I almost forgot! Some of my past travels...

When I was a little girl, I had a poster on my wall. It said, "If you can think it, you can dream it. If you can dream it, you can become it." I believe it. I believe it with all of my heart.

Me in Grant Park,  Chicago, Illinois
May, 2007

Me with my brother, mom, and Sis-in-law
in Las Vegas, Nevada
September, 2009

Hug Point, Oregon Coast
November, 2009

Thumbs up before my first Harley ride,
Louisville, Kentucky, November, 2009

At the grave of Colonel Harlan Sanders,
Louisville, KY, 2009    

On the Waterfront, Portland, Oregon
July 4, 2010

On the boat to Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California
March 2010

Great Wolf Lodge Water Park, Grand Mound, Washington
June 2010

Leavenworth, Washington (A Bavarian Village)
June, 2010

Tillamook Cheese Factory, Tillamook Oregon
July, 2010

Oswald West State Park, Oregon Coast
July, 2010

One of the best things about Raja is that he loves to travel, and so do I. He has been many places: China, Japan, Israel, Finland, Italy, Ireland, other places in Europe, Africa...lots of places. He's also seen a lot of the major U.S. Cities. I, on the other hand, have been to many states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, Alaska, Utah, one corner of Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Texas (airport only), Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Wisconsin, North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York) but have never been out of the U.S., with the exception of British Columbia, Canada, when I was a kid.

In the last year or so, I've traveled more than I have since I was in my 20's (I'm turning 41 next Wednesday, the day we leave for India.) Other trips I have planned for this year include a weekend in Southern California (my best friend from middle school lives 1/2 hour from Disneyland!) and a trip to New York and Washington D.C. over Thanksgiving. 

I hope I never stop traveling. There's always more to learn and more to see. I want to visit all of the states and the Canadian provinces well before I die, as well as every continent (except maybe Antarctica.)   I have promised myself never to turn down an opportunity to travel, unless I absolutely have to.

One of the reasons I love the Internet so much is because it gives us the opportunity to meet so many amazing people from all over the world. Thanks to the internet, I have friends in states, provinces and countries I have not yet visited. I have had people visit me from England, Spain, and all over the U.S. and Canada. Then, I sometimes have the opportunity to visit them, too, when I travel their way. It's really an amazing thing.

Next year, I hope to go to Alaska. I've been there three times, but Raja has never been, and we'd like to take the kids. He really wants to see the Aurora Borealis (the phenomenon some call the "Northern Lights") and I'd like to see them too. No matter whether it's a weekend trip down the road, or three weeks and 8100 miles, traveling is, in my opinion, one of the most worthwhile ways to spend your time. Why sit in front of the T.V. when you could be swimming with otters off  the coast of Oregon, or watching deer run through the woods in the Hoh Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, or gazing at a black bear lumbering through a valley on Mt. Rainier, or peering at a scorpion hiding under a rock in Ukiah, California?

Why plug into headphones (although I love my iPod as much as the next person) when you could listen to rock music fill the air on a warm summer day in the California mountains, blending with the sound of wind chimes and the pungent, spicy scent of the bay laurel trees?

Why fight aliens in a video game when you could tramp through the desert in Nevada, seeking out the real Area 51, as the cicada song buzzes like a live wire in the heavy heat? If this blog serves any purpose, perhaps it will be to encourage people to step outside into the big, busy, beautiful world. There is so much out there to see.

I hope that every person who reads this blog gets a chance to go someplace and see something special. The first part of making that happen is to dream it. Eighteen months ago, I had a dream about two elephants. I didn't know what it meant, but it turned me towards India. A year ago, I made a plan to go to India "someday," although I didn't know how I was going to make it happen. Now, in only a few days, I will be living my dream: to be a teacher who travels the world.

I wish you many wonderful adventures. Be good!