In one of my favorite movies, "It's a Wonderful Life," Jimmy Stewart's character wistfully details his future, one he envisions will include travel to exotic destinations. George tells Uncle Billy, "the three most exciting sounds are plane motors, anchor chains, and train whistles."I couldn't agree more! Nothing puts me in a better mood than knowing I'm going on a trip.
Funny thing is, I've got so many trips planned for the next few months that I had to remember which airline I'm flying and out of which airport I'm leaving for my trip TODAY!!! Yep, I'm off to the East Coast where I'll visit Jada and my "Sister J" and, um, okay, so I'm going to two Cubs/Nationals games too! You knew THAT was happening.
I bought the game tickets months ago, before I ever met The Announcer (for the Nationals). But, yes, I did call and let him know I'd be in town. He sounded pleased, so we'll see. Hopefully, he can meet us for drinks tonight.
But what REALLY made my heart beat a bit faster today was the booking I made for my annual birthday trip in November. We have a precarious situation at my office currently, one that would prevent any normal human being from planning a disappearance. But, hey, this is me! and travel is a big part of who I am, so damned! I was defininitely going...somewhere!
For the past five years, I've been fortunate enough to be able to celebrate my birthday in another city, usually another country. It's totally hedonistic and I love it! Originally, the plan was to travel to new and exciting places every year without seeing the same country twice, at least until I'd seen every continent.
And then I went to Australia.
Unless you've been there, there is no way to explain the love affair I have with the land Down Under. The Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, Melbourne. I can't help but smile when I think of my old friends, having visited them three or four times in the past six years.
I'm always home in time for Thanksgiving, and that's where it gets tricky. I try to use frequent flier miles for my birthday trips (who wants to pay for their own birthday??), but the freebies are severely limited and snatched up very quickly. So, when Erin of United's award travel told me that she could get me on flights to take me to and from Sydney, I wanted to crawl through the phone line and hug her!
Happy Friday everybody!!!
