Today’s theme plays into the major travel bug that bit me this year. Below is a map that represents the States I Have Visited.

Growing up my family always found a way to take a trip, big or small. I appreciate that commitment more than ever now, as I have a clear understanding of the cost of travel (by air or road) and how precious vacation time is at work.

I have also gotten to travel quite a bit for work over the years which has been a lot of fun. My favorite business trip (aside all trips to NYC) was to Boston. I had never been and even though it was a whirlwind trip in and out, my boss found two hours for us to go on a Duck Tour. I remember it being a great break from an exhausting day and a wonderful way to see the city’s landmarks in one go around. I went back to Boston several times after that but have barely scratched the surface on what Massachusetts has to offer. The Cape is calling my name!

Ideally I’d love to get to all 50 states in my lifetime, but my top priorities currently are:

• Louisiana…for jazz in New Orleans
• New Hampshire…I hear Portsmouth is incredible
• South Carolina…Charleston looks like a little slice of heaven
• Oregon…to take in true Pacific Northwest coasts
• Maine…to eat copious amounts of lobster

Louisiana is truly #1 because my cousin and his wife live there currently and I know they’d show us an incredible time. We had big plans to visit them this year but vacation time and budget did not allow for that trip. Hopefully 2013 has a Big Easy visit in the cards!