Who's with me?

So I realized that in a couple of weeks Mr. and I have a four day weekend.  (Labor Day…still not 100% sure what this holiday is about but I’m pretty much down for anything that gets me out of a day at work!)  Usually this would be a very exciting time; four day weekends don’t come very often, especially in the military, which means that when they DO come around we’re usually going somewhere to take advantage of it!  But with our move 11 days after that, our monetary funds are a bit tied up in more practical things such as food, moving expenses, purchasing a car so we can actually go places when we get Stateside, savings so when we’re jobless/homeless we can still get by, etc…  BORING!  A year ago we would have been scanning Vueling and Ryan Air for the cheapest flights around Europe and going wherever the 40 euro fare would take us…not this year.  And that made me very, very sad.

I know what you’re thinking…poor little traveler doesn’t get to go on yet ANOTHER vacation.  I know, my complaints seem petty and horribly self-centered, because they are!  I can be petty and self-centered, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that sometimes, especially when I realize it and admit it. 

The whole thing got me thinking, we’ll be back in the “real world”*** soon.  It’s hard to take vacations, especially long ones to fun places, in the “real world”.  I know this because prior to moving to Spain, I went to Europe ONCE, and it was only because I was lucky enough to have a great friend do a study abroad program in Scotland.  Other than that my big, fancy vacations were San Francisco for the weekend.  (Don’t get me wrong, I love SF and will probably go back another 100+ times in my life, but it’s not exactly Italy.)  Despite the “real world” about to move in on my lovely three year hiatus, I want to travel!  Scratch that, I NEED to travel.  I have never felt as at home as I do when I’m in a foreign country.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.  I am at my absolute happiest when I’m in good company (Mr. usually, but I’d love if friends and family would join us too) seeing things for the first time and experiencing another culture, eating amazing new dishes I would never have had tasted if I stayed in one place, and doing things I never thought I would do.

And ALL this got me thinking that if I want to continue to travel I need to plan it!  I know we won’t be making our monthly trips like we do now, but if we plan it and start setting money aside now (or as soon as we get jobs of course!) then we will still travel!  I think I got my 30/30 list all wrong by putting specific places I want to go on it because I’m feeling a bit limited in my choices now (especially since Mr. threw out Rio de Janeiro for our next big trip and that was NOT on my list) but I’m thinking with a lot of planning (and some eating of popcorn and Top Ramen for dinner) we’ll be able to make this all happen!  So although I’m bummed about our upcoming four day weekend I’m going to make the most of it (lazy beach days and maybe an “Italy” night so we can finally drink that last bottle of wine we brought back from Tuscany!).  And I’m going to start brainstorming and dreaming up our next trip…who’s with me?      

***I call it the “real world” because, let’s face it, I’ve been living a very unreal life the past three years.  My rent and utilities are paid for (I don’t ever even see a bill!), I don’t have a car payment, I work part-time at a job I enjoy, I spend three and four day weekends travelling wherever my heart desires.  In the “real world” I’ll have to start working full time, car payments will be making a come-back, and rent and utilities…well let’s just hope we can find a job let alone an affordable place to live with electricity!  The quotes around “real world” are because I refuse to believe that is what MY “real world” will be…I want my world NOW to be my real world and I’m going to do my best to find a happy medium.