What is Next On My Travel Itinerary.
Every time I visit a new country, I make sure to take pictures and acquire a small souvenir. Then, once I get home, I frame one of my favorite shots from the trip and hang it on my bedroom wall. I also take my trinket from said destination and place it on my desk with all my other souvenirs.
Needless to say, I simply LOVE travel. From a very young age, my parents instilled in me a definite wanderlust. I am fortunate to have been all over the world in my thirty-four years of life. I currently have a bucket list of destinations that I wish to visit. These consist both of countries that I have already been to and places that I have never seen.
As I was discussing in one of my previous blog posts, I am very drawn to nature and to countries that are “green.” Deserts don’t necessarily agree with me. If you pay attention, you will notice a definite theme here, which is that all of my favorite destinations are very verdant and natural.
First on my travel bucket list is the small island nation of Ireland. My given name happens to be Irish, and roughly translates into “white hawk.” For this reason alone, I have wanted to go to Ireland for years. My Aunt Sue went a while ago and highly recommends it. If you are curious as to what Ireland looks like, I highly encourage you to Google “the Cliffs of Moher.” If I ever do eventually fly out to Ireland and visit a pub, I wonder if I would run into another Gavin there.
Second on my list is the Scandinavian nation of Norway. My late grandmother on my mother’s side, Marguerite, was roughly half Norwegian, and this is a major reason why I have taken such an interest in the country. I am told that on the Milner side of the family, we are descended from the Vikings. The vast majority of Norway is undeveloped nature, by the way. According to Google, the “developed” portions of this country only occupy 2% to 5% of its total land area.
The third and final country on my travel bucket list is a destination that I have visited before: the island nation of Japan. My trip there occurred back in the 2000s, when I was in high school. I have discussed this experience on this very blog before. I had such a positive time there—and this was so long ago—that I feel I am due a trip back. Every time I visit my favorite sushi restaurant in Ventura, I always see a map of Japan on the wall and experience a strong desire to fly back and visit my old Japanese homestay family.
During my thirty-four years of life, I strongly feel that travel has made me into both a better and stronger person. If I ever have kids of my own, I would want to take them all over the world. I simply love trying new experiences and things, and I strongly believe that oftentimes one is not able to truly appreciate and understand one’s own culture if they have not witnessed the traditions and lifestyles of others.
“Travel far enough, you meet yourself.”