. The only characteristics we look for in a destination are new and affordable. I am a damn savvy travel planner, but we are aided in our quest by our associations. J has gotten us a number of buddy passes through his uncle, who's retired from Delta; I used to work for Hilton and continue to book our lodging at the employee rate.
The first year, we road tripped through South Carolina. In Columbia, we saw an excellent Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit at the local art museum. Then we bought vodka from a liquor store and sneaked it into a minor league hockey game. In Charleston, we watched dolphins from the pier, ate oysters Rockefeller, and rang in the new year with random strangers at a random bar. Our other trips (possibly in order, but don't hold my feet to the fire) have been to New York City*, Knoxville, Bozeman, MT, Santa Barbara/Los Angeles, and Chicago.
This year, we wanted to get J his first passport and an opportunity to use it. We've spent the past week wandering through Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo.
Wolven says I should write about it, and I do feel like journaling. We have to get packed up and checked out of our hotel, but if I still feel like journaling later, I'll tell you all about it.
*New York was a cheat. We'd both been before, more than once.
Anyway, we established a travel tradition seven years ago. Once a year -- usually in January or February -- we go somewhere we've never been. The only characteristics we look for in a destination are new and affordable. I am a damn savvy travel planner, but we are aided in our quest by our associations. J has gotten us a number of buddy passes through his uncle, who's retired from Delta; I used to work for Hilton and continue to book our lodging at the employee rate.
The first year, we road tripped through South Carolina. In Columbia, we saw an excellent Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit at the local art museum. Then we bought vodka from a liquor store and sneaked it into a minor league hockey game. In Charleston, we watched dolphins from the pier, ate oysters Rockefeller, and rang in the new year with random strangers at a random bar. Our other trips (possibly in order, but don't hold my feet to the fire) have been to New York City*, Knoxville, Bozeman, MT, Santa Barbara/Los Angeles, and Chicago.
This year, we wanted to get J his first passport and an opportunity to use it. We've spent the past week wandering through Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo.
Wolven says I should write about it, and I do feel like journaling. We have to get packed up and checked out of our hotel, but if I still feel like journaling later, I'll tell you all about it.
*New York was a cheat. We'd both been before, more than once.