Bucket Lists

I passed a milestone this week.  Over 100K frequent flyer miles in my skinny little MileagePlus account.  I stop, savor the numbers… One-one-seven-eight-five-eight.  That’s a LOT Of numbers!  It means the world is my oyster.  I could travel to Tibet, Tasmania, or Taiwan.  I could sip sake, savor snails, or slurp sangria. 

I could go a.n.y.w.h.e.r.e. on 117,858 frequent flyer miles.

But, damned if I don’t find myself hitting default.  Heading, rather, for the land of fried fish, pickled eggs, and Marmite. 

It does cross my mind that it’s crazy… I have so many places on my bucket list.  Hobart, Tasmania! Alaska! Hawaii (my sister has even been to Hawaii!).  What is wrong with me? 

Perhaps, it’s the history of England?  The magic? The brilliant swath of color across a verdant valley on a gorgeous spring day?  Perhaps it’s the baby lambs, the West End shows, the mystery, the never-ending surprises that greet me on each trip.  Just when you think you have England sussed, you turn a corner and she proves you know nothing at all.

I sigh and turn to Trip Advisor.  What new routes should I pick?  Perhaps a more in-depth look at Cornwall and Devon.  Oh, and while I’m at it… let’s add more of the Cotswolds with a pinch of Yorkshire and cup of Cumbria.  Mix it all together and see what the result will be.

In 2014, I created my most brilliant masterpiece.  An all-out, balls-to-the-wall super overview of England, Scotland, and Wales.  We visited places I’ve never been before and places I’ve loved.  England, once again, wraped me in her arms, welcomed me, charmed me, and left me wondering… what next?  And what next?  There is always a next.  If I go to Hobart or Christchurch or Tripoli… I might miss something.  I will have blinked and I will have missed the magic – perhaps forever.

So, I begin to wonder if my bucket list will ever be realized because England (in its entirety) IS my bucket list.  In the end, it’s not so much where you go, but what you gain from having gone.  And, with 117,858 frequent flyer miles… I daresay I will gain a lot in 2016!