56

 

Today is my 56th birthday. Another year of exploring our planet and year 11 of blogging about it is complete. So much for stopping at five years. I'm glad I didn't. This blog makes me keep pushing myself further and further to do more and more. And yes, I'm still up for writing down a lot of what I've experienced so I can keep re-living what I've done and seen and heard and smelled and eaten over and over again if I want to.

This year has been a different year of travel for me. Now, I realize I've already written about how it's been different in a couple of posts but indulge me again, if you even remember those posts (I know...you don't). So sure, we've expanded our horizons a lot this year. No new news there. Standard amazing stuff. Five new countries. Two new states (that's significant and we'll get to that soon). Tons of new birds. A second trip ever to Asia (for me, at least). Expensive wine in the Napa Valley and cheap (but still really, really good) wine in Croatia and Greece. Boston. All sorts of new music and food and other things. Awesome stuff! Read all about it in the posts from the last year. Please.

But I've also spent time traveling for work. Like way more than I've ever done. Like eight trips to New York and two to Chicago (albeit one was not MY work trip). I don't think that's affected my travel planning yet because everywhere I've been since my last birthday was planned before I got this new assignment. But the back end of this year might be a bit muted because of it. I did say MIGHT. It's definitely packed full of time in New York.

I love Chicago and I really love New York a lot. So I've tried to sneak in some stuff that I would normally do if I were going to those cities for fun. My first Chicago dog. Public transportation as an experience. Incredible (non-Chicago dog) food. Memorials. World class architecture. World class opera. Birdwatching. Movies. These trips haven't been as much fun as the rest of my trips (you know...because of the work) but I've tried to do more than just go work, eat and sleep. They have been fun and they have been tiring. The fun part is more important. And yes, I have sneaked a couple of posts in here and there. And I might not be done.

Charlie Parker Memorial, Kansas City MO. One of a few jazz pilgrimages I've made this year (for my dad).

So let's check up on goals, because that's what I do in these birthday posts after all. When I started this thing at 45, I made myself a series of goals to keep me focused and set some themes for my first five years of travel. I aced them all. Finished not just on time, but early. 

So at 50, I did it again. And I wasn't so successful. I got some of what I wanted to accomplish but I missed two things: (1) a trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia and (2) completing my quest to visit every state in the United States. On this last one, as of a year ago, I was missing two states: Kansas and Oklahoma.

I blamed COVID for me missing my goals. I know...it's a bit flimsy but legit traveling outside of the United States was somewhat challenging for a bit there. So last year, considering I failed at my 50th birthday promise, I set no new goals until I finished what I pledged to get done a year ago.

The good news is I'm done. I set foot in Angkor Wat very early one February morning and followed that up in May with a flight to Kansas City, Missouri, picking up a car at the airport and then proceeding to drive to both Kansas and Oklahoma. Angkor Wat done! All 50 states done! Time for some new goals. And no, I haven't blogged and posted about the 50 states, but I will.

Only on the goals thing...no. I'm not making any more goals. I'm just going to go where I want to from now on. No checklists, no milestones, no goalposts, no nothing. Just going with the flow. Why? Well because I realized this year it's been seven years since I've really spent time in Japan (my layover this year doesn't count officially) and it's been even longer since I spent time in Paris. I love Paris. I love it so much I would live there in a heartbeat if I really thought I could. The lack of goals isn't going to stop me from pushing. I feel confident enough that I'm going to want to add new places to my list without a goals list. If I get complacent, I'll start making goals again.

So what does the next year look like? I have some ideas. I feel pretty good about some time in England and a return trip to Japan. I also would love to explore Central America a bit more and hopefully (God, please) some serious toucan and Mayan encounters. Other than that? I don't know...is there time for anything else? I'm hoping for some travel with friends. We did too little of that these past 12 months although we managed a couple of long weekends. I always think our travels are enriched by the presence of people we really love spending time with. I need to start exerting some serious peer pressure soon for Japan next year.

With or without friends, we are going to continue to keep going. Can't wait to see what happens before 57. Onward. And happy birthday to me. I'm in New York. How can it get any better, really?

Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers at night.