The Greatest Adventure

2015 is already shaping up to be the year of the journey. I'm not this guy, but I do have a few trips already on the calendar, and it's only the first day.

The second part of the year is somewhat empty at the moment, but I'm hoping that between my darling Zak and I, we will be able to remedy that. Here is a list of what is on the schedule so far:

Trip 1: January - London, England 

This will be my second time on the European continent, and my first time in the UK. Technically, my first trip to Europe was an overnight stopover in Brussels, Belgium. Many people would say that doesn't count, but to my (at the time) 14 year old self, it totally counted.

On the plus side, I plan to try and see as much as I can while I'm there. On the down side, it's a business trip, so I probably won't have a lot of free time to plan any excursions. Also, it's the tail end of winter, so there aren't a lot of daylight hours to work with. I plan to do what I can, however.

I suspect I'll be spending most of my time on this corner

Trip 2: February - Santa Ana, CA

This is not a trip in the conventional sense, Zak and I are just getting together for a weekend of music and jamming with a large group of online friends.  We do this sort of thing about once per year (last year we were in Nashville, and a couple years before that we went to San Diego).  With this jam scheduled to be just down the street from where we live, there was no way we were going to miss it.

Trip 3: February - Joshua Tree, CA

This is definitely NOT my first (or last) trip to my favorite place on Earth, however this will be the first time I am taking my mother, and my only time going without Zak.  My sister and her husband are about to have a baby, so before mom becomes assistant caretaker to her grandson I thought I would bring her down for some sunshine and whisk her away on a fabulous getaway to the desert.  I'm really looking forward to showing mom some of my favorite things in the park, and taking her to get the best steak on the planet.

We'll be seeing a few of these

Trip 4: May - West Coast Tour 2015

This is going to be a rare trip as my days of road tripping are mostly behind me, but on occasion I still like the idea of jumping in a car and seeing where I end up.  These days the demands and responsibilities of life don't allow for this sort of gypsy living, but a well planned excursion can still be done occasionally.

My traveling companion for this one is my like-minded friend Jess, who being from Wisconsin by way of Minnesota, has yet to see a lot of what we have here on the left coast.

Zak, unfortunately, is not a car journey kind of guy so he will be keeping the home fires warm for my return.

Planned stops for this trip:

Seattle, the city of my birth and starting point of our trip.

La Push, WA - a magnificent piece of the Washington coastline I have rarely seen.

Hoh Rain Forest in Forks, WA.  Yes, we do have our own rain forest in the US.

Mt. Saint Helens. It's making a beautiful comeback, but you can still see the volcanic evidence all around.

Astoria, OR - One of the most beautiful Oregon cities I have ever visited, and home to relatives of Jess.

Yachats, OR - I've been to this part of the Oregon coast a few times, and it never disappoints.

Eureka, CA - Home of the tall, red trees.  I didn't get to see much of them the last time I passed through.

San Francisco, CA - Our final stop and the place where we will part ways to return back to reality.