Homebound…..

Going on two months of stay at home advisories and unlike most people, being a remote worker prepared me for significant time alone/confined. But even I am getting a bit of cabin fever, especially on a nice day like today – sunny, breezy, temps around 20 (C), so I went out for a long walk this morning and got some exercise, some vitamin D and saw a good chunk of people not wearing masks. I wear one. It’s not the prettiest and I can see no need for makeup any time soon since the makeup would not be seen and would be smeared. Cosmetic companies/stocks may drop. With most of the face covered, even sunblock seems somewhat optional.

But courtesy of this stay at home order, it got me thinking of places I want to go when there is some semblance of normal in the travel cards. I am thinking there will plenty of good deals, empty planes, empty hotels and great service. So my bucket list is as follows:

1. Eastport/Lubec, Maine – the first places to see the sunrise in the U.S. Since it’s right on the US/Canada line, maybe go to Campobello and see FDR’s summer retreat. Go drive up Route 1 that runs along the coast of Maine, take food detours, picture detours……. and use up my rental car points in the process. Gas is still relatively cheap.
2. Billings, Montana; Salt Lake City, Utah; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Boise, Idaho. I just need these four states to get the continental US state count. They are all red states that does thrill me, but I figure 24 hours in and out would be ok. Maybe fly to Salt Lake City, then drive to the other states, and maybe take a right and go see Mount Rushmore.
3. Berlin. I want to go back to Berlin. There is still so much to see and granted, I packed a lot into two days when I was there one November, still so much to see.
4. Dresden. Art, architecture, food, history.
5. A small ship cruise up and down the Croatian coast. Katarina Cruise Lines. I have had my eye on a trip with these people for years. I either had the time or money but never both. One day…..
6. Lviv/Lwow. I was there once for a few hours, not enough time to go really see the city. It was like going into a time warp – 20 years earlier.
7. Milan – visit my house of worship – Armani. I have been to the Duomo and the neighboring gallerias. Maybe do some more local tours in the suburbs and have pizza and gelato of course.
8. Porto. Everyone goes to Lisbon, I want to check out Porto.
9. The Baltics. Hopefully I can get there before they are invaded by Russia.
10. Edinburgh and Glasgow and take trains around the country.

I am sure there are others, but I just want to do more traveling around Europe. I wanted to get to North Africa but ran out of time and then there was the Arab Spring and nothing seems to be safe there now, especially for a non native.

For now, here’s hoping that some travel will be allowed soon. Everyone be safe.