Travel Thoughts By Kim

Most adventures start with me at the dining room table with a pile of maps and brochures.

Let’s go on an adventure together….into my Bucket List!

Happy New Year! This edition of Travel Thoughts By Kim kicks off my fourth year of doing these articles. When I was first approached about doing them, I thought there was no way I could come up with interesting things to write about for very long. Well, I guess I was wrong!

I’m often asked “where HAVEN’T you been?” Well, the answer is “a lot of places”! I have an Adventure Bucket List in my head. It never gets smaller because when I complete one and it drops off, I tend to add at least one…..or more…..to the list. My goal when I first started was to try to visit all 50 states and see as much of this beautiful country as I could before I get to the point where traveling just isn’t easy for me to do physically anymore. But, I quickly found out that there is so very much to see and do – it isn’t just a matter of visiting all 50 states. I completed that goal in 2019 and began focusing more on specific adventures and branching out of the United States. 

So, I thought I’d kick off 2023 by sharing with you some of the items that are currently rattling around in my head on that Adventure Bucket List. This is nowhere near a complete list – there’s a lot more I hope to accomplish at some point, but you get the idea. You can follow along to see what, if any, of them get completed and what more I add along the way.

I’ve always felt like I didn’t do Texas the justice it deserves. My time there met all the criteria to check it off the list, but I saw so little of the huge state. So, I really want to go back and see more. I’m thinking maybe flying into Houston, visiting a cousin near there, renting a car and driving to Galveston, San Antonio, Austin, and wherever else I can visit in a reasonable distance and time frame and fly back from wherever I end up.

I loved the time I spent in eastern Iowa and would love to go back. But, this time, I want to visit the western part of the state. In particular, I’d love to see the covered bridges in Madison County, IA. The movie “Bridges of Madison County” was filmed there. Also in that same general area, there is a John Wayne museum, a quilting museum, and other cool sounding things to see and do. Who knows what else I may find while I’m there.

I’ve recently added Midland, Michigan area to the list. Albion’s world famous Santa Claus School founded by our own Charles Howard was purchased and moved to Midland after Mr. Howard’s passing. I’d love to see how they are continuing his legacy. Also near there is the Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, MI that I’m told is worth the trip all in itself and the Fantasy Land Christmas Display is in Lincoln, MI. I also have a friend that lives there that I’d get to see at the same time.

All I need for a grand adventure is a plan, a map, and a camera!

I’m obsessed with the idea of driving the Florida Keys. I’ve been to Key West and would love to go again, but this time spending more time to see all of the keys.

I have plans to do the Canadian Rockies at some point. I’d also like to see more of Canada – like the Montreal, Quebec, and Newfoundland areas, at least.

A ride through the Panama Canal is definitely in my future at some point. I’ve been looking at a Caravan bus tour that not only takes you on a boat ride through the canal, but also visits other points of interest in the area. I’ve thought of a cruise, but comparing the two options, I’m thinking I’d enjoy the Caravan tour more….we’ll see.

More international travel is an interest to me. Places I’d love to visit are Germany, Greece, more of the Tuscany region of Italy, parts of the Orient, and, I must say, I get a little excited if I ever think of doing an African Safari. All of these are probably long shots, at this point, but a girl can dream, right?

Who knows where I’ll actually end up spending my adventure time, but these are some of the places that keep popping up when I think about where I may go next. Of course, I’ll share wherever that ends up being with you all and you can always visit my blog here.  to read about places I’ve been. On the right side of the page you can scroll to find the “Categories” list and click on “Adventures” to pull up anything I wrote with the adventures tag or you can type in any destination in the search box to see if I’ve ever written about it. 

Happy Adventuring!