Ok folks. I know I started off strong and then fell off. Said I was going to venture to certain states and didn't. With the New Year came a much needed career change- and a salary to boot! And actually enough travel plans to get me warmed up for an even bigger 2014.
Barring major incident or joblessness, here is what I have lined up for 2013:
First will be Chicago in April. A good sorority sister friend of mine is getting married. That weekend also happens to be my birthday. I've looked up the price of flights (damn non-hub Pittsburgh airport!) and it was about $230 round trip with United. Doable! I also have other sorority sisters interested in doing sight seeing the days before and after the ceremony, so while I may not be able to do my normal total immersion into a city (my sorors tend to be adventure phobic) I will at least get to hit some highlights and add Illinois to my list!
(Speaking of Chicago, I found this neat travel blog about the city. Sorry if the formatting is a little rough... I am typing this on my phone: http://www.85tours.com/2011/01/tower-that-tips-its-hat-to-neighbors.html?m=1 )
Next is a trip to the greater Louisville, Kentucky area to visit two distilleries and (hopefully) the Louisville Slugger factory/museum. That will be a quick trip, just under 48 hours, but again very doable.
That Monday I come back- assuming I go the weekend I plan on going- I am taking a bus day trip from Pittsburgh to Falling Water and Kentuck Knob- two Frank Lloyd homes that will enable me to continue my Pennsylvania adventures. (I plan on doing a lot in my home state. Y'all don't mind :) )
After that I have two conventions I could chose to go to, but I'm only picking one and that is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ill try and go and be seen at the convention but then break away to the real part of the state I am dying to visit: Boston! They of course aren't that close. But hopefully that won't be a problem if I get my driver's license by then. (More on that another day- but it would help my travels immensely).
And then, my final trip of the year (as I see it): Alaska. Yep. My godmother has been pressing me to go with her on an Alaskan cruise for years, and even before this blog I was interested in going. While she is helping me financially with part of the trip (My awesome new job is still QUITE new as is my financial recovery from being under employed for a whole year) we set sail at the end of August!
Since we won't leave until a Tuesday, we both planned on getting to Seattle, Washigton a few days early to do sight seeing there. She's a lot more adventurous than most people I know my age, so I doubt I'll have many problems with getting her to do corny touristy stuff.
Never mind how having a driver's license will make it much easier to get into Ohio, West Virginia, and other not too far states from my home!
I'm very excited. Always a little nervous about the financial aspect of reaching this goal (seriously- doesn't an airline or hotel chain want to sponsor me??) but I'm determined. And I hope you don't take my sporadic tweets as abandonment. It's actually quite the opposite...
I'm even more fired up to go!
