Life as we know it...: Goal #1: Travel

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I would possibly talk about some of my goals and I'm not sure how to tackle that exactly. So, I have this list in my phone that says "Goals" and I have some things that I want to do on it. Some of them are simple and are personal goals and others are a bit more complicated and involve (and require) others.

S.S. Badger on our way to Milwaukee
Grandma Carlson and me

At the top of my list is Travel more--USA and abroad. This one seems ambiguous and vague. So, to be more specific, I would like to travel to all 50 states and a few countries (in Europe, South America, and Africa) by the time the girls both graduate from high school. I've got a plan in place and we are about one year behind schedule but hoping to get back on track this year!

I think my love of travel stems from travelling with my grandparents when I was young. My brother, Jason, and I got to travel with them to Chicago numerous times, Detroit, northern Michigan, and Florida (Key West).

I remember the trips vividly and love Chicago to this day. I want to be able to share the same experiences with my girls! We have already taken a spontaneous trip to Chicago and I can see they love it as much as I do!

Me and my daddy at Uncle Larry's 1982

Uncle Larry's Farm, 1993?

We also, as a family, went on trips to Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, some of the travel was thanks to my brother's traveling basketball team! Lots of camping and lots of boys! We also made a yearly trip to Uncle Larry's farm near Rockford, IL. It was a trip with so many cousins and aunts and uncles and also my grandparents! We were all so close, I am so thankful for growing up with all of them!

In Grand Teton National Park
with Aimee Aikens, 1996

In high school, despite not traveling to Paris with the French club, I was able to head "Out West" between my Sophomore and Junior years. This trip was amazing and I visited Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Iowa, and Nebraska. We saw so many monuments and national parks and I did things (like white-water rafting!) that I didn't think I'd ever do. (Editor's note: I did take the "easy" raft and didn't actually have to steer and paddle too much, still a great, if not terrifying, experience)

Close Up, 1997
(l to r) Mr. Nugent, me, Sarah, Jason,
Amanda, Chris

Then, an opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. arose with the group Close Up. What an inspiring trip! It helped that a few of my good (including my best) friends attended this trip as well. This is what sparked my interest in government and history.

Then, the summer between high school and college, my mom took us on another out west trip and I added Colorado to the list.

Pacific Ocean! 2001

I continued my travel into my twenties and was able to fly out to California and Uncle Bruce and Aunt Sharon showed me around pretty much the entire state! We went from Fresno and traveled all the way down to San Diego and all the way up to San Francisco and I set foot in the Pacific Ocean for the first time!

I'm done for now...maybe I'll add more later. Here are some parting shots from other travels along the way!