The Travel Bug

As a young'n I was a prolific reader (I still am), and my reading took me to many far off places and times.  It allowed me to experience different cultures and gave me a love for learning that has been vital to who I am.  Thus began the larva that would grow into my current travel bug.

The first trip I took by myself was in college, when I visited my roommate's home in Puerto Rico.  I decided that one day I wanted to move there.  Since then I have traveled to London, Paris, Portugal, Rome (I had been there before, as well as Florence, Venice and Calabria, with family), Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Bermuda and many US States. I have wanted to live in each place. Perhaps I have a gypsy soul.

I don't think I will be stopping anytime soon.  I am one of those people who would rather travel than have at home luxuries (e.g. a nice car, expensive clothes or jewelry), and while my debt is no small potato, I would rather use my tax return and extra income to travel than pay it down.  Does this make me irresponsible? Maybe, but at least I will have my memories and lessons learned to keep me warm in the poorhouse.

There are many places I would like to go and below are some of my current/future plans/hopes for the next year.  My vacations have to work around the school schedule so trips can only be taken in certain months.

Plans-
August:
This August, Paul and I will be venturing to the West Coast for the first time ever. We will be seeing the Pacific Northwest through Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.  My cousin lives in Portland, so I am looking forward to also visiting her and her adorable children.

Summer:
This summer, since our big trip is to the West Coast, I also wanted to get in at least one weekend trip to tide us over until August. Since Philadelphia is only about 2 hours away AND I've never been there AND it is a great dog-friendly city, I figured that we could load up the car with overnight bags, the dog and ourselves and just pop over there for a weekend.

Hopes-
February:
Paul and I have been on two cruises now and we both have enjoyed them immensely.  I like being able to hit a bunch of new destinations in one trip without having to go through the hassle of coordinating in between travel, and Paul loves how everything is at your fingertips, that and the fact that food is included. One less expense to worry about!

This February we are looking into going on a cruise out of New York the week I am off from school.  We have previously been on the Carnival Valor (Ah-MAZING) out of Puerto Rico and the Norweigan Breakaway out of New York.(Very good, but a bit large for us. - we rarely saw the same people twice, which some people like, but I like to make friends!)

This time we are going to check out the new Royal Caribbean ship: Anthem of the Seas.  I'm still doing price checks and probably will continue to do so throughout the year, to try and get the best rate.

Easter Break:

Now, depending on the cost of our February vacation (and my tax refund), I am going to try to cheaply book a trip to Manchester, England.  My cousin and her boyfriend and daughter moved their from Rome a few years ago and I haven't seen them since 2011. I really want to see how much the baby has grown (answer: a lot!) and feed my Anglophelia by exploring another English city.

Dreams-
I have MANY travel dreams, but some are more pressing than others.  I'm sure I will never be able to hit every place on my list but, I can sure try!

Spain (Madrid, Barcelona)

Edinburgh, Scotland

Greece

Chile

Australia (Sydney, Perth)

Austin, Texas

Charleston, South Carolina

Kansas City, Missouri

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Most of these "Dream" places have pictures pulled from Google Images. I can't wait go and take my own!
If you have any suggestions of things to do and see in any of these places, let me know, or link to your own blog in the comments!