Last week I was excited to add a new country to my growing list of countries visited. I use the Travelers’ Century Club’s list of countries, which currently numbers 325 countries and territories, as it has changed as the map of our world has changed. For fun display purposes, I like this map of the world which shows that I’ve only visited 17% of the world. I’ve got plans for the rest of the year that will have me filling in a few more countries. Create your own travel map – TravBuddy

2015 was a different year of travel for me. Typically, I travel 7-10 days each month, rounding out with some local trips and experiences. This past year, however, I found that I was gone for weeks at a time, often coming home for a day or two to unpack and head off again. I don’t that this was any better (or worse) than previous years, but one advantage was that I did get some extended time here at home to balance things out. I visited four new countries, made three trips to Europe and two to Asia, went on three cruises. Plus, a whole lot of domestic trips. Let’s take a look at what kept me busy this past year. January The year started in Seattle, with a traditional New Year’s Eve celebration at one of my favorite restaurants (El Gaucho) an overnight at […]

It’s time to update my bucket list, something I do every two years. It’s not a list for me to check thing off, something that should be obvious in the slow pace I’ve taken to the list. No, I’m just an avid list maker, and when I hear or see something that captures my interest, I put it on a list. I’ve capped my bucket list at 100, which provides plenty of room to list some far fetched ideas along with the practical ones, but also makes it finite. I don’t add anything until something gets eliminated, whether by accomplishing it or changing my mind about it. Here are the things I’m crossing off since my last update for 2014. Greece – I visited Greece twice in 2014, once for a tourism conference, and then for TBEX and some post-TBEX […]