Travel Bucket List
Being perpetually unemployed or living on a freelance budget doesn’t leave a lot of room (or money) for travel. I want to travel and one of my dreams would be to become a digital nomad, but there’s still a lot of work to be done before I get there. In the meantime, I’m allowed to dream and research the future places I want to travel.
Michigan
Michigan is probably the most boring location on the list, but it’s the deepest in terms of why I want to go there. I was born in Michigan, and I still have family there–family my boyfriend hasn’t met. I haven’t been back in almost six years, so I’m hoping we can take a week this summer and plan a road trip up there to see my family and visit my old stomping grounds near the cereal capital of the world. Now that I’m older and will probably be there with just my boyfriend, I’m going to try to find some new, interesting locations. I know my hometown of Union City started the Heritage Trail [link] which is a trail along the St. Joseph river detailing the history of the area. I know my hometown does have a lot of unique history, so I look forward to taking some time and delving in to see what I can learn.
I also want to take some time to visit Mackinac Island again. I went when I was about eleven, so my memories of the island mainly pertain to the fudge and the pooping horses (they don’t allow motor vehicles on the island, so the only way to get around is by horse, bike, or foot). It would be nice to visit such a beautiful island now that I’m dedicating part of my life to cultural travel.
Paris
I want to go back to Paris so I can give it a fair chance. I was there for two days during my big European Adventure, and it wasn’t the trip every midwestern girl dreams about. It was humid, crowded, and the people were just rude. We got pointed in the wrong direction for the Notre Dame three times, and one of those times was by police officers. We weren’t being rude Americans either. We just had a schedule to keep and limited time to get there
Paris has a lot to offer, and I don’t think two days is enough to explore those offerings. Politically, I know things have changed in the city, so that alone might change the Parisian experience. I can only hope that my second exploration of the City of Lights will go better than the first.
Japan
There was a time in my life when I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to teach high school English and I wanted to get a job at the American School in Japan, which is a high school designed for American students living in Japan. While I gave up on becoming a teacher, I would still very much like to visit Japan because there’s so much to see and do in such a small country. There’s Tokyo Disney, all of Tokyo, Mount Fuji, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Aokigahara, and even the Ninja Warrior stadium. And overall, I think it would be the best place to start when I begin visiting more Asian countries–a little less hectic than if I were to start this part of my travels in a city like Ho Chi Minh.
I would probably even plan a day where I vegetate in my hotel room so I can watch some of those (in)famous Japanese game shows.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an amazing country with landscapes that are almost unreal. As the filming location for many fantasy films, New Zealand should be on the travel bucket list of nerds everywhere.
Beyond that, I don’t know a whole lot about New Zealand other than it’s the home of Vegemite. I’ve heard great things about the locals (‘Kiwis’) and that it’s the place to go if you’re a lover of outdoor adventure–which I can be, sometimes. But if I’m being honest, I just really want to get a close up look at a Kiwi–the flightless bird, not the local–and the other unique wildlife residing in the country. And as far as I know, the animals in New Zealand are far less likely to kill you than those in Australia. Same with the locals.
New York City
Okay, yes, let’s all point and laugh at the travel blogger who hasn’t been to NYC yet. You know what? I had the option to move to New York City, and if I’d done that, you wouldn’t be reading this blog right now, so there. Postcard Press exists because I chose to go to GWU over NYU, and I’m happy with my decision every day.
But in all seriousness, New York City has been the one place I’ve always wanted to visit. If you read any of the 30 novels I’ve never finished, characters end up there one way or another (though I’m starting to pull away because of repetitiveness). NYC has so much to offer whether you’re moving there to chase your dream or you just want to visit the city during Christmas.
This is really only a glimpse at where I want to go within the next few years. I know there’s so much out there to see and do in the world, but everyone needs a place to start.
Where are some of the locations on your travel bucket list and what draws you to them?
