Oh, right...the backstory.

I know what you're asking: who is The Reluctant Traveler?  And...is he seeing anyone?

I've never been a big traveler.  My family went on one big trip to Disney World when I was a little kid, during which I lost a stuffed Donald Duck, and then I took another trip with my cousins to New Hampshire and Washington D.C. which was an awesome week-long lobster feast.  Other than that, I spent my teens and early 20s relatively home-bound.

It wasn't that other places or other cultures didn't interest me - far from it.  I studied German in high school, and Russian and Japanese in college.  I think what it comes down to is...I was a cheapskate.  Traveling seemed like a very large financial expenditure for very little return.

I thought that I might want to *live* somewhere else for a while...like, if I ever went to Germany or Japan or Australia, that I'd want to get a job there and really immerse myself in the place.  Yeah, good luck getting a work visa, and even if you do, are you sure you're going to enjoy living and working where you've ended up?

I did take one fairly big, enjoyable trip when I was in my late 20s: I received an offer to come down to Bermuda in the summer of 2000 for a job interview.  The company flew me down there and put me up in a hotel for four days.  I spent a good amount of time with the boss and the crew - we sat and chatted in their office, went and played 18 holes of golf at St. George's, went out and drank...a lot...and then I had one day to myself, during which I rented a scooter and drove all over the island.  It was a really enjoyable time.

But...it wasn't really a *vacation* in the strictest sense.  It was business, and I was "interviewing" the majority of the time I was there - not exactly a relaxing week in Bermuda.  Then the reality of actually moving to another country started to sink in...if I got the job and accepted it, would I be happy there?  For many people, the answer would be a quick and resounding "YES."  For me...I wasn't so sure.  I grew up snow-skiing in Michigan, and beach life just didn't sound appealing to me.

So, I turned down the job, and my traveling days ended...or so I thought.  I started teaching router/switch classes all up and down the eastern seaboard, most often in the NYC and DC areas.  That counts as traveling, right?  Well, yes, if I had gotten out and actually visited the cities I was in when I wasn't teaching.  The problem was, I was on my feet all freakin' day, and the last thing I wanted to do at night was go walk around anywhere.  I could've (and should've) hopped on one of those tour buses, but I honestly didn't even think to do it.

Traveling just wasn't in my blood.

So fast-forward to 2009, and here I am working for a major airline as a network engineer.  The fact that I receive free flight benefits didn't even sink in until I had been here for about three months.  After acclimating to my new job and settling in, I just sort of realized one day - oh yeah, I can go anywhere I want to now.  I started surfing wikitravel.org and making a mental list of places and things I'd like to see, but more importantly, do.  That's really the key for me.  I'm not one to go browse around a museum all afternoon - that sounds kind of boring to me.  But, if I can go skiing, or take scuba lessons, or go windsurfing...ahh, now we're talking.  The most enjoyable part of my Bermuda trip was the day I rented that scooter and just drove around aimlessly, exploring the nooks and crannies of the tiny island.

So I started traveling a bit...I flew home to Detroit from time to time, but I also went out west and skied in the Rockies finally (a far, far cry from skiing in Michigan...there really are no similarities between the two, aside from snow and gravity), visited a friend in Hawaii (Oahu), spent a few days in Munich (my German isn't as good as I thought it was, but I got my first taste of international first class), New Hampshire, New York (got on a tour bus finally!), San Diego, San Francisco, and Puerto Rico (love love love the Caribbean Sea).

My goal right now is to visit all seven continents.  (Yes, all seven - I can fly down to Ushuaia Argentina, then hop on a boat down to Antarctica.  It'd soak up all my vacation time for the year, but I think it'd be worth it.)  I've also thought about doing a round-the-world trip: Chicago to Moscow, Moscow to Vladivostok via the Trans-Siberian Railroad (9 days), boat from Vladivostok to Toyama Japan (2 days), train from Toyama to Narita, Narita to Chicago.  Again, I'd burn a year's worth of vacation time, but it'd be an interesting trip and would certainly give me a chance to bone up on my Russian!!

My recent trip to Ireland was supposed to be a trip to Japan, but I learned at almost the last minute that the week I had off work (April 26th through May 4th) coincided with "Golden Week" in Japan, during which there are four major national holidays.  Forget about finding a hotel room anywhere, much less a plane or train ticket anywhere.  I figured I didn't want to deal with that hassle, and altered my plans.  Ireland was on my list, and I had been researching my family history - I have distant ancestors who hailed from the Armagh and Waterford areas of Ireland, so I figured I'd go check it out.  I'm planning on visiting Japan in August, and want to be in Hiroshima on the 6th for the anniversary of the atomic attack.  My friend Emily, who holds a Masters degree in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii, has cautioned me to expect more than a few evil eyes if I'm there on that day.

Also on the itinerary for later this year: New Zealand.  We're slated to start flying the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner between Houston and Auckland...when we do so, hopefully I can kill two birds with one stone: visit New Zealand, and fly on the new plane.  First class might be asking for too much, but I'm 4 for 4 on flying first class to overseas international destinations (Ireland and Munich round-trip), so maybe I'll continue to live a charmed life.

...And find fun things to do.