Travel Bucket List 2021

One of my favorite hobbies besides reading and writing is traveling. I always look forward to at least one yearly trip with the family, and due to COVID 2020 meant no summer trip in the Pehote household ( we did squeeze in a Vegas trip in late February of 2020 for a gymnastics meet....just before the world shut down). I have been itching to travel and decided to pull the trigger and book a summer trip that can be canceled if necessary. I honestly hope with continued vaccine use travel will be possible.

My philosophy on travel is simple, try not to keep repeating the same trips over and over. I get it, Vegas is great, Orland is great (for some....), but there is so much to see in this country alone, not to mention the entire world, that I try to spread my travels around so I (and my family) can share new experiences.

I have been very lucky when it comes to travel. My father worked for the airline growing up, so we did get to experience some great family vacations. I have also been able to travel for work with some school trips to locations such as New York City, Washington D.C., England, Scotland, Spain, and France. I also do not mind driving long distances, so road trips are never out of the question.

How about some travel photos?

Paris, April 2018

The Original KFC, Summer 2018

Inauguration Day, 2017

Surviving the Punta Cana Death Scare, Summer 2019

Maui, Summer 2017

Toledo...Spain, not Ohio April 2018

So, while I have been able to enjoy some trips, and maybe in a future post I will rank my favorite vacations....for this post I want to share my top five trips that have yet to take place. These are the places/trips I need to take before my time is up on planet Earth. Here we go, in no particular order:

Moscow/Saint Petersburg Russia: The current and former capital of Russia are both on my list and really count as one trip. The history and culture is very interesting to me.
Italy: Not sure how I want to knock out Italy. Maybe a Mediterranean cruise that ends in Rome? Then spend some time checking out the rest of the country? I am not a big "cruise" guy, but to be fair I have never been on one either.
Germany: I was in Germany for a quick second, the Frankfurt Airport. I enjoyed a pretzel and coffee and waited for my flight to Madrid. I would love to spend more time in Germany.
A cross-country Amtrak train trip, with sleeper car: My dad and I had one of these booked years ago on the California Zephyr to visit my sister in Reno. Then she up and moved to Phoenix before the trip and we had to cancel. I am not sure which line I want to take, the Empire Builder to Seattle is tempting as well....but I do want to try out one of these long train trips out of Union Station in Chicago.
Montana: I kept going back and forth between Montana and Alaska....and I guess if I do not do the Mediterranean cruise for Italy I can shift this back to Alaska and do a cruise there. I really want to visit the Northwest and experience the natural beauty. Find a beautiful lodge near Glacier National Park and enjoy some hikes in nature.

So there are five trips I plan to complete sometime in the future. I think they are all "doable." I could probably combine number two and number three into one trip to be honest. Do you have a "Travel Bucket List?" Where do you want to go?

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