When my mom and dad got married, they celebrated the event with a trip around the world.  I grew up with wonderfully exotic stories around the dinner table, like my mom descending into Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that buried Pompeii thousands of years ago, even though she was terrified. 

Or the ceremony they attended on a Pacific island with the natives, where my mom got so high off the pipe they passed around my dad had to perform the fireman’s carry back to the resort.  With those kinds of stories, you can see why I developed a wanderlust that never went away.

As I discussed in my guest post on A Better Way to Choose a Career, I grew up imagining myself a linguist and diplomat, mingling with fellow explorers and exchanging stories of our travels.  And yet, I haven’t traveled as much as I dreamed I would.   In fact, I’ve been known to depart more than one vacation early because I was homesick. 

(In fact, I cried the day my husband and I pulled out of the driveway for our own honeymoon fearing I would miss our cat.)  Clearly, being an introverted explorer has its challenges (apparently, so does being a parent, since every one of my pictures is pre-pregnancy).

So I decided to create a “Just Go” wall in our new house to remind myself of all the reasons I love traveling and the inspiration place can provide.  I want to not only put up pictures of places I’ve already visited, but also capture the places still on my list–a kind of inspiration point, if you will.  Since most of you won’t ever get a house tour, I thought it might be fun to share these with you here.  What are your inspiration destinations?

Glacier Bay, Alaska (2003)

Why we were there: My in-laws used to sail to Alaska every summer on their 47 foot ketch Small Rain. One summer we decided to join them.

Favorite moment:  I chased after a baby seal for hours, only to have it surface right next to my kayak once I stopped.  Hearing the whoosh of its breath was magical.  I paddled back to Small Rain so fast they thought I was fleeing a bear.

Galapagos, Ecuador (2004)

Why we went there: I sold it to my husband as a trip of lifetime before we had kids

Favorite moment: Getting close to the animals, like this albatross about to take flight for the first time

Machu Picchu, Peru (2004)

Why we went there: It was an add-on to the Galapagos tour

Favorite moment: A huge rainstorm hit just as we arrived at Machu Picchu, which meant we had the place nearly to ourselves.

Chesapeake, MD (2004)

Why we were there: We just bought a boat named Catalyst

Favorite moment: Sailing up Ego’s Alley in Annapolis my first time at the helm

Surfer's Paradise, Australia (2005)

Why I was there: Attending a scientific conference

Favorite moment: My goal was to hold a koala, but feeding the kangaroos turned out to be more fun

Pompeii, Italy (2005)

Why I was there: Another scientific conference

Favorite moment: Returning to Mt. Vesuvius, even though you couldn’t descend into the volcano anymore.  Turns out it was dangerous.

Giza, Egypt (2005)

Why we were there: Sold to my husband as yet another trip of a lifetime

Favorite moment: I loved recreating the picture of my parents on camels in front of the pyramids from their honeymoon.

Antarctica (someday)

Why I want to go: Strange and also breath-taking, it’s as close to the last frontier as you get on Earth.  Plus, I’d like to say I’ve been to all 7 continents.

Antarctica photo courtesy of Georges Nijs on Flikr