New Journeys

Once a traveling Mo, always a traveling Mo.  Since I’ve been working the craptastic holiday season I feel the wanderlust creeping back into my bones.

I do have a few tiny trips coming up to be grateful for.  Zac and I are going somewhere during his winter break in January.  We’re not sure where yet, but it’s been a while since we’ve had an opportunity to get away just the two of us.  We’re trying to pick a place that is not to far from us in San Francisco, but not too cold and snowy either.  I also have an upcoming girls weekend in March with the Jew Crew, the friends that I grew up going to synogogue with.  We did a girls weekend a few years ago that was a blast and have been meaning to do another one.  They are all still in LA, so it will be a welcome time to bond and be girly together.

But I also have bigger plans in the works.

Over my birthday Los Angeles sojourn, I found out that I have some money that was previously unknown to me.  It’s not an inheritance or lottery winnings, but it’s just the right amount to take a big trip with.   I’d been thinking about doing a big trip years from now when I can save up the money, but seeing as how piddly my savings is right now, I was worried that that would just be a pipe dream.  Not anymore!  Now I have enough that in another year or two, I can go and do another big trip that lasts a month or two, like my European extravaganza or Israel excursion.

Which is nice.  Because as you know, when you put a Mo in a box for too long, she will leap out of that box and end up in a foreign land.

So now this brings me to the question of where.  I have a few ideas banging around, but the sooner I nail one down the sooner I can start planning!

– Europe (again):  I really like the idea of doing a similar trip as my earlier Europe one.  That trip was truly life-changing, and I was much younger than.  If I went back, it would be interesting to see how my older self views Europe.  See how it has changed and how I’ve changed.  A bit more anthropological of a trip.  I would also go to new places that we didn’t make it to, and skip ones that I feel like I don’t need to see again.  Also, I’ve never traveled alone, and if I couldn’t find any travel buddies I would feel most comfortable seeing Europe by myself as I’ve been there before.

– Asia:  As you all know from my previous posts, I have never been to Asia but really want to go!  A few years ago I almost went with my friend Sara but went to Israel instead since it was a free trip.  She did Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Burma.  I would also be interested in seeing South Korea, China, Mongolia, and Japan.

– Russia and Ukraine (the trip to the Motherland):  A few years back, my family was planning a trip to the Motherland, or Russia.  In the 1920’s our ancestors immigrated to the US from a town that no longer exists outside of Kiev, Ukraine.  Our planned trip was to see Kiev and our pile of dirt, as well as Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia.  We abandoned the trip because it was too expensive and also because my mom didn’t realize that Kiev is in Ukraine, not Russia, which to her is a third world country.  I’ve always wanted to go, and it would jumpstart me on another dream of mine to write our family history.

– I also love the trip that my good friend Misha did.  She too did the Birthright Israel trip, but also went around to various places where she had friends.  Her trip was three months and a random assortment of places: New York, Scotland, Israel, Paris, and Turkey.  She always had a place to stay and a buddy, and got to see what her friends’ lives were like.  I could do a similar trip and visit couchsurfers that stayed with my sister and I, or bloggers that I’ve made contact here on wordpress: see Madame Weebles in New York, Le Clown in Canada, Syd in Scotland or Australia, Whitney in Bulgaria, Edna in Paris, Hilary wherever in the world she happens to be.  Such a trip might get too expensive though, I’d have to look into it.

What are your thoughts, readers?  What of my ideas appeals to you most?  What have I left out?  Where in the world would you go right now?

Good Luck and Happy Travels,

Mo