It’s nice to think about taking a trip to some exotic location. Flying half way around the globe to visit an ancient temple or natural wonder. I’ve done it and, well, it’s fantastic.
Our visit to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, 2014
I also realize that whether I like it or not, international travel isn’t going to be getting any easier in the near future. Instead of complaining about whatever changes may be put into effect, I’ve decided to look into places to visit in the U.S. instead. We live in a big country and there are many different cities to visit. I’d encourage you to get out and travel around the United States – life is all about experiences, so experience as much as you can!
Here is a short list of places in America that I’d like to visit. Please note that this is my list and I think Sharon might have a thing or two to say about going to a few of these places (edit from Sharon – editorial comments? ME??? LOLOL!).
New Orleans, LA
This is, by far, the city that I want to visit the most. I’ve actually been here before but my last visit was in 2005 and that was only for a day.
My dad and I outside of Cafe Du Monde, ready to have some beignets
Going to New Orleans has been on our radar for years because it is seemingly so close and Sharon has never been there. Because of that, she wants to go for a longer trip in order to be able to see the surrounding area (edit from Sharon: And my friend Nowal, who I’ve known for about 10 years but have never met in person!). I’m fine going for a weekend to get some beignets, listen to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and have a shrimp Po’-boy.
I’m sure this trip will happen in the near future and that makes me happy.
Waterbury, VT
So this isn’t the typical tourist location, but since when are Sharon and I typical tourists? There’s one reason that we want to visit Vermont and that is to visit the Ben & Jerry’s Factory. Besides being a cool place to visit, Sharon could pay her respects to Wavy Gravy in the Flavor Graveyard. It was her favorite flavor ever and she even worked really hard to bring it back once, which Ben & Jerry’s did for a limited time back in 2005, when they had a “Bring A Flavor Up From the Dead” contest (edit from Sharon – it’s not weird to buy 5 gallons of ice cream from a scoop shop, is it?).
Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard
I would definitely want to take this trip in the Fall. See, one of the downsides of living in Florida is the lack of seasons and I want to see the leaves change colors – this would be the perfect trip to do it. I’m imagining a Bed and Breakfast somewhere with a book and a fireplace, resulting in a very relaxing trip (edit from Sharon: I’m there! When? 2018? 2019? Can we do the Trapp Family Lodge too?).
Nashville, TN
Nashville is a town I want to visit for a really nice long weekend. I was there once as a child and really don’t remember many things about going there besides Opryland USA (and that’s been closed and demolished in the meanwhile). I’d like to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry and also go to visit The Hermitage (Andrew Jackson’s house). Adventures by Disney offered a long weekend trip to Nashville that I was looking at but I learned that the trip has since been cancelled. I can still use the locations they were visiting as a way to build my own trip 🙂 I know this will be a hard place to convince Sharon to go to but I have to try (edit from Sharon: meh.).
Cape Cod, MA
I visited Martha’s Vineyard with my parents a couple of times in the 90’s when we stayed at the vacation home of someone my dad worked with. It was always a fun trip and I’ve wanted to go back.
My mom and I outside the Black Dog Tavern in 1994
I’m not sure if I want to go back to Martha’s Vineyard as there are other places I haven’t been in the area. I could visit Nantucket Island instead as I have relatives who visit there and Sharon and I love to combine meeting with friends/family on our trips. We have also looked into visiting Provincetown and even had airfare booked for a trip on Southwest. In the end we changed the trip and went to New York instead. We didn’t lose anything on the airfare because of Southwest’s generous cancellation policies.
This is another seasonal destination, like Vermont, and I don’t get a whole bunch of time off in the summer so we’ll see if and when we can make this trip happen.
Yellowstone National Park, WY
I know for a FACT that I am going to have to cash in one of my “Round Birthday Year” coupons to get Sharon to visit here but I don’t care. It’s one of the “big” U.S. National Parks that I haven’t visited yet. My dad and his wife went there last year and I watched their Facebook pages and felt more than just a little jealous that they were there and not me. This is another trip that will happen, just a matter of when (edit from Sharon, who is NOT a fan of trees and mountains and hiking and looking at most forms of nature unless they involve water, rocks, holes in the ground or a combination thereof: #rolleyes, ugh, I don’t wanna, etc. etc. etc. ONLY for an “ending with a 0” birthday year. Blech.)
Old Faithful Geyser at Yellowstone Park
Charleston, SC
Charleston is another place Sharon and I have talked about going to visit for a while. It’s deceptively close to Orlando, only a 6 hour drive. That’s not much farther than it is for us to go to Key West but somehow it just feels further away.
We love old U.S. cities and this seems to be a good fit. We went to Savannah about 10 years ago and had a wonderful weekend in the city and I imagine our time in Charleston would be something like that. I don’t know much about what to do there but that’s part of the fun of going to somewhere new.
So that’s some of the list of places in the U.S. that I want to visit. It is by no means complete and new places interest me all the time. Sharon and I managed to get to Washington D.C. two years ago and this year we’re finally getting back to Chicago (by chance, we are actually going there twice this year) but I’m still not going to be able to get to a Cubs game 🙁
We’ve found that with miles and points, we’re able to get to see more places. What are the places in the U.S. that you’ve wanted to visit but haven’t managed to get there yet? What’s keeping you from going?
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