My Very *Unrealistic* Travel Bucket List!

The quote “I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list” truly resonates with me. I LITERALLY want to go EVERYWHERE – it is scary at times. I have been lucky enough over the years to have traveled to 13 different countries including the United States and cross half of the States off my list, including all of the States on the East Coast. My parents definitely put the travel bug in me at a very young age, and it surely did not go away when I studied abroad. 2020 has definitely been a year for exploring places nearby and local – day trips anyone?! While 2020 has halted many of our travel plans, I have not let it stop me from daydreaming up some more travel plans/bucket list ideas when it is safe to do so. That being said, I give you my *VERY* long Unrealistic Travel Bucket List that I have *A LOT* of time to write, well because, it is 2020. Enjoy!!!

United States

Keep In Mind I Want to Eventually Visit All 50 States!!!

• Glacier Lake National Park, Montana – my DREAM HIKE
• Utah National Parks
• Rockport, Maine
• San Diego, California
• Richmond, Virginia
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Alaska – definitely a favorite for many in my family too and a hiking DREAM!
• Charlottesville, Virginia
• Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
• Fayetteville, Arkansas – I lived here when I was real little and am dying to see it again!
• Niagara Falls, New York
• St. Louis, Missouri
• New Orleans, Louisiana – especially for Mardi Gras or a celebration!
• San Francisco, California
• Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
• Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
• La Vegas, Nevada – most definitely for a Girl’s Trip or to see Britney Spears!
• Provincetown, Massachusetts
• Brunswick, Maine
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming – yet ANOTHER hiking destination!!!
• Salem, Massachusetts
• Natural Bridge State Park, Virginia
• Napa Valley, California – Wine IS MY FAVORITE
• West Palm Beach, Florida
• Pikes Peak, Colorado
• Seattle, Washington
• Bar Harbor, Maine
• Portland, Oregon
• Badlands National Park, South Dakota
• Hoboken, New Jersey
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Columbia, South Carolina
• Providence, Rhode Island
• Sequoia National Park, California
• Denver, Colorado
• Nantucket, Massachusetts
• Cape May, New Jersey – one of my best friends has a beach house there and he LOVES it!
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Los Angeles, California
• Any and ALL of the adorable towns in Vermont
• San Antonio, Texas
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• King of Prussia, Pennsylvania – well, because the Lilly Pulitzer headquarters are there!!!!
• The Berkshires, Massachusetts
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• Lawrence, Kansas
• Boone, North Carolina
• Mount Rainer National Park, Washington
• Hawaii – hiking & beaches definitely the best of both worlds!!!
• Bath, Maine
• Emerald Isle, North Carolina
• Mobile, Alabama
• Camden, Maine
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania
• Jackson Hole, Wyoming
• Havasu Falls Pools, Arizona
• Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – love me a lake AND some gorgeous scenery!
• Carmel-By-The-Sea, California
• Austin, Texas
• West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Maine – I LOVE lighthouses!!!!
• New Haven, Connecticut
• Lexington, Kentucky – my Step-Mom grew up here and I’ve always wanted to see Kentucky!
• Michigan Beachtowns
• Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
• Rockland, Maine
• Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• South Bend, Indiana
• Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Asheville, North Carolina – The Biltmore!! I will say nothing more 🙂
• Staunton, Virginia – a former retired professor of mine owns a B&B here with his wife and I’m dying to visit him with friends as well as see some Shakespeare plays!
• La Jolla Cove, California
• Ski town, Colorado
• Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
• Cannon Beach, Oregon
• The Ozarks, Missouri/Arkansas/Oklahoma – heard they’re STUNNING and am dying to go
• Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Morristown, New Jersey – I was born here but haven’t been back in a LONGGG time, and it’s a cute town!!!
• Blowing Rock, North Carolina
• Fargo, North Dakota
• Mississippi Beaches – the Gulf of Mexico beaches are STUNNING y’all!!!
• Chicago, Illinois
• Cambridge, Massachusetts
• The Greenbrier Hotel, West Virginia
• Brooklyn, New York, New York
• Belfast, Maine

Canada

• Banff National Park, Alberta – yet ANOTHER dream hike of mine
• Montreal, Quebec
• Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
• Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland & Labrador
• St. Andrews, New Brunswick
• Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
• Toronto, Ontario
• Vancouver, British Columbia – I have family here that I’ve never met that I’d LOVE to meet 🙂
• Fundy National Park, New Brunswick
• Quebec City, Quebec – a Christmas time dream of mine!!!!!
• Fredericton, New Brunswick – I have family that lives here, too 🙂
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Edmonton, Alberta – I also have family that I’ve never met in person here as well 🙂
• Victoria Island, British Columbia
• St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador
• Saint John, New Brunswick – yet another city where I have family at 🙂
• Acadian Peninsula/Region, New Brunswick
• Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia – I’d especially like to go here in the Fall!!!

Caribbean/Central America

• Bermuda – my grandparents know their way around the island pretty well, and I’d LOVE to explore
• Puerto Rico
• Costa Rica
• Pig Beach, The Bahamas
• Jamaica
• Aruba – you can mingle with Flamingoes!!! There’s nothing more I want to do in my life 🙂
• Cuba
• Mayan Ruins Sites, Mexico – it was definitely a highlight to visit some when in Belize and I’d LOVE to explore more!!!
• Tikal, Guatemala
• Mexico City, Mexico – one of my best friends from high school went for Dia de los Muertos and LOVED it, so I’d love to go someday too!!!

Europe

• Oxford, England
• Mont Saint Michel, France
• Prague, Czech Republic – I went here when I in high school and I’m dying to go back!
• Iceland
• Croatia – stunning Mediterranean coastlines?! Count me in!!!!
• Bruges, Belgium
• Barcelona, Spain
• Moldova – I have always had a fascination for Eastern European countries, especially this one!
• Paros, Greece
• Monte Carlo, Monaco
• Sicily, Italy
• Salzburg, Austria
• Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany – I have DREAMED of going here since I was little!!!!
• Colmar, France
• Galway, Ireland
• Warsaw, Poland
• Lithuania – my Great-Grandfather’s parents were immigrants from here, so I’d love to see this ancestral homeland of mine 🙂
• Zurich, Switzerland
• Latvia
• Amalfi Coast, Italy
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Moscow, Russia
• Aix-en-Provence, France
• Lake Bled, Slovenia – I’ve been obsessed with this stunning destination AND it’s a lake!!! Say no more!!!!
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Tallinn, Estonia
• Ukraine – yep, another Eastern European country to serve my fascination with the region!
• Munich, Germany
• Santorini, Greece
• Poznan, Poland
• Nice, France
• Montepulciano, Italy
• The Vatican – I would LOVE to attend a holiday service here sometime in my life, even though I’m not Catholic
• Bratislava, Slovakia
• Halstatt, Austria
• Malta
• Lake District, England
• Lucerne, Switzerland
• Isle of Skye, Scotland
• Lake Como, Italy
• Tulip Fields, Netherlands
• Mostar, Bosnia & Herezgovina – my Mom visited this stunning Eastern European town and I’m dying to go now!
• Madrid, Spain
• Luxembourg
• Heidelberg, Germany
• Norway
• Dublin, Ireland
• Liechtenstein – a DREAM of mine!!!
• Grindelwald, Switzerland
• Budapest, Hungary
• Mykonos, Greece
• Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
• Brussels, Belgium
• Bern, Switzerland
• Loire Valley, France – stunning castles everywhere you turn and great wine aka my DREAM!!!!
• Scottish Highlands, Scotland
• Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Cordoba, Spain
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Georgia – yep, another gorgeous Eastern European country that I’m dying to see
• Seville, Spain
• Northern Lights, Finland
• Wales
• Saint Petersburg, Russia
• Grenada, Spain
• Cambridge, England
• Romania – castles and rugged countryside!!!
• Dover, England
• Milan, Italy
• Albania
• Nuremberg, Germany
• Sofia, Bulgaria
• Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herezgovina
• Portugal
• Tuscany Hill Towns, Italy – you got me on WINE!!!!

Middle East

• Israel
• Turkey – I would LOVE to see this stunning country
• Jordan
• Egypt – you had me at the pyramids of Giza!!!

Asia

• India – probably one of my top destinations in the region!! I have a great friend whose family is from India and I’m obsessed with Indian food 🙂
• Lhasa, China
• Vietnam – one of my best friends’ family is from here and my mom also LOVED visiting Vietnam
• Tokyo, Japan
• Bali, Indonesia
• Hong Kong
• Shanghai, China
• Thailand – yep, probably my absolute DREAM PLACE to go!!!!
• Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Myanmar – you had me at hot air balloons!!!
• Beijing, China
• Singapore
• Bhutan

Oceania

• Sydney, Australia – probably my top in this region
• New Zealand
• Hamilton Island, Australia
• Bora Bora, French Polynesia
• Alice Springs, Australia
• Fiji – getting to learn more about Pacific culture is a dream of mine!!!
• Melbourne, Australia

Africa

• Morocco
• South Africa – my mom went here and fell IN LOVE with it!!
• Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia

South America

• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Lima, Peru
• Galapagos Islands, Ecuador – animals and wildlife up in their natural habitat?! OH YES!!!
• Easter Island, Chile
• Machu Pichu, Peru
• Patagonia, Argentina/Chile – yet another hiking destination!!!
• Colombia
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Ushuaia, Argentina
  

While it is realistic that I will visit each of these destinations someday, it is always fun to dream. One of the most important lessons that I have learned throughout 2020 is to continue to prioritize travel and new experiences. Not only do you learn and grow from seeing new places and cultures, but you also gain a new sense of acceptance for others. Travel is a gift that is such a privilege for so many of us. Why not take advantage of it?!