My Top 7 Travel Destinations (Why not?)

I've decided (for no other reason than the fact that I am bored and have nothing else to write about) to post the seven places on Earth that I would most like to visit (and perhaps stay a while). Without further ado, here they are (and in no certain order):

1. New England

2. Great Britain/Ireland

3. Alaska

4. New Zealand/Australia

5. Japan

6. Scandinavia

7. Egypt

Obviously there are way more than seven places in the world that I would like to visit in my lifetime. It is, however, much easier to blog about seven than it is to blog about a thousand. So I decided to write down the first lot that came to mind and these were the ones that surfaced first.

New England has held a curious interest for me for quite some time. At some point in the past ten years I realized that my favorite season is Fall. Well, in case you aren't already familiar with the climatological nuances of Central Texas, let me catch you up: There aren't any. There is very little seasonal change here. Summer is hot as hell. If Summer is hell, then Fall is purgatory. It's still warm, but not sweaty balls hot, if you catch my drift. When most everyone else in the country is already experiencing winter-like conditions in late November and December we here in Texas are starting to feel something like Autumn. Winter is an eye blink. We get a few cold fronts that amount to some wet, windy, overcast days, but that is about it. If the ground freezes or (gasp) we actually get some frozen precipitation (that's sleet and snow to the meteorlogically challenged) then it is obviously time for all local, state, and federal institutions to shut and wait until it is safe for the employees of said institutions to leave their homes again.

In any case, I am very fascinated with the idea of actually being somewhere that experiences a true change from Summer to Fall. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to see the New England fall foliage in all its glory, to experience Halloween in the historic colonial villages with their festive, pumpkin-filled wagons and haunted houses. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut! I kind of imagine that it would be something like being in a Scooby Doo episode.

Perhaps it's fitting that the next location on the list gave the former its namesake. I suppose that an explanation for this destination requires quite a lot of boring exposition that probably none of you are interested in hearing. So I will try to keep it to just a few points.

Great Britain and Ireland are a large part of my cultural heritage and ancestry. I've found that most people pay very little attention to the notion of ancestry, but I find it very interesting indeed. Besides being the name of a very fine brand of pottery, Denby just so happens to be a small village in the middle of England. It turns out (I'm sure this is true of many people of Anglo-Saxon ancestry) that our family is sprinkled with ancestry from all over the British Isles and Ireland. I have found different spellings of the name such as Denbeigh, Denbigh (also a village in Wales), Danby, and others that I have forgotten. As an aside my Mother's Father's parents were Italian immigrants. I'm quite sure, knowing me, that the Italian connection will soon become my next regional-historical obsession. And, those roots will be much easier to trace!

The historical value of such a notion as cultural identity and ancestry are enough to interest me and that brings me to my next point. History! The places known as Ireland, Wales, England, and Scotland (including several outlying isles such as the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides, the island groups of Orkney and Shetland, and furthermore including the Crown dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) are so bursting full of sickeningly rich history that I think I could not visit them enough to fulfill my wishes. From the first people to cross the land bridge connecting the British Isles with mainland Europe to the coming of Celtic culture on to Anglo-Saxon domination, and followed by subsequent Norse invasions and then finally Norman conquest, the island encompasses everything that I love about history. There is so much and so many directions to go it is almost impossible to know where to start.

And this brings up another point. Language. English may be the dominant language in this part of the world, but there are so many different dialects and languages independent from English, that it could take a lifetime's work to study them all. If this sounds boring to you, don't worry. You are in the majority. But, whether it is language, music, ancestry, history, architecture, politics, beer, tea, museums, or the breathtaking landscapes to see, this region of the world has it all. I will get there as soon as I can, and stay for as long as I can afford.

Ah, Alaska. What red-blooded American man hasn't read Jack London and wanted to travel to the northern territories and test himself against this dark, brooding, mountainous landscape? Who hasn't watched The Deadliest Catch or Man v.s. Wild and not wanted to see this sometimes frozen, sometimes lush place for themselves? It's about strength, courage, and a hard beauty that requires an open mind to appreciate. Enough said, I think.

Well, in my younger days one of my greatest wishes was to live near the sea and be a surfer like Bodhi from Point Break (I know, gay). Now I know there is more to Australia than sea and surf, but it is a huge part of the attraction for me. Although my interests and tastes have drifted more towards the northern, cooler climes, I will always harbor a desire to live by a warm sea and spend the days (or at least some of them) in the sun and surf.

What can be said about New Zealand? I must admit that before Peter Jackson introduced the world to these islands through his Lord of the Rings film trilogy I had very little knowledge or interest in the place. I wouldn't say that I am obsessed with New Zealand, but my geekdom threatens to overtake rational thought, which says "This place is not Middle Earth, you fool!". But who doesn't want to visit Hobitton and Edoras? (crickets creaking in the background) Okay, but I'm sure there are many more reasons to check this island nation out other than a few make believe locations but, admittedly, I don't know what they are. I've seen books on New Zealand and I've seen it depicted in movies. The landscape is beautiful beyond what mere words can describe, and I'll leave it at that.

My fascination with the orient started years ago when my Dad showed me my first Bruce Lee movie. I was introduced to martial arts the same way most other people have been and I have never been the same since. I dreamt of being a "black belt" and beating thugs senseless with deft moves of my hands and feet. So, soon a martial arts school opened in my little town and I begged and begged for my parents to let me go, but it wasn't until I was fifteen that they relented and allowed me to join the Unified Tae Kwon-Do school in town. It wasn't an easy commitment to make. We lived fifteen miles from town and it meant that my Mom (of course it would be Mom) would have to drive me to town at least twice a week for classes, wait around until class was over, and then drive me back home. Not a small commitment from the person that did all the cooking and cleaning for the household. Anyway, that was all it took. I was obsessed with just about anything Asian. I couldn't read enough or study enough about Asian food, culture, and society. I even gave the local Chinese restaurant a try, and I was a notoriously finicky eater back in those days.

Eventually my interest localized itself to Japan. I was convinced that all of the best martial arts and traditions came from the Japanese. Even today it is a hard concept to contend with. Though the Japanese aren't particularly good at invention, they are exceptionally gifted at innovation. One needs only look at modern examples for evidence of this: Cars, computers, and various other electronics are just a few. If we look deeper into the past, we will find that most things from Japanese feudal society were heavily influenced or introduced from China. The Japanese took these things (sword making, martial arts, architecture, government, religion) and in some of these things arguably improved them.

Anyway, I was enamored with the Japanese. I read and re-read Rising Sun by Michael Crichton and The Ninja (and subsequent sequals) by Eric Van Lustbader. I bought books about Miyamoto Musashi (Japan's most famous swordsman) and Ueshiba Morehei (founder of Aikido). I was convinced that I wanted to learn Japanese and become a translator. I became a big fan of Steven Segal's movies (I know, I know. Really gay) which showcased one of the most impressive martial arts (to me anyway) from Japan, Aikido. My Dad gave me my first katana and I enjoyed many satisfying hours of punishing the trees in our yard with wild slashes from its' sharp blade. Let me tell you, I was a force to be reckoned with. The trees on my block saw me coming, and they shivered with fright.
To sum it all up, I have never lost that interest of things Japanese. I do not see them as I saw them as a teenager. I see their flaws and faults, but I am still fascinated by their culture and wish very much one day to visit the land of teriyaki, samurai, and Toyotas.

And so we come to Scandinavia, the land of Vikings (a misnomer), longships, and Ikea. Well, the place just seems beautiful doesn't it? Fjords and rocky beaches abound in this land of cold and mist. Much of what draws me to this place ties directly to interests that I have in the history of this region. The Norse began their invasions of the British Isles en masse in the late 8th century, so it stands to reason with my interest in the British Isles that I would thus be interested in the land of the Vikings. Again, there is so much history and language here to be explored and studied. These people and their culture truly are fascinating.

I have been fascinated with Egypt since before I can remember. I've read books on Egyptology and alternative history books about the region. I have seen television programs that claim UFO involvement in the construction of these great monuments. Nonetheless, they are an imposing (obviously) and quite ponderous artifact sitting there in the desert for the world to see. Oh there's lots of history here to be sure. Greek, Roman, and Egyptian history is scattered throughout this country in the form of various archaeological digs.

See, there's a common thread for most of these places, and that is history. Here in the United States there really isn't any ancient history that you can walk up to and put your hands on. Unfortunately or fortunately, the Native Americans didn't build time and weather withstanding monuments to show that they had been here. So it's no wonder that most of these places have some kind of historical interest for me. It is tangible in these places. It is real. We live in a time and place where travel about the globe is not only possible but common. We are a global community now more than ever, with all that that entails. For better of for worse. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Kirk out.