We have no plans to go anywhere in 2021. Nothing, nada, zip. It will be our first year without travel since I don’t when.
While it makes me sad to think about that, I’m someone who likes to make lemonade from lemons, so while it may be a year without travel, it will be a year for saving, making plans for the future, and getting ourselves in the best shape possible for traveling in 2022 and beyond.
Here’s how we’re going to spend the coming year:
#1: A Year for Saving
- Next year will be our year of pretty much buying nothing, and saving as much as we possibly can. We’ve set a big goal for ourselves in this regard: adding an additional $8,000 to our 2020 travel savings total by the end of the year. We are going to increase our monthly automatic allotment to the travel account beginning January 1, and then throw everything else we can into the account whenever possible. We spent this last year getting ourselves resettled on Kaua’i, but that’s been accomplished and we now can turn our focus to future travels. We have only two purchases planned for next year: a good recumbent bicycle for cross training, and a new pair of walking shoes for me. I think I can get to the middle of the year before needing the shoes, and they will be a transitional pair until I get trail shoes in 2022 to wear on our big walk in Japan. We’re also planning to do something special for YaYu’s 21st birthday since she’ll be here with us, but have not made any plans for that yet. Not sure exactly when we’ll be getting the bike, but we have one picked out and when we’re ready to segue into training mode we’ll order it. Otherwise, we plan to buy nothing new next year except for food, toiletries, and household supplies, and renewing our passports.
#2: A Year for Planning
- Although our travel plans for 2022 are pretty well set at this point (YaYu’s graduation in May, then Japan in September & October, ending with an 11-day walk on the Nakasendō from Kyoto to Tokyo), we are beginning to flesh out travel plans for 2023 through 2025. In 2023, besides a one-month visit to Japan in the spring, we’d like to return to England for three months, stay in the Cotswolds again, and concentrate on walks in the area including a full-length Cotswolds Way walking tour. Ideas for the two years after that (2024 and 2025): a spring visit to Japan, and then one year we’d either like to take a three-month late-summer, early fall trip again to Europe, with one-month stays in Denmark, the Netherlands, and London (which we didn’t get to see much of last time), or go back to Strasbourg for two months, but for the purpose of studying French, and then follow up that stay with a one-month visit to another city in France where we can use what we’ve learned. We fell in love with France during our 40 days there in 2018, particularly with Strasbourg, and thought this would be an interesting way to not only go back but engage more with the country and people there. We’d also like to do another rail journey in Australia, but that’s way out there for now. These BIG plans for the next few years are just ideas at this point, but we already know it will take lots of planning and saving to make any and all of them happen, and we will definitely have the time this year to start putting things into place to turn dreams into goals and then make them happen. In 2025 Brett will be 75, I will be 73, and at that point we’ll reassess how much and what kind of traveling we want to continue to do at that point.
#3: A Year for Training & Staying Healthy
- It goes without saying that good health is our primary goal in 2021, but beyond that Brett and I will continue to get in shape to successfully complete the long walking tour in Japan we’ve planned for the fall of 2022. We’re off to a good start, but still have a ways to go. This past year we’ve been walking for exercise; that is, we’ve been walking at a fast clip with a primary goal of losing weight. Next year the goal will change over to walking for endurance. Walking tours move at a slower pace than we walk now, but the length of walking time is much greater so we’ll be focusing on walking for longer times, and to that end we will put ourselves on a training schedule to get into top shape. I’ll have more up about that later, but it will involve cross training and strength training as walking. We will continue with our annual doctor’s visits and testing, maintain our current way of eating, and practice other healthy behaviors to ensure we finish 2021 where we want to be.
So, although we won’t be traveling next year, we will have plenty on our plates, and much to do to get ourselves ready for the future. We’re very motivated to make 2021 a great year for both us, all while continuing to enjoy our laid-back life on Kaua’i. We have much to be grateful for, but there’s nothing like a few goals to keep us motivated and looking forward, and we’re ready to get going!
The Occasional Nomads 
As much as I love to travel, we don’t have any travel plans for 2021. Ireland is still on level three lockdown and with everything that’s going on in the world right now, I prefer to stay close to home. But, bring on 2022! Thanks for sharing and have a good day 😀 Aiva
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We just looked at 2021 and what was happening everywhere, thought about it for a while, and decided we could stay home for another year and then make 2022 special. It honestly makes me sad, but we’ll manage and come out better for it.
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The only travel goal we have it to The Big Island for a couple weeks hopefully in the fall
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I think by fall things will be much improved here in Hawaii, and a good/better time to visit the islands, so your goal is on point. Hopefully the vaccination will be in full swing by that point, and you can feel confident about visiting (and the state can feel confident about welcoming visitors).
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Very much lemonade here! Instead of whining, regretting, and complaining, you are focusing, buckling down, and inspiring people you don’t even know from thousands of miles away!,
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We are getting ourselves focused for the coming year and we have set some fairly ambitious goals that I’m excited about. We’re both always happy to have a path set for us, and to know where we’re going and what we want to accomplish. Next year will be a busier year for us in many ways, but I’m grateful for the time we’ll have (12 months) to get things done.
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Love all your plans, and already I can tell by your apparent enthusiasm that you are well on your way to becoming people who love to be active ‘just because,’ not simply as enforced exercise.
In 2021 we have a 10-week RV trip through the Pacific NW in the works, with about 75% of our RV reservations already made. We can hike, bike and kayak pretty much everywhere we’ll be during the trip, all pandemic-proof activities. The only plane travel we’ll undertake is to visit our daughter and her family (our grands).
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Tamara, we feel very strange now on the days we can’t get out to walk. I’m looking forward to having the recumbent bike because even on rainy days we’ll be able to work toward our fitness goals. We’re feeling blessed though to be back in a climate where we can get out most of the time, and even more blessed to have such a great venue for walking. We discovered a second wooded trail yesterday at the park, and have added a trip around that to our current route!
Your RV trip sounds wonderful, and the perfect pandemic getaway. I envy you getting to see your grands, but we are hopeful that the coming vaccination will mean that our son and family will be able to visit Hawaii later in the year. Fingers crossed!
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It’s always great to read about your plans and then watch them come to fruition. You have some wonderful things ahead and I look forward to reading about them! Right now, we aren’t planning too far out, and my only goal is to see my new granddaughter again in 2021. The UK is starting to vaccinate, and I have high hopes we can get together with them here or there. Meanwhile, we’re discussing where we would go next (probably the NPs out West), but nothing solid yet.
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Brett and I have had a good time tossing ideas back and forth, and figuring out how we want to spend our time, and what’s meaningful to us at this stage of our lives, and we’re both motivated to try and pull them off in the coming years. I think a year off will be good for us, and productive as well in making sure we can do what we want in the coming years.
The UK is getting vaccinated (yeah!), but I’m also hearing not so good news about what’s coming in January because of Brexit – it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. It was a hard decision for us not to go back there first in 2022, but I’m excited about our big Japan walk and think it’s the right choice for us now.
The western NP have always been on our list – I’m hoping we can still fit that trip in one of these years.
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It looks like a solid plan. France has been on my mind as well, not sure when we’ll have the courage to get into a plane or among strangers.
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We wonder the same thing, when we’ll feel like getting onto a plane again, or sitting amount strangers. We’re hoping the coming year provides us the answers to these!
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Great plans! I plan to go visit my 2000 mile away grandchild as soon, and as often as possible, in 2022. I do not know about 2021. Other travel plans depend on when I retire, sometime in the next four years, the latest would be 2025. I am not including the beach trip a couple of hours away. I may fly grandchild and parents there and we meet, when this thing is over with. Mexico, and South America are at the top of my list for retirement. Of course I will bring grandchild….lol
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Sorry for the late reply! I’m with you about 2021 – I just don’t know how things will be with the virus, and don’t want to make plans or event think about making plans so think it’s best to focus on 2022 when it comes to traveling. I hope Brett and I can get to Mexico in the future, maybe in-between other travels. We were supposed to be there now.
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It must be hard for you guys to stay put for a year. We are making plans to travel next year but it might change like this year. We cancelled two big trips but managed to visit Maine and New Hampshire in the summer. We always wanted to hike Acadia National Park and explore more of ME and NH. We did just that.
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It is hard to stay put for a year, but we feel blessed to be here on Kaua’i. We were had plans to visit Maine (and Acadia NP) this past year, but that obviously didn’t happen. It remains on our bucket list though – we’re thinking positively that we’ll get there someday.
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Tokyo Disneyland will be celebrating their 40th anniversary starting 4/1/23. Based on previous “big” anniversaries, it will be the start of a year long celebration. in 2008, we went for the 2 weeks (before & after) their 25th, with a trip in the middle to HongKong Disneyland. This time we hope to do the same, but instead taking the bullet train to Hiroshima for the weekend in the middle.
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We were stationed in Japan when Tokyo Disneyland opened, and had tickets to attend the grand opening, but Brett got orders and we ended up on a plane back to the U.S. on the day we should have been at Disneyland! We’ve been a couple of times since, the second time in 2019, when attendance broke all records that day (it was fun, but we didn’t accomplish much). Brett and I loved Hong Kong Disney – it was very Disney but also distinctly different. Admission for each of us was only $13 US as we qualified for the senior price – our lunch there cost more than it did to get into the park! And I love, love, love Hiroshima – one of my favorite cities in Japan!!
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Staying put, in a place that is often associated with vacation, is a good thing!
We are still on the moving train. This winter of darkness will be filled with throwing out and organizing more. We have three trips lined up for 2021- all to Idaho. My husband leaves in a few weeks to do some inspecting and buying. April we will do the move of stuff. Last the drive of our autos. Whew! I SO look forward to being in the West again.
The other iron in the fire is a possible move for one of our kids overseas next summer. If that happens, I will be trailing along as the nanny as they set up house. I hope We can all get an anti body test by then….Since the children do not qualify for the inoculations(no-one under 16) and all the rest of us have, most likely, had it, I want to be able to travel freely.
2022? A family trip to Scotland to celebrate my daughter’s graduation from university (this May) is on the books. She has been in contact with bed and breakfasts and they are thrilled to be booking for then. Otherwise, we have a ton to do in Idaho. I’ve downsized all the big suit cases….light travel from here on out. Have you considered getting an antibody test for your daughter? She may have had it with her contacts in the past (not a bad thing) and it could help her with travel to and from school.
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We are fortunate to live where we do, and we know it! There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not glad we moved here, even though we can’t travel right now.
Sounds like you have a LOT of travel coming up. I’m having a hard time to resigning myself to not even going to another island, but here we are for the year. We’ll manage.
No antibody tests – it’s unlikely she has it. NO ONE has been more proactive about staying safe than this girl, and with four negative tests under her belt we (and she) think she’s OK for now. She’ll be tested again a few days after her arrival back at school to make sure she didn’t bring anything back with her. And, sometime this coming year she’ll get the vaccination (we all will).
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I admire you both for your setting of goals and dreams to fulfill!!
I hope that you enjoy your down year while you plan and save for the future –
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This is going to be a l-o-n-g year for us, but we know we’ll come out ahead by the end of it. And, with the vaccination coming, we’re looking forward to a big family reunion next Christmas!
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