I have rung in almost every New Year from my hometown in Montana. This has not always been by choice, but holiday ticket prices and family obligations have tended to conspire against more exotic trip-planning at this time of year. I'm here again this year, laying low at my mom's place in between seeing friends and visiting family.
In a way, it makes sense to contemplate the year ahead in travel from here. Montana is where my travel habit got its start. In high school I used to drag my friends to the small parking lot abutting the runway of the local airport. We'd hang out in the car, listen to music, and wait for planes to land (which happened, at most, once-per-hour.) It was from our single terminal, single runway airport that I took off on my first big trips: Portland with mom, school-hunting in Chicago, France with the French Club.
Today I head to the same airport en route to New York on what will be the first official travel of this year. Tomorrow I'm back at work. And while I'm less than enthused about the weeks of winter that lie ahead in a cold and grey New York, the year ahead in travel looks bright. Excursions to Australia, San Francisco, Montreal, and Peru already dot the 2010 landscape. More short itineraries are in the works.
And yet a new year in travel brings with it a new year in travel anxieties. I already foresee conflicts with my boss over time off. A weak dollar almost guarantees money will be tighter on overseas trips. And with new security restrictions in place at the airports and planes packed full, I worry about my own my patience with the travel process wearing thin.
Where are you going in 2010? What are your travel anxieties? Will you have enough time off work? Do you have the money?
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