i have had a particular condition for a long time now. in fact, i've had it since my senior year of high school (or possibly earlier). it's a rather insidious condition that gnaws on me if i don't provide a suitable treatment every couple years.
the travel bug bit me. i won't say that i suffer from it, but i do have an incurable case of wanderlust.
how did i end up with such a disease? well, the fact that my dad periodically traveled around the world (south korea, germany, scotland, india, italy...) for his job may have made me think about what all is out there. i don't think he particularly enjoyed travelling (or so he claimed, anyway), but dad did bring me back coins from his destinations. this may not seem like much, but seeing foreign currency does make a kid realize that the united states isn't the only place in the world.
toward the end of my senior year of high school, one of my favorite teachers (mrs. every) set up a class trip to europe. the notion of spending 10-14 days in europe sounded pretty much awesome, but i realized then that i wouldn't want to do that sort of guided tour. aside from the fact that half the stops on that particular tour didn't appeal to me, i didn't necessarily want to be stuck with 10-15 people for the duration. you could say that this was when the travel bug started buzzing around my head.
during my freshman or sophomore year at nc state, i attended a lecture that some guy gave about backpacking through europe. i don't remember his name or the specific topics of the lecture, but he talked about how easy it was to get a eurail pass and skip from place to place. he also painted an enticing picture of seeing other cultures close-up and personally. that was when the travel bug chomped down on me.
over the next couple years of college, the thought of taking a trip to europe lodged itself in the back of my head. by the time my senior year rolled around, i had decided to spend the summer after graduation backpacking through europe. a couple friends joined me, and we spent six weeks in the summer of 2006 circling western europe with about any mode of transportation imaginable (foot, taxi, train, bus, boat, and airplane). after experiencing the excitement of getting lost in a foreign country, meeting new people from all over the world, and seeing some amazing things, i can't stand the thought of never stamping my passport again.
i did add another passport stamp in 2009 when i went to portugal. nobody else wanted to go, so i spent a week and a half wandering around by myself. sadly, i haven't been out of the country since then, and it's probably getting about time for another excursion.
i have a list of places i would love to visit, but the order of priority shifts on an almost weekly basis. some people have a map on their wall with the pushpins showing where they've been or where they want to go. until i have enough wall space for a suitably large map, i'll just have to make due with a digital dartboard. the red markers show where i've been, and the blue markers show places i want to go. additionally, i'm keeping track of which states i can recall visiting (airport layovers don't count); at some point, i would love to say that i've visited all 50 states.
View digital travel dartboard in a larger map
where else do i absolutely need to visit? if there are any other must-see destinations, i ought to add them to the list.
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