We could do these!

We're getting ready for our trip to Maine. We leave Friday morning, and I have loose ends to take care of: (1) Putting together an executor's binder, just in case - it's been on my computer for ages but I've finally printed it out; (2) Making sure I have all our Maine travel details in a folder - we're going without a car and using public transportation instead, spending six days on a schooner and then seven days on an island; (3) Cleaning out the refrigerator - we're doing a home exchange with the couple who owns the island house; (4) Thinking about how I'll get six days worth of clothing into one carry-on bag - we'll be on a sailboat with no washer and dryer; (5) Getting ready to clean up the front porch and the back deck to welcome our home exchange partners.

I was interrupted by my own curiosity about future trip possibilities. After exploring multiple websites, I found two on Exploritas. I've read the itineraries to my husband Art, and he agrees that these two are what we're looking for, for places we've talked about visiting: (1) Journey of a Lifetime: Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Next spring, maybe. And (2) Trans-Siberian Railway from Beijing to Moscow. The following spring, maybe. These trips cost more than our usual ones, but they motivate me to be frugal, to take fewer trips, closer to home, using timeshares or home exchanges.

Between the time I quit my job in June, and next January, we'll have taken eight trips. I must have been travel starved. By January I should be ready to stay home more of the time, so we'll be able to save for the big ones.

I hope.