Where Do You Want To Go?

Posted on by Laura & Brett

It’s always been me, me, me around here, but today I’d like to turn things over to you, my wonderful readers, and ask: “What’s on your travel bucket list? Where do you want to go?”

I’d love to hear from you about three to five places you’d like to visit, domestic or international, and a couple of sentences of why you’d like to travel there. If you like, instead of a place you could list an experience that you’d travel for, versus just a place (for example: dinner on a rooftop in Paris with a sunset view of the Eiffel Tower). You can of course list somewhere you’ve been before if you want to go back, but again, I’d love to hear why – what was so wonderful or memorable about it that you want to go back? What did you miss the first time?

I’m looking forward to hearing from you, and being inspired!

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Published by Laura & Brett

Slow traveling the world with a sense of adventure!

29 thoughts on “Where Do You Want To Go?”

  1. We’ve traveled extensively (approx. 25% of the world’s countries), but still have India and S. Africa/Tanzania/Botswana on our list. The reasons why are likely obvious, but the sheer number of flying hours needed to get to both is holding me back – I have a pretty bad case of flying anxiety that kicks in the moment turbulence is encountered. I’ve tried many, many remedies to overcome it to no avail, so now I take prescription drugs and go to sleep for a few hours which gets me through most flights. Twenty+ hours though is asking a lot!

    Actually planned for next are trips to Scotland and Ireland that will include a substantial amount of hiking. We did a 115 mile trek through the Swiss Alps five years ago that remains one of my favorite vacations ever, so we are really excited about the opportunity to do same in both of these countries.

    So many wonderful places over the years, but will list Paris and Amsterdam as being at the top of our list for sheer charm and wonderfulness. For natural beauty, Switzerland, New Zealand and Costa Rica. For diversity and exceeding expectations, Equador. For changing the way we view the world, China.

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    2. India and Botswana are on my bucket list! Same for Scotland, Ireland (well, all of the British Isles and Ireland), Amsterdam and New Zealand. One of these days! I’d like to visit Paris, but there are other parts of France I want to see as well, more than Paris.

      I used to have terrible anxiety when it came to flying, and actually had tranquilizers prescribed because we had to fly to get over to Japan. I’m not sure how or why, but it eventually subsided, and now all I need are a couple of Dramamine and I’m good. Turbulence doesn’t even bother me any more (so far) – I tell myself, “What are you going to do? Ask them to stop the plane so you can get off?” Flying is the price I pay for going where I want to go, so I guess I’ve just learned to accept it and move on.

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  2. Sunset at Petra. We almost went to Petra when stationed in Saudi, but was canceled out after a tragedy. We plan on doing this trip next year (along with Israel).
    Walking the Crouching Lion Trail on Oahu. My great aunt lived at the bottom of the trail for many years. I have fond memories of walking the trail with her and my great uncle.
    The Kilauea Military Camp on the Big Island. Between the exploring of the flowers and the volcano, one of our best places to stay, ever. Not upscale, just best.
    I guess I need to plan another Hawaii trip….
    Train from Bucharest to Istanbul. The Orient Express. We have wanted to do this for thirty years. We both love train travel and seeing the countryside. Unfortunately, this trip may never happen because of the civil unrest. I hold on to my abya, just in case it does!
    The other part of my bucket list is to take a round trip Space A flight to where ever and stay for a week. I would like to attempt to go around the world. I am saving for this trip. Getting my husband to agree (dragging him back onto a “jump plane” is an issue) is the toughest part.

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    1. I checked out that Kilauea Military Camp and see that’s where we need to stay when we visit the Big Island! Thanks for the tip.

      We’ve never flown Space A, mainly because of our kids and have always been on a tight schedule because of their schedules. But, after YaYu graduates we need to start considering it as a means of getting places.

      Around the world . . . yes! Where would you want to stop along the way?

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  3. are you getting paid for the advertisement that makes your site impossible to read? If not, you should be It’s aggravating and makes your blog impossible to read. I enjoyed your site until the advertisement showed up.

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    1. Thank you for letting me know this!

      I’ve seen a notice now and again from WordPress that they reserve the right to place an ad, but you are the first person to ever mention seeing one. I don’t receive any compensation from the ad – the WordPress site is free, and I’m not allowed to place any ads or make money from the blog.

      I had been planning to upgrade the site in early December as I’m running out of storage space, and supposedly the upgrade (which I’ll pay for) will kill the ads. I can place my own at that point, but I’ve always enjoy (the illusion, I guess) of having a non-commercial site, and I intend to keep it that way.

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  4. It seems that at the moment always at the top of my list is to go to Berkeley to see my baby granddaughter (and her parents of course) LOL. Beyond that I want to go to Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Stockholm. I’d like a return visit to London and New York City to dive deeper into their marvelous history, arts and museums. First time visits to Santa Fe and San Antonio are also on my list. I could keep going on and on and add places of natural wonder such as Banff and other marvels. Not only a city girl.

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    1. There are so many great places to visit in California, and Berkeley would be at the top of any list – it’s a wonderful town.

      I would also love to visit Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Stockholm (Oslo and Helsinki too), but all of those cities are quite expensive compared to others, so we’ll have to bump up our savings if we ever go.

      Brett and I have talked about taking a year or so and driving all over the U.S. The western National Park loop is on our bucket list, but I’d also like to visit Civil War sites and battlefields in the east. We have seen some of them (Gettysburg and Shiloh several times, and Fredericksburg) but there are more to see and take in the history.

      Would LOVE to visit Banff one day.

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  5. Hmm so many places to see and do.

    I’d love to ride the EuroVelo 6 from France through to Hungary. Anywhere in Switzerland for a cheese fondue always works for me. I’d love to go to Morocco and have an overnight stay in a tent in the desert and be able to watch a sunrise from the top of a dune. One day I will do the train journey from Oslo to Bergen. High on my list is Sri Lanka. The train journey from Colombo to Galle looks fascinating. I’d like to spend some time on a tea plantation because as a tea drinker would really appreciate knowing more about my favourite drink.

    Limitations for us at the moment is my husband’s work commitment. When he is finally ready to call time we are planning to drive to Cape Breton in Canada and do a road trip back to San Francisco. It’s likely to take 3+ months.

    Re the ads I do see them. I have to say it’s never interfered with your site loading and I’m currently in Australia which has some of the most atrocious internet speeds you will encounter.

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    1. Morocco is high on my list of places to visit, and like you I’d love to sleep out in a tent and see the sun rise on the Sahara. I also greatly want to visit the “blue city” of Chefchaouen and spend an afternoon there – that blue is my favorite color and I think it would be wonderful to be surrounded by it.

      Brett is a big rail fan, and we’ll be taking a rail journey during our Big Adventure.

      I’m with you for the cheese fondue in Switzerland!

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  6. You are living my dream! The only place on earth I care to travel to is Kauai. Nothing else can ever compare to the beauty of Hanalei. Nothing would make me happier than being able to be there for the rest of my life.

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    1. Isn’t life funny? I love it here, yet am looking forward to visiting other places, and you can think of nowhere else you’d rather go than here. Variety really is the spice of life!

      We’re thinking of heading up to Hanalei next week for lunch – we haven’t been for a while. I have a knack though for bringing rain. I have yet to go there when it doesn’t start pouring. I’m hoping to break that spell next week.

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    1. I’d love to see Yellowstone again, and this time to visit Grand Tetons NP as well. Both are glorious. I visited when I was young, and remember it clearly, but I know there is so much I missed and want to see. The western National Park loop is on our bucket list – we might not be able to do it all, but hopefully we can do most of it. I’ve visited many of the parks because I grew up out west, but there are many more that I haven’t seen.

      Both Brett and I want to visit New Zealand, and some places in Australia. Both are expensive though, especially the getting there.

      Hawai’i is doable – you’ll make it!

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  8. My list includes Ireland, the rest of Scotland (was near Isle of Skye for a wedding), Spain, Italy, Vancouver Island (hopefully in the spring), Oregon/Washington, road trip to Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans for music and food, East Coast of Canada/US plus some more Caribbean Islands (have been to some), New Zealand, Australia. Hawaii is not necessarily on the list, been to all major islands and returning to Oahu for 6 weeks in January. Still want to return to other islands. There are more and I want to do some hiking trips at some point as well.

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    1. Love your list! My family (both sides) are from Great Britain and Ireland, so those are destinations that are both on my bucket list.

      We lived in Oregon for over 22 years and there are still places we didn’t see – same for Washington. Brett and I still talk about driving all over the west, on that National Park loop and to see other things we missed. We’ve also got to get ourselves over to the Big Island (Maui just isn’t calling us), and we’d love to see Molokai too.

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      1. I love Maui but not the touristy things, although we go on the Pacific whale watch tour, it’s inexpensive and I’ve had great luck in seeing whales and getting great pictures. I love driving to Hana and hiking the Pipiwai trail and then seeing the south side of the volcano, really pretty. We also find cool beaches to chill on. I like the Big Island too. We found the gypsy app for touring the islands, it tells you a lot of history of the islands and tells you we’re to go, both tourist stuff and otherwise. We would not have seen half of the Big Island if not for the app.

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      2. I appreciate this information – maybe we will get to Maui one of these days. We really want to see the Big Island though, and visit Volcanoes National Park. We’re thinking of maybe taking a quick 2-day, 1-night trip over next summer, but we’ll have to see if we can fit it in along with our plans for the Big Adventure.

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  9. My bucket list still includes some of the western National Parks we haven’t gotten to: Olympia, Zion, Bryce, etc. One of my favorite domestic trips is Sedona. We’ve been twice and I would go again tomorrow. The hiking is just spectacular and the scenery in all directions can’t be beat. Not to mean Oak Creek Canyon.

    My favorite trip so far was France. We visited Paris, which was lovely and charming of course, but I LOVED Normandy and visiting the WWII sites and the countryside towns.

    Top of my bucket list for a long time has been Italy and we leave in two weeks, so I’m alternatively super excited and anxious about getting everything done before we go.

    Love this topic!

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    2. Zion is my still my all-time favorite national park, and I loved Bryce too and want to see it again. And Sedona! We loved it there and wished we had had more time to explore the area – we’ll definitely be going back one of these days. The city area is pretty touristy, but once you escape that it’s fantastic.

      So excited for you about your upcoming trip to Italy! I definitely need to get myself over to Europe – Brett has been courtesy of the navy, but that was a long time ago and he’s said he’d like to go again and see some different things (but wants to eat pizza in Italy again!). He isn’t terrifically excited about Paris, but both of us want to visit Normandy and some other areas in France.

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  10. Love this question and the interesting responses in the comments.

    My bucket list destinations are Antarctica, Madagascar, the Galapagos Islands+Machu Pichu, and India. Antarctica because I have a lifetime love of penguins and would love to see emperor penguins and king penguins in their native habitat. Madagascar makes the list because I want to see the wildlife, especially the lemurs. It’s also one of the world’s most threatened places because of deforestation, climate change, etc., so there’s urgency to seeing it before it’s gone. I’d love to see the unique flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands (most of my friends who’ve gone have combined it with Machu Pichu) because of my interest in Darwin and natural history, and Machu Pichu is one of the great human-made wonders of the world. As a Buddhist, India appeals to me because it is the birthplace of Buddhism.

    My fifth and final dream destination is Japan for a genealogical roots trip. I was born there (at Camp Zama, a U.S. Army base, which sort of doesn’t count), lived there till I was four years old, and have traveled there several times in the last 10 years. But I’ve never had the opportunity to visit the places that my four grandparents came from. As a genealogist, that’s really important to me. I belong to a Japanese American genealogy group, and we’ve brainstormed about organizing a group trip, but it’s hard to plan since our ancestors came from all over Japan.

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    1. Wow – you have a terrific list. I’d love to see Machu Pichu, but don’t believe I would be capable of making it up there these days. But who knows.

      Camp Zama!!!! On our last tour in Japan we lived about a 20 minute drive away from the Camp. We used to go over there every month, on the first Saturday, to the Camp Zama bazaar – it was THE place to be. The inside of the gym would be filled with vendors from all over the Tokyo area, selling everything from dishes to woodblock prints to kimono. Right outside the gym the antique vendors would set up, with all their wares. It was a treasure hunt every month! Our son attended middle school at Camp Zama, and the pizza shop at the Camp was the best around. Anyway, I have many happy memories of Camp Zama.

      Your genealogy group intrigues me. My first-year roommate at college was (is) sansei, from Pearl City, and she went back to Japan to find her family’s roots. Maybe your group could plan on going every other year or something, and do a random draw beforehand of which places/families to visit. You might get to see one set of grandparents’ location on one trip, and the other set another time.

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      1. How nice to find out that you had a connection to Camp Zama and have good memories of it, Laura.

        My Nisei parents met when they worked at Zama as civilian employees of the U.S. Army. They were married at the base chapel. I was born at the Camp Zama hospital, as was my brother. We lived off-base, in Washington Heights, I think. I was only 4 when we moved back to the States, so I don’t have many memories of Camp Zama, but I do remember eating pancakes on Sunday morning in the Officers Club.

        Thanks for the creative idea for how to organize potential genealogy trips to Japan! I will suggest it to my NikkeiGen group.

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  11. I also love this idea and keep a list in my goals book!

    My current total is having lived in/worked in/or visited 23 countries. I’m headed back to France – La Cote D’Azur – for Thanksgiving week to spend with the family with whom I lived when a college student.

    My wish list is:
    1. Iceland in winter to see the Northern Lights, frozen waterfalls, and experience the short days/long nights in the far north.
    2. England – explore Cornwall, follow in the footsteps of King Arthur, Stonehenge, bathe in Bath, live in a small village for a couple of months (Agatha Christy inpsired), and walk Hadrian’s Wall.
    3. China – I was there 25 years ago but it has changed so much. See Shanghai, Xian for terracotta warriors, boat ride through Suzhou, revisit Hong Kong and the markets.
    4. Spend 2 months in Hawaii: 1 month on Oahu, 2 weeks Big Island, and 2 weeks Maui. snorkle, watch for spinner dolphins, learn Hawaiian crafts, watch stars, eat shaved ice every day, go to Plantation Village, eat fresh fish and pineapple, ride down volcano after watching sunrise. BTW – 10 years ago we were on the Big Island in late June. There was an annual festival held at Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park that was incredible. We learned to weave bracelets from leaves, participated in a hukilau, ate kalua pig, and more. We also spend an evening on Mauna Kea at a stargazing night. It was incredible. We saw the rings of Saturn through one of the telescopes. Highly recommend this.
    5. Sedona & Grand Canyon (planning this for 2018 but several of the rim lodges will be closed for renovation. El Tovar was supposed to be finished by August, but the date was just pushed out to end of October).
    6. Christmas in Germany – visit Christmas markets, eat roast pork, play in snow.
    7. Cruise down the Rhine
    8. Temples of Kyoto
    9. Turkey – Istanbul, boat ride on Bosphurus, Cappadocia
    Hmmmm, I think I need to stop now!

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    1. I would be love to go back again to Sedona and the Grand Canyon even though we just went last year. Our trip was wonderful, but way too short and there’s lots more I’d love to explore and take in.

      Actually, everything on your list interests me. Well, except for Iceland. It’s just not calling to me right now. If you want a companion to view the temples in Kyoto, I’m always available!

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  12. There aren’t many places I wouldn’t like to go and with retirement 4(ish) years away I’m thinking about this a lot. The thing I look forward to in retirement is being able to go for LONGER and places I would like to spend 4-6 weeks or longer include: Africa (want to do an accommodate overland trip of 6 weeks or so, plus a week in Capetown), Spain/Portugal, SE Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos esp.), S. America. I would also like to spend a year traveling the US (including the National Parks identified above). I would like to drive all the way down the baja. I definitely want to travel in Romania, Albania, Croatia etc. I would love to see Morocco. Europe is always fantastic, just spent an amazing 8 days in Stockholm which I HIGHLY recommend. So many places, so little time…

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    1. Great minds think alike! There aren’t many places I wouldn’t like to go either. Africa is high on my bucket list – I want to visit Capetown and then visit Botswana and see the national parks there. We’re going to have to win the lottery though for that to happen.

      Morocco is big on my list too, as are the British Isles. All of my ancestors are Scotch/Irish/British/Welsh and I feel like I need to spend some time there, in the places my family came from.

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