We’ve hashed it out and chopped it up for weeks now, and we feel we finally have a plan. Actually, I am not sure that it’s that, more like a wish list of places to go and see. Our goal is to be gone from Phoenix 10 of the 12 months from September to September 2020….we aren’t going to be permanently on “vacation”, more like staying in a few places for a couple months at a time. As much as we like to travel, its exhausting to live out of a suitcase, bouncing around with 2 kids and 2 dogs every few days. So here we go:
Starting around the first few weeks of September, we will go to Portland, Oregon and spend 2-3 months there. There are a number of reason that we chose this place. September and October is still furnace level heat in Phoenix, and PDX is quite the opposite. I can think of no better place to spend those months than in Portland. September is GORGEOUS, and October is incredible with the fall colors and crisp weather. The biggest reason for my choice is actually very personal: I know Portland very well, I own a business that is based there, and for the last 15 years I have spent at least 2 months a year there for work. I keep an older car there and a Vespa for transportation, I know all the restaurants, coffee shoppes, dry cleaners, neighborhood identities….it’s very safe for me. If I can’t run my 2 businesses in Phoenix from Portland, a city on the same time zone, a city 2 hours away by plane from Phoenix, a city where I feel very comfortable, then I might as well bag the whole damn thing. I’d like to spend Thanksgiving week in Portland, but a lot depends on my wife’s preferences(she’s not completely in love with Portland like I am, something about blue haired, feminist vegans)
Our next stop, starting around December 1, will be one of our favorite cities to spend December and part of January in: Phoenix, Arizona. I understand that’s where we live, but it’s a wonderful place, especially during the winter months. Living in that 2 bedroom condo isn’t going to be fun, I don’t even want to think about it right now.
January – February: I haven’t completely decided this yet, but I would like to go back to South America, maybe Argentina or the Southern part of Chile. Still figuring this trip out. This wouldn’t be a long trip, but an actual 2-3 week vacation.
February-March: I am in love with the South of this country. I love the history, I love the people there and the weather, most of the time. We want to stay near Charleston, Savannah and I would very much like to visit some of the outlying islands.
Mid April to end of June: France, Spain, Germany. We enjoy Europe, but have never been there for longer than 3 weeks, we are going to be in different places, but more stable, like 2-3 week stays in each place. Yes I know I have to plan this.
July – August: Montreal, Quebec City and Charlevoix. Its probably the nicest place in the northern hemisphere during the summer months, plus it has great French food, and the Canadian bounty is incredible: Elk, Deer, Horse, and all the trimmings to go with it. Every time I go to that area, I wish I could stay longer, so this time I am.
I know most people would plan this trip out in excruciating detail, they would pick their exact dates, exact train tickets and times, vehicle rentals, places to go and see and the like. I’ve done this many times, but I really want this to be more organic. I don’t want to have to do this, I want to want to do this. If we decide that we hate this, then all bets are off. A lot depends on how Portland goes.... I can't really think of all this right now, because we have to clean out our house and move.