Throwback Thursday: London 2003

Ten years ago today I was flying home from my first trip ever overseas. I'd just spent 12 glorious days in London with a group of my peers who were participating in cultural immersion course for college credit. (The group was made up of six high school seniors, one high school junior, one adult learner, one retired school teacher, and two chaperones.) We enjoyed a delicious itinerary crammed full of British culture including, visits to the St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, the V&A, four (count 'em - four!) theatre performances, a bus trip to Windsor, train rides to Canterbury and Salisbury (plus bus to Stonehenge), and more. I'm simultaneously exhausted and exhilarated now just thinking about it. 

It was such an important trip for me that helped define the next five years of my life. Without this experience, I doubt I would have spent a (very important in so many ways) semester in Ireland or spent a winter working in London after graduating from college. Although I haven't been abroad since returning home from working in London in spring 2008, and even though my passport actually expired this past December (sooooo bad - must renew sometime this year, must renew sometime this year) I still identify as a traveler. Hopefully some time soon, money and schedules will make it possible for another trip overseas.

This is me with some costumed reenactors at the Tower of London. This is why I will never fit into my prom dress ever again - because I was a waif in high school . . . a waif! Also, obviously the London humidity did not react with my hair at all. Ha.Bahahahahaha.

During this trip, we were each working on a special project for our course work. My project focused on English costume/dress from the Norman Invasion - the coronation of Elizabeth II - aka, the focus of the trip for me was to look at all the pretty dresses. Oh to be at Kensington Palace or the V&A again, notebook in hand, furiously scribbling notes about design features. Such happy memories.

In the green behind the House of Parliament.

In front of Stonehenge.

Travel's a pretty amazing thing. It brings out our best and bravest and also exposes our worst (especially in the face of being: tired, cranky, hungry, etc. We keep the lessons we learn from our travels our entire life and our wanders help us become thoughtful and informed participants in society. As Edna St. Vincent Millay so wisely wrote, "And sure this isn't a train I wouldn't take, no matter where it's going."

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Ada on Pinterest

 

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Why We Work Hard

I work (relatively) hard not because I believe in the American dream (although I do) but because I believe it makes my life easier.

There's one obvious benefit to hard work: mo' money, mo' money. As much as it pains me to admit, money really does make life easier and can contribute to our happiness . . .  at least up to $75,000 annually. After all, it's pretty nice to not have to stress out about paying bills and to be able to sometimes not buy only the store brand at the grocery store and hard work's about the only way I've found to avoid going into shock when both my health insurance and car insurance bills are due in the same month.

Of course, the downside of hard work is less free time and that means every once in a while we need a break from the daily grind if we want to avoid total burnout. Last week's trip to Michigan, provided me with a much needed break (although I did spend much of my time away knit, knit, knitting for the Etsy shop). Then, as is apt to happen after the excitement of airports, meals out, and time away, returning to said daily grind proved a little rough during the first days back in the office.

Yesterday, when I sat down for my daily four hours of morning office work (for thee day job) I found myself loathing the whole experience. I checked the clock every couple minutes, each time horrified at how little time had passed. There were so many other things I wanted to be doing (although now that I think of it, I can't really name any of those pressing, urgent things that were consuming me yesterday morning - maybe checking Pinterest?) and the last thing I felt like doing was answering emails and editing contracts. After an interminable 9 o'clock hour, suddenly I found it was nearly noon and then it was lunchtime and time for me to turn to more personal projects.

As I wrapped up afternoon finishing up a glut of housework such as watering plants, finally taking down the outdoor Christmas lights, and cleaning the bathroom, I couldn't help but feel pleased that I'd stuck with my morning work, despite the initial unpleasantness. If I'd putzed away the morning instead of doing the office work in the morning, I'd have had to have done the office work in the afternoon and then I'd still have a dirty bathroom today.

So I believe in hard work because it generally leads to nice things, like clean bathrooms. Hard work helps us reach our goals, it inspires us to be more ambitious, and I do think it makes us happier in the end. As much as I wanted to scroll through Pinterest yesterday morning, the long term result of opting for social media over actually work would have been cranky, disappointed Ada last night. 

The brilliant C. Hope Clark (if you're a writer and not subscribed to her free weekly e-newsletter Funds for Writers, do it now!!) wrote this argument for hard work and full days in her latest editorial:

"When you land contracts, for magazines and publishers, you are temporarily owned by editors. They expect you to jump, and jump with polish. When your writing career speeds up, people expect you to perform.

"Start now, while you're in your temporary lull, and develop a habit. Create projects. Assign them goals. And show up to work everyday. Because in the future, you'll be expected to hit the ground running, and that's hard to do if you've just been lying around." 
 
So when my dearest pal, procrastination, swings by for an impromptu date, I like to turn up "Hard Work" from Fame the Musical (so cheesy, I know, but near and dear to my heart because it was the first musical I ever saw in London - in the Aldwych Theatre on the Stand in April 2003) and get down to business.



Happy Monday!
 

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Gone and Back Again

I assure you, I did not fall off the face of the Earth this week. Honest.

I've been off in the lower peninsula of Michigan with my mom visiting my brother and his plus one (Ashley). While I intended to post a couple times over the course of the trip, I got really involved with doing nothing during my downtime and the aforementioned blog posts only got written in my head. Bad on me.

I got back to cabin in the late afternoon yesterday after a full travel day that started a 4 a.m. (CST) so I'm having a less than stellar day today while I get my land legs under me again after a week at (the proverbial) sea. Funny, how a five day trip always really amounts to a seven day vacation because the day both before and after coming and going end up blurry messes.

It's a 15+ hour drive to Grand Rapids, MI where brother lives, so we opted to fly from Minneapolis. While flying does cut down the amount of actual travel time (the flight is just over an hour), it still ended up being a 13+ hour journey from my doorstep to brother's on Saturday between three hours of car time, a 2.5 hour shuttle ride, the hour flight, and various "connecting" time. *yawn*

View from our MSP gate on Saturday

At the Meijer Gardens on Tuesday

Grand Rapids isn't exactly a tourist hot spot, but we managed to find quite a few public attractions to visit. On Sunday, once brother got back from work mid-afternoon, we headed over to the Meyer May house just east downtown. The house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1900s and is now maintained by the Steelcase Corporation. After enduring what seemed like an excruciatingly long audiovisual presentation on the house's restoration, we got to tour the house's stunning interior. That said, I forgot my camera back at the apartment. Oops.

On Sunday, we also baked a delicious (if I do say so myself) loaf of Irish Soda Bread to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. 

There was quite a bit of downtime during our visit and took advantage of the quiet time spent chatting and watching Netflix to build up my inventory of owl coffee sleeves for the Etsy shop. 

I also introduced their cat to the pleasures of playing with yarn. He loved watching my mom and I knit! (If you follow me on Instagram -adawrites - you already know some of this.)

On Monday, my mom and I headed over to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in downtown. If you were naming underappreciated presidents, Ford (a Grand Rapids native) would probably top the list, but the museum is actually quite fascinating. We were also lucky enough to visit when a selection of Madeleine Albright's extensive pin collection (which she wore on state visits to communicate her emotions about a particular meeting or issue) was on display in the temporary exhibit space.

We were treated to some pretty spectacularly snowy/miserable weather during our visit, but on Tuesday we braved the crappy weather and headed over to Meijer Gardens to view the special butterfly exhibit. I took way too many butterfly photos, so I'll write more on that in another post. 

Outside on the garden grounds. Yuck!

We made it to Marie Catrib's (a place Andy and I meant to hit up on our last visit) for supper on Tuesday. Just as we were finishing our delicious dinner (the cafe specializes in imaginative sandwiches) the sun finally popped out for a beautiful magenta, purple and gold sunset. 

Waiting for a table at Marie Catrib's

On Wednesday, Mom and I headed over to the Grand Rapids Public Museum to enjoy their hodge-podge of exhibits. (Sadly, Furniture City - a highlight from the last trip - was closed for improvements.) A high point of this year's visit was the special exhibit on the Titanic, which featured artifacts that have been recovered from the shipwreck. If this exhibit ever rolls into your town, I highly recommend it.

Main hall at the Grand Rapids Public Library

Although our flight on Thursday morning was delayed slightly for de-icing, we made all of our connections easy-peasy yesterday.

Waiting to be de-iced at the Gerald R. Ford Airport

Whenever I return from a trip, I'm always reminded of that old quip: North, South, East, West; Home's Still Best.
  

P.S. All that time knitting gave me an opportunity to work on designing some new items for the Etsy shop. Hint: if you're a tea drinker, you'll love them. Check them out!

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March Forth!

Sooooo  .  . . who else out there is stunned that it's March?! I've heard mention of just how speedy this February was on at least two blogs and in several Facebook posts this morning, so I'm know I'm not alone in my incredulity. February may be a short month, but I'm pretty sure we only got a half February this year. Ah well, no reason to dwell on the time that's already flown by. Now's the time to march forth . . . into March!


While March has a reputation for being rather blustery and harsh at times (in lion, out like a lamb, eh?), I've always had a soft spot for this month. To me, it's a month filled momentum as we gear up spring and summer. Granted, all that momentum pretty much falls flat on its face come April's mud season, but I truly appreciate March's optimism before the dull reality of April sets in.

March is slated to be a busy month around here and I'm rather looking forward to it. Along with all of the regular goings-on, here's what's on the docket for March at Of Woods and Words:

Wrapping up two rather large freelance projects. It will feel great to finish them and even better to invoice for them. (Kidding about the invoicing. Okay, not really.)

Hockey tourney time! That glorious weekend of the year where I watch so much hockey and knit socks. God bless the Minnesota State High School Boys Hockey tournament.  

Hockey tourney time means birthday time and while birthdays have less and less significance with each passing year, I'm not opposed to a little birthday sugar (here's lookin' at you key lime pie) to start the new year on a good note. 

Beware the Ides of March. I'm not really preparing for anything truly horrific on March 15, but it is deadline day around these parts, so there's that.

St. Patrick's Day. I love any excuse to be sentimental about Ireland. (In case you hadn't noticed.) If you need help getting your Irish on, check out the fun St. Paddy's Day inspired items in my Etsy shop.

I'll be the lower peninsula of Michigan for St. Paddy's Day this year visiting brother and girlfriend with my mom. I'm looking forward to the trip (especially since we're flying rather than making the 15+ hour drive), but dear brother, please move to Hawaii.

Grand Rapids, MI

And once I return from Michigan, it will be spring. Huzzah! Time for starting seeds, days longer than the nights, and the start of cookouts!


Whether March came in like a lion or a lamb in your neck of the woods today, I hope you're also looking forward to a wonderful, full and fulfilling month.

 

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That Time I Forgot I Was In a Relationship . . .

Sometimes I forget I'm in a relationship. It's no big deal. It's not like I'm running around having affairs. I just sometimes make decisions that really should require both our points of view all by myself.

This winter I was so busy dreaming of this: 

Croagh Patrick - Ireland's Holy Mountain

County Mayo back road

Southern Clew Bay at tide out - Clare Island in the distance

That I failed to considered how Andy might feel about me jetting off to a foreign country for a week and a half this coming April.

You see, there's part of me that still feels like that headstrong, strings free, recent college grad who boldly makes her own decisions without any considerations beyond self. Back in those days, I jetted off to London for six months without a second thought and once I was back in the States, I took not one, but two vacations within the year: a weekend in Vegas and another in Seattle. Considering my uncertain employment status back then, all that jetting around on a whim wasn't exactly fiscally advisable and now that I think of it, I was in a failing long-term relationship when I started (but not when I ended) my stint in London.

So maybe I've just always been selfish and far too willing to sacrifice the health of my relationships for something I want. Erm . . . that's kind of an uncomfortable thought. 

I'm not sure we millenials were well conditioned for relationships. As children of the 90s, we were taught we could have whatever we want and not to let anything stand in our way. This was especially true for girls of my generation. (Hello girl power!) As a generation trained to take life by the balls, relationships, which really do require give and take, can be baffling at times. So what happens when an aggressively independent generation enters into relationships? 

I should say that Andy and my relationship isn't exactly hard work. It's really too best friends shacking up together. But like any relationship, it's still a balancing act as we learn and respond to each others' wants and needs. Decisions like moving, large purchases, or even switching jobs work best when we make them together, or at least discuss them at length. Despite still keeping separate finances, the line between yours and mine has blurred over the course of this nearly four -relationship.

We have plenty of shared interests to keep everyday life together amusing and far from dull. But I see no reason to let go of our unshared interests either. In fact, considering the amount of time we spend together in a small cabin in a very rural area, I think it's okay if our interests and priorities pull us apart briefly every once in a while. It helps keep the cabin aired out, you know?

 If Andy doesn't care to go to the Cities to take in a "Broadway Across America" performance, that's fine, I'll go by myself. If Andy's saving priority isn't a trip to Ireland, that's fine, I'll pinch my pennies and go without him.

You know, I'd feel bad about up and leaving Andy next spring, but currently Andy's working six days a week so he can bank extra days off to use during this fall's deer season. . . .

Maybe I'm not forgetting I'm in a relationship. To each his own, right?

 

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Never Leave Your Heart Alone

And it's open for distraction 
You found all the words you need 
Well, I found nothing 
I just grumble 
'cause I don't know what I feel 

The moral to the story goes 
Never leave your heart 
Never leave your heart... alone 
-Butterfly Boucher 

Last month, my uncle had major heart surgery: a valve replacement, a bypass, and a pacemaker installed. One of his valves had actually never functioned properly and because his heart condition was something he'd been born with, rather than something he'd developed, his physicians recommended anyone else in the family who had something slightly "off" with their ticker look into getting an echocardiogram. As luck would have it, I was born with heart murmur and my mom was adamant that I inquire after my needing an echocardiogram at my next doctor appointment.

After having my annual physical last week, here's the boring good news: my heart murmur appears to have resolved itself sometime between my preteens and now. Although I seem to have a mild tendency towards hypertension, my heart is just fine.

Even if my heart's ceased murmuring (and to be honest, it never made any cool "swishing" sound, it was just really loud) this is no time to stop listening to my heart.

And lately, that heart has been whispering, quietly and persistently, that it's time to shake things up a little bit, that it's time for . . . change.

I've been re-reading some of the Anne of Green Gables books lately. (Okay, not the best example of change since I've been reading these books over and over since I was ten.)  I stumbled upon a little nugget of wisdom in the final chapter of Anne of Avonlea:

"'Changes ain't totally pleasant but they're excellent things,' said Mr. Harrison philosophically. 'Two years is about long enough for things to stay exactly the same. If they stayed put any longer they might grow mossy.'"

Things are growing a bit mossy around here. It's been two years of the same job, same house, same boy . . . and these are good things. This spring will likely mark the second spring without any major travels. And as  someone who spent her first few years out of college in a new house every six months, there's something discomfiting about two whole years of sameness.

As it appears that I'm not destined to become an overnight fiction writing success nor are millions of dollars are going to rain down from the skies to allow me to spend my days canning, gardening, and writing in the comfort of a home I actually own, there's little I can do but keep plugging away. As an acquaintance told me the other day: the only way to keep moving forward is to keep moving forward. The issue with moving forward at this point in my life is that sometimes that forward motion happens so slowly that I begin to suspect I'm just going in circles.    

They say a rolling stone gathers no moss and so when my friend Betsy ask me in all seriousness -not in that dreamy, sighy "oh wouldn't it be lovely" way that we're so prone too - if I'd accompany her on a trip to western Ireland next April (2013), I listened hard to my heart. And in the possibility of returning to Clew Bay and the little hamlet where I spent 14 weeks as a college student, a place not far from my Irish ancestors' hometown, I found that change in the everyday, that something "big" to look forward to that I've been searching for lately.

 Is there money for such a voyage? Not yet. Is it too far out to really, really be scheming about such things when so much could change between now and then? Probably. Is it a good investment? Not from a literal "portfolio" sense. But as investment in myself, in dragging myself out of the "blahs," and keeping the aforementioned hypertension at bay? Yes. Yes it is a good investment.

Hang on Ireland. I'm coming home.

Never, ever leave your heart alone.

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Holidays Done Right

Happy Solstice everyone! Not sure we're going to get any sunlight today on this shortest day of the year, but it does look like a very blue sky is trying to peep out from behind some dramatic grey, purple, and pink clouds. Today we have just over 8 hours of daylight; about 9.5 hours of visible light. Although we will start gaining daylight by just seconds starting tomorrow, it's always nice to make it over the hump.

After I get a few more hours of work in today, I'll be hitting the hot and dusty (or should I say, the curvy and icy) and heading into town for the night. Tomorrow, I'll accompany my parents to Chicagoland, where we'll be spending a week with my paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We'll be meeting up with my brother and his girlfriend while we're down there as well. On the return trip, I'll be dropped off for another crafting extravaganza. I won't be back to the cabin until the new year!

Andy is understandable somewhat miffed by all of this, but someone's got to stay home to watch the cabin and make some money. ;) And before you feel too bad for Andy, keep in mind that his mom'll be up to spend the holiday with him and he has family gatherings to attend. He will be fine. I think.. . . There is plenty of food in the freezer, so hopefully he won't spend too many nights eating his bachelor standby: cold refried beans smeared on an unheated tortilla.

There have been lots of posts on the blogsphere lately about trying to find Christmas tree, so I thought I'd focus this post on some of the positive aspects of the holidays. Here are a few things I'm glad I've done so far this holiday season:

Bought local gifts. I always have good intentions of buying my presents locally. Then when push comes to shove, I inevitably end up buying all my presents from Amazon. (It's so easy!) But this past Friday, I spent some time downtown and finished up my Christmas shopping in town. Not all my presents were bought locally, mind you, but it did feel good to know that some of my Christmas dollars were going to cycle right back through my community.  

Made holiday cookies in limited quantities. Everyone loves a treat. But ubiquitous Christmas cookies just tend to make people ill, and eventually, after all that sugar's worn off, downright grumpy. This year's Christmas cookie baking has been limited to the cookie baking extravaganza with my mom's family (and the majority of those cookies were donated to a community cookie sale) and one batch of Danish puff. My waistline thanks me.

Stayed focused.  This holiday season, I kept my head down and kept working. I banked hours, I got things done ahead of time. It really wasn't fun. But it means that I can leave for the next week and a half and not worry about not working. I've earned my holiday this year and won't experience a dip in income over the holidays. *whew!*

Family time. I have not spent a Christmas with my father's family since 2005. My grandparents are in their 80s. That means Christmases to come are probably finite. Since I am able to, it feels like the right thing to spend the holidays with them. 

Come what may. Earlier in the month, I just wasn't feeling the Christmas cheer.But rather than let the calendar dictate my feelings, I waited to go through the Christmas decorations until I was actually interested in rooting through the box and decorating the cabin. We got the tree later than usual, but we were both ready to have a tree by the time it did go up. The holidays have unfolded naturally which made it all a little less stressful. Now I'm ready (I think!) to be full of cheer and goodwill to men.

What things are you glad you did this holiday season?

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My Seven Wonders

Today over at Mama Kat's, we're asked to list off the seven wonders of the world that we've seen with our own eyes. I can't pass up on an opportunity for a trip down travel memory lane and I've always been fascinated with the seven wonders of the ancient world. (It fits so nicely into that ancient Greek thing I've got going on . . . sorry modern Greece, you're kind of painful to watch right now.) And do we all remember on 7-7-07 when we all voted for the new seven wonders of the world? Just me? Okay then . . . .

Only the pyramids survive from the original list of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and lucky enough for me, I 've actually seen them! 

All right, so maybe that's just the Luxor in Las Vegas. Still, I'm counting Vegas in as a wonderment all its own.

Wonder #1) Las Vegas 

I'm not a total liar though. The Colosseum made the modern seven wonders list and I've really seen it! I have to admit that as amazing the Colosseum is, it's hardly Rome's only wonder.  I loved the Spanish Steps, the Forum, and Keats' House too.

Wonder #2) Colosseum, Rome 

I was pulling for Stonehenge to make it to the new seven wonders of the world, but it didn't make the cut. Bummer. To make Stonehenge feel better about its loss, I've visited these ancient rocks three times. (No kidding: April 2003, March 2005, and October 2007.) I love Stonehenge, but I really don't need to see it again. However, I would accompany you on a visit, if you asked nicely.

Wonder #3) Stonehenge, England 

While human made things are impressive and all, I find myself most impressed by nature's own handiwork. Take the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, for example. The Causeway is made up of thousands of perfectly octagonal rock pillars, which you can attribute to volcanic forces or giants, depending on how fanciful you feel. Nearby the Causeway, there's also Giant's Organ - similar rock pillars in the side of a cliff -- and Giant's Boot, a huge rock shaped like, well, a boot.
 

Wonder #4 Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

I live in a place where most trees only reach my hip. (You go wildfire regeneration!) So I'm always in awe when I see a really big tree. I mean, a really, really big tree.

Wonder #5) Big Trees, Everywhere (Example above is the Sitka Spruce in the Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, Washington)

So maybe size does matter. One thing I consider a world wonder actually makes up my backyard. It's Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. Celebrated in song and story, the lake's just down right pretty.

Wonder #6) Lake Superior, Minnesota, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin

I really hemmed and hawed for a long time about what the seventh wonder was going to be, but finally settled on Arches National Park, in southeastern Utah. It loses some "wonder"-full points for only being semi-permanent, but in this day and age, what really is permanent, I say.

Wonder #7) Arches National Park, Utah 

My close but no cigar list:
Newgrange, Ireland
The Mississippi River, Midwest
Manhattan, New York 
Eiffel Tower, Paris 
Speyer Cathedral, Germany

What are your seven wonders of the world? Have you seen any of the wonders that I've seen? What's a wonder you want to see?

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Rambling, Man . . .

We've been a little scattered around Of Woods and Words lately.

I chalk this general discombobulation to two little words: deer season. Since the season opener eve last Friday, we've been hopping around between various locales: the cabin, Andy's mom place, and my parents'. In the last week, I've spent more nights in town than I have at the cabin. As much as I often claim to have an "urge for going," something about vacillating between home and your parents' place isn't quite as glamorous as heading to MSP and catching the next flight to say, Barcelona. Besides, being transient comes with a few pitfalls:

Full Disclosure: This is actually my childhood bedroom in Jan. 2005 while packing for a semester abroad

Since we live in an area still recovering from a recent wildfire, the deer population around the cabin isn't especially remarkable. As the undergrowth regenerates, there's been an obvious increase in the deer population, but Andy thought he'd have better luck if he hunted closer to town, where there are deer, literally, all over the place. Between dental appointments, freelance assignments, and various other commitments for me, it's just been easier for us to spend free time in town, especially since we're right on the cusp of "questionable driving conditions" season.

Andy'd had enough of town by this Friday morning ("Too many people" . .  . "What are these neighbor people you speak of?" Please, do remember that town has a population of less than 2000) so he took off for the cabin and I planned to stay with my parents until Monday.

But when I got back from an article interview yesterday morning, Dad mention that Andy'd called looking for my camera. Apparently, Andy'd gotten a large buck near the cabin. Guess that whole hypothesis about there being better hunting grounds closer to town was kind of flawed.

Not knowing if Andy needed some help, I hopped in the car and headed back up to the cabin. There was indeed a large buck hanging in the cabin when I arrived. I wasn't really needed to assist with anything, but Andy sure was happy to have me around to regale with stories of the hunt. To all my vegetarian readers, you'll be happy know that I arrived too late to take the mandatory "Andy with dead deer" photo.  I kind of think dead deer pictures are tacky anyway .. .

The deer was a 17.5" antler spread and a Boone and Crockett club number, at least the way we measured it,  of 112.5. We may have missed a couple of the spread measurements for the Boone and Crockett. (FYI, the record holding Boone and Crockett measurement for whitetail deer is 213.5/8"!!)

I have to admit I'm much more pleased about Andy's success now than I was last year. (Yes, he did shot the deer on the exact same date as last year. We figure he might as well wait until 7:45 on the morning November 12 to go deer hunting each year.) I've already been busily scouring cookbooks and the internet for new venison recipes. It's a good thing I got some practice with venison cooking last year, because Andy figures we'll probably get somewhere between 40-50 pounds of useable meat from this deer. That's about double the amount of meat we got from last year's doe and yep, that rounds out to a cost of  60 cents a pound when you figure in the cost of the license . . . heck yeah!

That's the news from Of Woods and Words. For now I'm off to town (and beyond!)  to catch up with some old friends. Tomorrow's filled with town appointments and errands and maybe, just maybe, on Tuesday we'll put an end to all this rambling.

Man.

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Travel Thursdays: Where Would You Go?

Almost exactly four years ago, I was sitting in Chicago's O'Hare airport, waiting for my Aer Lingus flight to London, England, via Dublin, Ireland. I was participating in BUNAC's "Work Abroad" program, which provided me with a U.K. student work visa for six months. I'd booked a week in a downtown London hostel and I had a single job lead, but for the most part, I was heading off, all by my lonesome, to foreign shores, assuming everything would work out fabulously. (I think I was a lot braver back then.)

If you've been hanging around my blog for a while, you know everything did work out fabulously. Despite an unexpected return home at Christmas and more shuffling around through temp jobs than I really cared for, it was a wonderful six months of making new friends, sightseeing and life lessons.

But here's the rub: after wrapping up the adventure with a whirlwind tour through Ireland and returning home, I have yet to see foreign shores again. Various circumstances -- being a 20-something in a less than great economy, not exactly having a backpacker's mentality -- have kept me stateside since April 2008. Sure there have been other travels, but I haven't left the contiguous United States in 3.5 years!

The other night, as we sat around a campfire, my brother asked where I'd go if I could go anywhere in the world. He wasn't terribly impressed with my list (I've always been a rather elitist traveler) but here's my top 5 "to-see" list du jour.

5) Antarctica

I've been fascinated by Antarctica ever since reading the Shackleton/Endurance story in middle school. And also, who doesn't love penguins?

4) Alaska

 I think I'm drawn by the sheer magnitude and majesty of the place. I am admittedly, a little nervous about the grizzly bears.

 3) Australia

While both Alaska and Antarctica serve up plenty of snow and cold (which I'm all too familiar with), I've always wanted to see Australia because it seems like such a drastic departure from everything I know both from a climatic and cultural point of view.

2) Prince Edward  Island, Canada

When I first read the Anne of Green Gables books, I knew I need to go. What's not to love: beaches, countryside, wildflowers, Lucy Maud Montgomery. Sounds like just the sort of place to let your imagination run wild.

1) Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen's been at the top of my "to see" list for quite some time. I'm not really sure why. Despite the pickpockets and repeated vandalism of the Little Mermaid statute, I think it sounds quite lovely. I'd hate to say The Prince and Me had some influence in this matter, but perhaps on some unconscious level, it has.

If you were sitting in an airport today with the ability to go anywhere in the world, where you go?!

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