Let's Run Away

Where Have you Traveled?

Whenever I talk about places I have been I feel like there aren't that many.  Usually the highlight of that conversation is that I have been to Greece. When I say that it doesn't really matter where else I have been because I went to Greece 11 years ago.  Greece is a dream vacation destination and usually that is what ends up getting discussed.  Because of that I have a tendency to forget the other places I have been. Granted, there aren't many, and none are as exotic as Greece, but I have traveled.  More than I usually remember.

In looking through pictures of where I have traveled I realized that I seem to have a thing for palm trees, and beaches, and doing inappropriate things to statues in Vegas.

The first time I ever road on an airplane was to San Jose, California when I was probably in 8th grade.  Mom, Morgan and I flew down and then we drove back through the redwoods with Dad, who had been working in Selinas.  We also took a family trip to Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. one year.

The summer between 9th and 10th grade I went on a Caribbean cruise with my friend Tabitha and her family.  It was a lot of fun but I would love to do it again as an adult.

San Juan, August 1997

My senior year I went on a class trip to San Diego.  We went to Sea World and Zoo and the beach.  If I remember right a few people on the trip got drunk, unbeknownst to our adult chaperones, and I remember walking. A lot.  

Me and Becky at Seaworld, 2000

Then there was that time I went to Greece.  I was 18 and I went with my boyfriend (and eventually first husband) Paul.  He had a house and family there and we went for three weeks.  It really was amazing. I would like to go back someday.  It was nice that we had family to stay with and it was certainly authentic. We ate Greek food, spoke Greek, rode on ferry's, sat outside and drank strong Greek coffee and visited the Acropolis. I do want to go back.  Even though it was definitely an immersion straight into Greek culture, I do feel like I missed out on a little bit by not getting to do the really touristy things. 

My favorite place to go was probably Hawaii.  PJ and I went for my best friend Mi'Cole's wedding in 2007. There is just something about the islands that makes for an amazing trip.  The wedding was great, the weather was amazing and the kids all had a really good time.  PJ asks me when we're going to back often. 

Heather, Mi'Cole and Me, Maui, Sept 2007

In February of this year I went to Detroit with the second ex-husband.  It was fun.  Interesting if nothing else. The mid-west is completely different than anything I had ever experienced before. Not in a bad way, just in a different way.  The best thing about Michigan was the flat.  There is SO MUCH sky.  You can see forever. I love that. 

Detroit 2013

I have traveled to Missoula, Montana for work.  It was really flat too.

The place I seem to keep going back to is Vegas.  I went in 2005, 2012, and I've been twice this year. There is just something about the idea of Vegas. Sunshine, pools and walking around with as much alcohol as you can handle.  I'm not big on gambling but I am big on people watching.  I love Vegas.

The first time I went was with husband number one.  We had fun.  It was the first time I ever left PJ home, he was about a year and a half old.  We went to the Hoover Dam and I crossed the border long enough to say I had been in Arizona.  I also found myself a knight to make out with.

The second trip was just last year with the second ex-husband and his parents.  It was fun but not nearly as fun as the two trips this year.

Lindsay and I went to Vegas in May this year.  It was an amazing vacation.  Lot's of girl time, pool time and food.  We got room upgrades, free bottles of wine and I came home with an amazing tan.

My second trip this year was for my friend Veronica's 30th birthday but morphed into a combo Vegas and California beach trip.  We had a great time. Drank, wandered, played in the sun at the pool. 

 At the end of Birthday week Josh and I traveled to California for some quality time.  I fell in love with the beaches and didn't want to come home.  I'm going back next week for more quality time and more beaches for my birthday.  Definitely the best birthday present I can think of. 

I guess the point is that I travel a whole lot more than my "Oh, I've been to Greece" statement indicates and, since it seems like my airport anxiety is subsiding, I'm going to keep traveling, as often as possible.