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I used to be a person who jogged half marathons (I could never claim to run them). I did a half dozen or so a year for a few years. The first ten miles were fantastic! I took in the surroundings, the thrill of movement, and the camaraderie of the race. After ten miles, however, was a different story. I hated every step and spent miles 11-13 berating myself for my self-delusions of my endurance and athleticism and vowing to never do another one. But I jogged the next one in a month or two because I had already signed up (read paid). The first time was by accident, but after that it was intentionally so. If I had already planned the next race, there was no way I wouldn't participate.

I have developed a similar routine with traveling, though in reverse. The termination of a race was jubilant -  I didn't have to move any more and there was always food - whereas the termination of a trip is always bittersweet. But in both cases about three-quarters of the way through my focus and attitude change - I stop enjoying the moment and start dreading the future. In one case a future with something (a race) and the other a future without something (a destination). 

Two weeks before I left France this summer, after three months of international travel[how I spend this summer], I broke down. Although I travel domestically for work[feeding frazon] and would be in six major cities in the first month of my return, I didn't know where my next "proper” vacation would take me, and I was, unreasonably, terrified looking down the barrel of four months without one. My unfounded fears were soon quieted with an invitation to Hawaii - my final U.S. state - but I was reminded of a valuable lesson I should have already learned, or at least guessed at; to plan ahead.

Therefore, as 2019 nears its end, I am planning ahead to my Top 5 Destinations for Travel in 2020

Australia & New Zealand

If you didn't catch my reading list update, you may not know how little interest I have previously had in going to Australia. Which is to say, none. Like hawaii, my last state, I considered just not even attempting to go. Hoping I could get out of it somehow - wasn't 49 states enough? If I go to all 50 states what goals will I have left? Wasn't 5 of 6 inhabited continents enough? Could I go to New Zealand and count it as Australia? But along came my reading challenge with Bill Bryson's book In a Sunburnt Country (or, as my dad asked the librarian, Suntan In Australia) and a conversation with my dad about moving to France. He would not even visit me if I moved to France. Or anywhere. Except Australia. He wanted to visit Australia. The only place he’d consider getting a passport to visit was Australia.  Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner! My misanthropic, xenophobic, homebody of a father wanted to go somewhere enough to at least joke about getting a passport - that was all the wiggle room I needed. Australia jumped to the top of the list. My parents will be turning old next year, so a father-daughter vacation to Australia seems appropriate given that I’ve already pre-planned a birthday trip with my mom to . . .

Scandinavia

When I got my mom a passport for Christmas many years ago I asked where she wanted to travel. "I've always wanted to go to Sweden," she said. We went to Italy. Don't ask why. At the time Italy and Australia were the only two countries I actively didn't want to go to. C'est la vie. In 2019 our trip was thwarted by health issues so 2020 is the year! Our flights have been booked (Thanks Dollar Flight Club!) and the planning and preparation has begun. We will have 14 full days in Scandinavia and plan to hit Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and hopefully Norway as well. I have previously been to Norway and Denmark, Copenhagen is one of my favorite cities in all of Europe, so I am excited to go back and also to explore new places with my Mom, particularly Helsinki, a favorite city of every friend I know who has been there.

Eastern Europe / Balkans

Last year when I traveled to Greece I looked into doing a WWOOF stay in Albania or an archeological dig in Bulgaria to prolong my time abroad. I ended up going to Morocco instead. Do you notice a pattern here? When I was looking at the scratch off map and how much of the world was left to discover, I couldn't help but be drawn again to Eastern Europe. So many countries with so rich a history all there together (always the draw of Europe). What a glorious opportunity! Two days later my phone started throwing up news about Albania and hasn't stopped since - I took it as a sign. I reached out to a friend who studies international relations for book recommendation about the region. I read a fascinating book Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka Kassabova and am currently working on the The Butcher's Trail: How the Search for Balkan War Criminals Became the World’s Most Successful Manhunt. Next year, in the six weeks between two French weddings, I will be road tripping through the Balkans and hope to see Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, maybe Romania, and maybe Croatia.

Hiking the USA

A life goal since college has been to climb Mt Everest. I want to be serious about it. I made a 5-year plan post but am reluctant actually post it because it seems so impossible. And if I post a plan it is out there forever and any one of you can rightly judge me for not doing it - the blessing and the curse. That being said, I'll be spending half of next year in a mountainous state for work and plan to take full advantage of the opportunity to gain much needed skills, endurance, and confidence to move forward with my Everest plans . . .

Thailand and Cambodia

I got a free 6-night stay for two (plus resort fees) at a resort in Thailand through It’s A Lovely Life that I must use by the end of January 2021. I could obviously delay until 2021, but that is cutting it pretty close. 

So that’s my list and it is looking like a pretty full year. What about you? Where do you hope to travel to in 2020? Any recommendations at my destinations? Comment below!