Financially, perhaps. The kicker is really the part about the two weeks of vacation a year, and not wanting to leave the stable professional job in my quirky niche field, put all my belongings in storage, and find a home for my cat. I have my impulsive moments, but that would be pretty damn impulsive.
I did a chunk of that once (Novosibirsk to Irkutsk, about 36 hours or so). There ain’t much there besides frozen tundra (or dry, windswept, unbearably hot tundra, as it was August - and yes, it does get hot in Siberia). Hopefully other chunks of the Trans-Siberian are more interesting.
Only three months? I’ve imagined at least a six-month sojourn around trhe lower 48 United States and perhaps a detour into Canada. I’ve been around the world (including Sri Lanka in 1972, just after it had changed its name from Ceylon), and I yearn to see much more of my own country. I’d particularly like to drive the eastern seaboard in the autumn, and see the colors from Main through all of New England. I’d like to spend time in Philadelphia and colonial Williamsburg, and I’ve always hankered to tour all the Civil War battle sites.
Come to think of it, six months won’t be nearly enough. I haven’t even been to Yellowstone yet!
There’s a cruise line (maybe more than one) that goes to Antarctica. Not this year for me, probably, but next year, or the next… but relatively soon. I dunno, just seems exotic and beautiful, in its special way.
Obviously not everyone can do it, but if it’s at all possible, it’s worth asking the boss about. My mom works at a very button-up by-the-book government job thats she’s worked forever and intends to retire with. Yet she was somehow able to get three months off to go move to Guatemala and live in an orphanage. She got a neighbor to feed the cats…it worked out great and she had the time of her life.
OMG!! A paid vacation…what a concept!!! It’s been so long since I’ve had one.
I’d like to take one month and go back to places I’ve been and want to see again: Jakarta, Singapore, Australia (specifically Hill End), the Grand Canyon, Gettysburg and other Civil War sites, just driving around the US, etc.
Then I would take a month to go to places that I’ve always wanted to go. England would eat a fair amount of time, and biking around Germany would take up some of the rest. Hit Italy for a while, then Greece, then possibly the Riveria (just to say I’d been there), Switzerland, the site of the Normandy invasion, et al.
Then two weeks doing something exotic, like a scuba tour of the Caribbean, then a week in Las Vegas doing a different show every night.
Then the last week at home, collapsed in sheer exhaustion and recovering from my travels.
The Greek island of Santorini is my first fantasy - I’d like to get a place overlooking the caldera, maybe I’d be inspired to paint or write bad poetry.
Costa Rica is another. Jungles, beaches and volcanoes, what could be better?
Iceland is my third. I’d like to ride the Icelandic Horses and check out the glaciers and volcanoes there.
I guess my fantasies all have a volcanic theme. Hmmm.
I’d ride my bike through every bit of France, hitting all of the great climbs from Tour De France history, and every night eat at 5 star restaurants, and stay at 5 star hotels.
I can’t see everything I want to see in three months! I was thinking more like taking off a full year to do it (as if that will every happen :rolleyes: ).
In no particular order:
A photo safari at Serengeti National Park.
Fishing and bunji jumping in New Zealand.
10-day cruise around Norway (obviously, not completely around).
Northern Madagascar, hiking and looking at fossils.
A month of mountain biking and wine tasting in and around Tuscany.
A week in Tibet meeting people and visiting monestaries.
Scuba diving, kayaking and sailing in the Fiji Islands.
Drinking and driving (but not simultaneously) in Ireland, looking up family members from Mom’s side in County Cork.
Some time in Dusseldorf, Germany, looking up family members on Dad’s side.
There are places I’ve been I’d love to go again (particularly Italy), but if I had the time, I’ve always wanted to drive the Alaska Highway. A good car, a good friend (someone I could stand to be around for several weeks, and who was willing to put up with me), and then we’d take our time. We’d have no real plan, other than to drive the highway, and we’d stop on the way to see whatever giant ball of twine there was to see. If we found a good spot, we’d stop for a few days or a week to camp.
Patagonia.
New Zealand.
Iceland
Pitcairn/Easter/Midway, etc.
My slightly-more-realistic favorite is the Appalachian trail; which I hope to hike in 2007 or 2008.
Atlantic to Pacific in a small airplane. The journey would be the destination.
Ultimate Fantasy would be to do so in an open-cockpit biplane, however, my more practical side is arguing the very real merits of a Cessna Skyhawk or the like for such a trip.
