June 15-20 Hot Springs Virginia: Fill & Download for Free

52 weeks in a year and 50 states in the USA... Coincidence? I think not!We'll throw in two territories for the extra two weeks. I choose… Puerto Rico and American Samoa…Yes that means 1 week in Alaska and equally 1 week in Rhode Island. That’s just the way it’s got to be.For this plan, start in the last week of October to kick things off at the American Samoa tattoo festival. We’re then going South in the winter, and winding North for the summer. This way, temperatures should be in a moderate 50’s to 90’s range for the year of travel meaning no bulky coats needed or dying of oven like heat. Well, except for when you get to Alaska in late October. You’ll need a coat for that.Because this is my fantasy journey, it’s filled with things I like: local natural wonders, caves, historical monuments, nifty architecture and sculpture, quirky museums, and a couple amusement parks and shopping locations.The plan is arranged to have at least one thing to do every day, and to limit the amount of driving on any given day while maximizing the number of things that can be seen in a single state. The time in parenthesis is the driving time from the previous days activity, where greater than one hour, rounded to the nearest half hour. I’ve summed up the driving time for each state in the header, too, only considering the drives that are over 1h long.The longest stretch of driving is a 10 hr stretch from one part of Alaska, through Canada, to another part of Alaska. The most hours of driving in one week are 23.5h in Wyoming.Here’s my estimated budget:RV: $2k to $100k, depending on how fancy you want to get.Gas & Maintenance: I estimate the total trip will included about 40k miles of driving. let’s budget $10k for fuel and repairs / maintenance.Camp fees: Average $30/night, so about $11k for the year.Food per person per day: $15 to $45 depending on your tastes and financial state, so $5.5k to $16.5k for the year. You could totally spend less on food than this, but I’m budgeting for a little comfort and nutrition.Entry fees: Lots of the stuff on my list is free, but let’s budget an average of $100 in entrance fees per person per week, for a total of $5.2k per person.Flights, Ferry, & ShippingAmerican Samoa to California: $750 per personFlorida to Puerto Rico: $200 per personPuerto Rico to Georgia: $200 per personShip RV from Key West to Atlanta: $1,000Washington to Alaska: $500 per personMiscellaneous (i.e. buffer): Because something will go wrong, put aside an extra 10% on top of the expected budget.In all, this trip is likely to cost $50k to $180k for two people.Miranda’s Magnificent ‘Merican Motor MarathonAmerican SamoaWeek 1 (last full week of October)Day 1: Fly to Tutuila Island, American SamoaIt takes about 1.5 hrs to drive from Tula, Eastern American Samoa to Poloa , Western American Samoa, across the length of the island, therefore there is not much driving this week. I recommend taking taxi’s, aiga buses, or Uber.Day 2: National Marine Sanctuary of American SamoaDay 3: Fagatogo Marketplace, Traditional Samoa Fiafia Night ShowDay 4: Tisa’s Barefoot Bar, feed the eelsDay 5: Attend the Tattoo festival (occurs in last full weekend in October).If you are adventurous, get a tattoo to mark the start of your USA adventureDay 6: Go to a Samoan church service. National Park of American SamoaDay 7: Rose Atoll (southernmost point in the USA)HawaiiWeek 2 (November)Day 1: Fly to Honolulu, HawaiiSince you’ll be going from island to island in Hawaii, it doesn’t make sense to rent a car for this week.Day 2: Pearl Harbor, Pu'u O Mahuka HeiauDay 3: Bernice Pauahi Bishop MuseumDay 4: Hanauma BayDay 5: Take a whale watching boat to The Big IslandDay 6: Hawaii Volcanoes National ParkDay 7: Rainbow Falls in the Puna National Forest and Mauna Kea ObservatoryCalifornia* (12.5h)Week 3 (November)Day 1: Fly to San Francisco*Buy a used RV, SF bay area recreational vehicles.Day 2: AlcatrazDay 3: Chinatown*Day 4: Castello di Amorosa (1.5h)Day 5: Calaveras Big Tree State Park (3h)Day 6: Hollywood, Los Angeles (6h)Day 7: Trolley tour*, San Diego* (2h)Nevada* (22h)Week 4 (November)Day 1: Las Vegas* (5h)Day 2: Stratosphere*, Cirque du Soleil*Day 3: Neon museum, indoor skydivingDay 4: Sedan Crater (2.5h)Day 5: Tikaboo Peak (4 hr), Little A'Le'Inn (2h)Day 6: Lehman Caves (3.5h)Day 7: Great Basin National Park, Wayne Newton’s Casa de Shenandoah (5h)Utah* (20h)Week 5 (December)Day 1: Bonneville Salt Flats (7h)Day 2: Temple Square and the Great Salt Lake (2h)Day 3: Arches National Park* (4h)Day 4: Goblin Valley State Park (1.5h)Day 5: Bryce Canyon National Park (4h)Day 6: Zion National Park (1.5h)Day 7: Scenic Drives from KanabArizona* (14.5h)Week 6 (December)Day 1: Grand Canyon*, (North Rim, 2h, South Rim, 4h)Day 2: Two-day mule ride down the Canyon*Book this trip at least a year in advance if you plan to do the south rim trail!Day 3: Stay at the bottom of the Grand Canyon*Day 4: Return to the top of the Grand Canyon*Day 5: Wutpaki National Monument, Petrified Forest (from North Rim, 6h, from South Rim, 4h)Day 6: Taliesin, Goldfield Ghost Town (4h)Day 7: Biosphere 2*, San Xavier Del Bac Mission (2.5h)New Mexico* (21h)Week 7 (December)Day 1: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Las Cruces (7.5h)Day 2: White Sands National Monument (1h)Day 3: Sandia Peak Tramway (4h)Day 4: Chaco Culture National Historical Park (3.5h)Day 5: Aztec Ruins National Monument (1.5h)Day 6: Santa Fe, Canyon Road Arts District, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (3.5h)Day 7: El Rancho de los Golondrinos, Museum of International FolkTexas* (21h)Week 8 (December)Day 1: Amarillo, Cadillac Ranch (4h)Day 2: Palo Duro Canyon State Park (1h)Day 4: Enchanted Rock (7h)Day 3: Alamo (1.5h)Day 5: Space Center in Houston (3.5h)Day 6: Dallas, Cowtown Opry at the Stockyards (4h)Day 7: Dallas Arboretum and Botanical GardensOklahoma (12.5h)Week 9 (December)Day 1: Sipokni West, Chickasaw Cultural Center (3h)Day 2: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (2h)Day 3: National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (1.5h)Day 4: Hot air balloon ride in Tulsa, Philbrook Museum of Art (1.5h)Day 5: Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve (1h)Day 6: Drive Route 66, Vintage Iron Motorcycle Museum (2.5h)Day 7: Cherokee Heritage Center (2h)Missouri* (12.5h)Week 10 (January)Day 1: George Washington Carver National Monument (2.5h)Day 2: Fantastic Caverns (1h)Day 3: St. Louis*, Gateway Arch* (3.5h)Day 4: Museum of Transportation, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Anheuser-Busch BreweryDay 5: Elephant Rocks State Park (1.5h)Day 6: Silver Dollar City (4h)Day 7: Titanic MuseumArkansas (10.5h)Week 11 (January)Day 1: Walmart Museum, Mildred B Cooper Memorial Chapel (2.5h)Day 2: Thorncrown Chapel, Christ of the Ozarks (1h)Day 3: Arkansas Alligator Museum, Josephine Tussaud Wax Museum (4h)Day 4: Hot Springs National ParkDay 5: Little Rock, Esse Museum, H.U. Lee International Gate and Garden (1h)Day 6: Newton House Museum (2h)Day 7: South Arkansas ArboretumLouisiana* (9.5h)Week 12 (January)Day 1: Lafayette, Bayou Tourtue, McGee’s Landing (5h)Day 2: Attakapas Swamp (2h)Attakapas Adventures eco swamp tours home pageDay 3: Shirley C Tucker Herbarium, Baton Rouge (1h)Day 4: French Quarter*, New Orleans* (1.5h)Day 5: French Quarter*, Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo*Day 6: Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World*Day 7: Sea plane tour of the Louisiana wetlandsMississippi* (10h)Week 13 (January)Day 1: Mississippi Gulf Coast*, Magnolia State Rocker, Katrina Angel Trees (1h)Day 2: Ship IslandFerry from GulportDay 3: Rocky Springs Trail portion of the Natchez Trace (3.5h)Day 4: Vicksburg, Biedenham Coco-Cola Museum, Yesterday’s Children Toy Museum (1h)Day 5: Delta State University Sculpture Garden (2h)Day 6: Quepaw Canoe Company tour (1h)Day 7: Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery (1.5h)Tennessee* (11h)Week 14 (February)Day 1: National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland*, Memphis* (1h)Day 2: Belle Meade Plantation, Parthenon, Nashville (3h)Day 3: Cheekwood Art & Garden, Sunsphere (3h)Day 4: Dollywood* (1h)Day 5: Dollywood*Day 6: Ober Gatlinburg, Gatlinburg Space NeedleDay 7: Ruby Falls (3h)Alabama (12h)Week 15 (February)Day 1: Tuscumbia (3h)“Ivy Green” (birth place of Helen Keller)Day 2: Fromagerie Belle Chevre, US Space and Rocket Center (2h)Day 3: Guntersville State Park Lodge (1h)Watch for Bald EaglesDay 4: Guntersville MuseumDay 5: First White House of the Confederacy (2.5h)Day 6: Fort Morgan (3.5h)Day 7: Cruise the gulfFlorida* (17.5h)Week 16 (February)Day 1: Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum (1.5h)Day 2: Mission San Luis (3h)Day 3: Dali Museum in Saint Petersburg (4.5h)Day 4: Universal Studios*, Orlando* (1.5h)Day 5: Disney World*Day 6: Everglades National Park (4h)Day 7: Shipwreck Museum, Mallory Square in Key West* (3h)Ship your RV to Atlanta!Puerto Rico* (4h)Week 17 (February)Day 1: Fly to San Juan*, Puerto RicoRent a car for this excursionDay 2: Old San Juan*, walk the city wall path (bring water!)*Collect beach glass across from the Capitol building*Day 3: Arecibio Light House* (1h)Day 4: Rio Abajo forest*, visit Cueva Clara*Day 5: La Parquera* (2h)Swim with dinoflagellates in the bioluminescent bay*Day 6: Gilligan’s Island*Leave from Playa de Guernica*Day 7: Whale watching from Cabo Rojo (1h)Georgia* (7.5h)Week 18 (March)Day 1: Fly to Atlanta*Day 2: Margaret Mitchel House, Fountain of Rings showDay 3: Center for Puppetry Arts, Swan HouseDay 4: Center for Civil and Human RightsDay 5: Gem Mining at the Lily Pad Village in Blue Ridge (2h)Day 6: Andersonville National Historic Site (2h)Day 7: Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Bonaventure Cemetery (3.5h)South Carolina (8h)Week 19 (March)Day 1: Hilton Head (1h)Day 2: Hilton HeadDay 3: Charleston, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Middleton Place (2h)Day 4: Patriots Point, Fort SumterDay 5: Myrtle Beach (2h)Day 6: Broadway at the Beach, Brookgreen GardensDay 7: Congaree National Park (3h)North Carolina (19.5h)Week 20 (March)Day 1: Bryson City, Clingmans Dome (4.5h)Day 2: Biltmore estate, Folk Art Center, Asheville (2h)Day 3: Tweetsie Railroad (2h)Day 4: Nascar Hall of Fame, Durham (2h)Day 5: Duke Lemur Center (reservation required!), Outer Banks (6h)Day 6: Wright Brothers National Memorial, Wild Mustangs (2h)Day 7: Roanoke Island, “The Lost Colony” stage show (1h)Virginia (14h)Week 21 (March)Day 1: Virginia Beach, First Landing Cross, Fort Henry Lighthouse, Norwegian Lady (2.5h)Day 2: Colonial Williamsburg, Bassett Hall, George Wythe House (1h)Day 3: Historic JamestowneDay 4: Middleburg, National Sporting Library and Museum (3h)Winery, there seem to be a lot around this area, visit oneDay 5: Shenandoah National Park, Skyland (1.5h)Day 6: Luray Caverns, Rope Adventure Park, LurayDay 7: Drive Blue Ridge Parkway to Fancy Gap (6h)Kentucky (13.5h)Week 22 (March)Day 1: Cumberland Falls (5h)Day 2: National Corvette Museum, Lost River Cave (2.5h)Day 3: Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Churchill Downs (2h)Day 4: Big Bone Lick State Park, Creation Museum (2h)Day 5: Kentucky Horse Park (1h)Day 6: Red River Gorge (1h)Day 7: Red River GorgeWest Virginia* (14h)Week 23 (April)Day 1: Museum of Radio and Technology, Heritage Farm Museum and Village (2h)Day 2: Grave Creek Indian Mound (3.5h)Day 3: Prickett’s Fort State Park (2h)Day 4: Blackwater Falls (2h)Day 5: Seneca Rocks (1h)Day 6: Berkeley Springs State Park (2h)Day 7: Loudoun Heights (1.5h)Maryland (9h)Week 24 (April)Day 1: Antietam National Battlefield (1h)Day 2: Catoctin National ParkDay 3: Baltimore, B&O Railroad Museum, Edgar Allan Poe House (1h)Day 4: Point Lookout State Park (2h)Day 5: Annapolis, United States Naval Academy, National Cryptologic Museum (2h)Day 6: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (1.5h)Day 7: Assateague State Park (1.5h)Delaware (5h)Week 25 (April)Day 1: Fenwick Island Lighthouse, Delaware Seashore State Park, Holts Landing State Park (1.5h)Day 2: Cape Henlopen State Park, Zwaanendael Museum (1h)Day 3: Lums Pond State Park, Pea Patch Island (1.5h)Day 4: Newark Reservoir, Hagley Museum and Library (1h)Day 5: Winterthur MuseumDay 6: Nemours Mansion and GardensDay 7: Finns PointNew Jersey* (4.5h)Week 26 (April)Day 1: Storybrook Land (1.5h)Day 2: Atlantic CityDay 3: Jersey Shore (1h)Day 4: Grounds for Sculpture (1h)Day 5: Ellis Island* & Statue of Liberty* (1h)Take Ferry from Liberty State Park*Day 6: Thomas Edison National Historical ParkDay 7: Paterson Great Falls National Historical ParkConnecticut (3.5h)Week 27 (May)Day 1: Barnum Museum (1.5h)Day 2: Thimble Islands day cruiseDay 3: Dinosaur State Park (1h)Day 4: Elizabeth Park Conservancy, Harriet Beecher Stowe CenterDay 5: Gillette Castle (1h)Day 6: Rocky Neck State ParkDay 7: Mystic SeaportRhode Island (3h)Week 28 (May)Day 1: Port Judith Lighthouse (1h)Day 2: National Museum of American Illustration, Newport Cliff Walk (1h)Day 3: Rough Point, The Breakers, RosecliffDay 4: Norman Bird SanctuaryDay 5: Green Animals Topiary GardenDay 6: Roger Williams Park Botanical Center (1h)Day 7: Slater Cotton MillMassachusetts (7h)Week 29 (May)Day 1: Battleship CoveDay 2: Martha’s Vineyard (2h)Day 3: Plimoth Plantation and Plymouth Rock (2h)Day 4: Harvard, Freedom Trail, Boston (1h)Day 5: Boston Tea Party Ships, See a game at Fenway ParkDay 6: Old Sturbridge Village (1h)Day 7: Norman Rockwell Museum (1h)New Hampshire (9h)Week 30 (May)Day 1: Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Enfield Shaker Museum (3h)Day 2: McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (1h)Day 3: Canterbury Shaker VillageDay 4: Prescott Park (1h)Day 5: Conway Scenic Railroad (2h)Day 6: Echo Lake, Flume Gorge (1h)Day 7: Santa’s Village (1h)Maine (11h)Week 31 (June)Day 1: Seashore Trolley Museum (2.5h)Day 2: Palace PlaylandDay 3: DeLorme Eartha, Desert of Maine (1h)Day 4: Cadillac Mountain, Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park (3h)Day 5: Sand BeachDay 6: Schoodic Peninsula (1.5h)Day 7: Baxter State Park (3h)Vermont (13.5h)Week 32 (June)Day 1: Lake Willoughby (6h)Day 2: Bread and Puppet Theater, St Anne’s Shrine, Lake Champlain (2h)Day 3: Shelburne Museum, Old Round Church (1.5h)Day 4: Smuggler’s State Park (1h)Day 5: Montshire Museum of Science (1.5h)Day 6: American Precision MuseumDay 7: Vermont Marble Museum (1.5h)New York* (13.5h)Week 33 (June)Day 1: Niagara Falls* (6h)Day 2: Letchworth State Park, Watkins Glen State Park (3h)Day 3: Carnegie Hall*, New York City* (4.5h)Day 4: Central Park*, Guggenheim MuseumDay 5: Times Square*, Madame TussaudsDay 6: SoHo*Day 7: Coney IslandPennsylvania* (8h)Week 34 (June)Day 1: Sesame Place (1.5h)Day 2: Love Park, Mutter Museum, PhiladelphiaDay 3: Independence Hall, Eastern State PenitentiaryDay 4: Valley Forge National Historical ParkDay 5: Hershey Park (1.5h)Day 6: Gettysburg (1h)Day 7: Falling Water, Andy Warhol Museum (4h)Ohio* (17h)Week 35 (July)Day 1: Chateau Laroche (4h)Day 2: East Harbor State Park (3.5h)Day 3: Ohio State Reformatory (1.5h)Day 4: The Wilds* (1.5h)Day 5: Hocking Hills*, Tecumseh* (3.5h)Day 6: Serpent Mound Historical Site (1.5h)Day 7: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, American Sign Museum (1.5h)Indiana* (7.5h)Week 36 (July)Day 1: Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Indianapolis City Market Catcombs (2h)Day 2: Eiteljorg Museum, Indiana Medical History MuseumDay 3: Periodic Table of Elements, Depauw University (1h)Day 4: Turkey Run State Park (1h)Day 5: Tippecanoe Battle Ground (1h)Day 6: Indiana Dunes (1.5h)Day 7: Amish Acres (1h)Michigan* (18h)Week 37 (July)Day 1: Greenfield Village, Detroit Historical Museum* (3.5h)Day 2: Belle IsleDay 3: Heidelberg Project, Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical MuseumDay 4: Sleeping Bear Dunes (4.5h)Day 5: Mackinaw Island (3h)Day 6: Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Tahquamenon Falls (2h)Day 7: Porcupine Mountains (5h)Wisconsin* (10.5h)Week 38 (July)Day 1: Chequamegon National Forest (2h)Day 2: Paul Bunyan Logging Camp (2.5h)Day 3: The House on the Rock, Taliesin (3h)Day 4: Circus World, Dr. Evermor’s Forevertron (1h)Day 5: Devil’s Lake State ParkDay 6: International Crane FoundationDay 7: Harley Davidson Museum (2h)Illinois* (5.5h)Week 39 (July)Day 1: The Tempel Lipizzans, Old Mill Creek (1h)Day 2: Volo Auto Museum, Willis Tower* (1h)Day 3: Driehaus Museum, International Museum of Surgical ScienceDay 4: Navy Pier*, Millennium Park*, Chicago river boat archeological tour*Day 5: Frank Lloyd Wright homes tour*, Oak Park*Day 6: Starved Rock State Park (1.5h)Day 7: Lincoln Home National Historic Site (2h)Iowa* (16h)Week 40 (August)Day 1: Crapo Park (3h)Day 2: National Balloon Classic, Indianola (2.5h)End of July, beginning of AugustDay 3: Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Boon and Scenic Valley Railroad (1.5h)Day 4: Amana Colonies (2h)Day 5: Maquoketa Caves State Park (1.5h)Day 6: Field of Dreams Movie Site, Vesterheim: The National Norwegian-American Museum & Heritage Center (2.5h)Day 7: Grotto of the Redemption (3h)Minnesota (14h)Week 41 (August)Day 1: Pipstone National Monument (3h)Day 2: Mystery Cave State Park (4h)Day 3: Mall of America (2h)Day 4: Minnehaha Falls, Cathedral of St PaulDay 5: Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Weisman Art MuseumDay 6: Munsinger Gardens (1.5h)Day 7: Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mines (3.5h)North Dakota (15.5h)Week 42 (August)Day 1: Bonanzaville (5h)Day 2: National Buffalo Museum (1.5h)Day 3: International Peace Garden (3h)Day 4: Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center, Fort Mandan (3h)Day 5: Knife River Indian VillagesDay 6: Enchanted Highway, Dakota Dinosaur Museum (1.5h)Day 7: Cowboy Hall of Fame, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora Musical (1.5h)South Dakota* (13h)Week 43 (August)Day 1: Needles, Black Hills (5h)Day 2: Mount Moriah Cemetery, Crazy Horse (2.5h)Day 3: Mount Rushmore*Day 4: Reptile GardenDay 5: Roberts Prairie Dog Town, Badlands (1.5h)Day 6: Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Big Badlands OverlookDay 7: Corn Palace Festival, Mitchell (4h)Late AugustNebraska (11h)Week 44 (September)Day 1: Ashfall Fossil Beds (6h)Day 2: Freedom Park (3h)Day 3: Joslyn Castle, Malcolm X HouseDay 4: Gerald R Ford Birthsite and GardensDay 5: Strategic Air Command and Aerospace MuseumDay 6: International Quilt Study Center and Museum, Frank H Woods Telephone MuseumDay 7: Pioneer Village (2h)Kansas* (13.5h)Week 45 (September)Day 1: The Geographic Center of the United States (1h)Day 2: Amelia Earhart Birthplace, Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site (4.5h)Day 3: Emmett Kelly Museum, (2.5h)Day 4: Old Cowtown Museum, Allen Lambe House (2h)Day 5: Strataca Salt Mine (1h)Day 6: Coronado Heights Castle (1h)Day 7: Barbed Wire Museum (1.5h)Colorado* (16h)Week 46 (September)Day 1: Great Sand Dunes National Park (7h)Day 2: Great Sand Dunes National ParkDay 3: Pikes Peak* (4h)Day 4: Coors Brewery Tour*, Golden*, Casa Bonita* (2.5h)Day 5: Boulder*Day 6: Buffalo Bill’s Grave*, Lookout Mountain* (1.5h)Day 7: Winter Park Resort (1h)Wyoming* (23.5h)Week 47 (September)Day 1: Museum of the Mountain Man (6.5h)Day 2: National Museum of Wildlife Art (1.5h)Day 3: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone (3.5h)Day 4: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Artist’s Point (3h)Day 5: Grand Prismatic Spring, Opal Pool (1h)Day 6: Old Faithful GeyserDay 7: Devil’s Tower (8h)Montana* (13h)Week 48 (September)Day 1: Little Bighorn Battlefield (3.5h)Day 2: Pictograph Cave (1h)Day 3: American Computer Museum (2.5h)Day 4: Our Lady of the Rockies, Berkeley Pit (2h)Day 5: World Museum of MiningDay 6: Cathedral of St Helena (1h)Day 7: Flathead Lake (3h)Idaho (23h)Week 49 (October)Day 1: Lake Coeur d’Alene (3.5h)Day 2: Hells Canyon (4.5h)Day 3: Craters of the Moon National Monument (8h)Day 4: Idaho Potato Museum (3h)Day 5: Boise Idaho Temple, Egyptian Theater (4h)Day 6: Old Idaho Penitentiary SiteDay 7: World Center for Birds of Prey, Table RockOregon* (19h)Week 50 (October)Day 1: Crater Lake (7h)Day 2: Cape Perpetua, Sea Lion Caves (4h)Day 3: Devils Punchbowl (1h)Day 4: Enchanted Forest (2h)Day 5: Multnomah Falls, The Grotto (2.5h)Day 6: Lan Su Chinese Garden, Portland Japanese GardenDay 7: Haystack Rock, Astoria Column (2.5h)Washington* (9.5h)Week 51 (October)Day 1: Hoh Rain forest (4h)Day 2: Snoqualmie Falls (4h)Day 3: Pike Place Market*, Gum Wall, Ye Olde Curiosity ShopDay 4: Space Needle*, EMP Museum, Chihuly Garden and GlassDay 5: Pacific Science Center, Olympic Sculpture ParkDay 6: Volunteer ParkDay 7: Whatcom Falls Park, SPARK Museum (1.5h)Alaska (14h)Week 52 (October)Day 1: Take ferry from Bellingham (leaves on Fridays)Viking Travel Inc. / AlaskaFerry.com, you can take your RVDay 2: Enjoy the ferry rideDay 3: Totem Heritage Center, Ketchikan (ferry stop)Day 4: Skagway (switch to driving)Appears to be the last stop when leaving from BellinghamDay 5: Tok (10h)You have to drive through Canada, bring a passportDay 6: El Dorado Gold Mine, Fairbanks (4h)Day 7: Stay until Northern Lights are sighted, then sell the RV and fly home*Places I’ve been or things I’ve seenNotes:All state maps with destinations made with Bing MapsAll photos from Google ImagesAll drive times from Google Maps

In November 1978, I had six months earlier been honorably discharged from a three year stint in the Navy and was sentenced to 20 years hard labor in the Commonwealth of Virginia for Armed Robbery. Convicted in Newport News, about three weeks later, I was transferred “behind the walls” to Richmond, otherwise known as 500 Spring Street . “The walls” were aptly named as the prison was inside the city and the walls around the prison were easily a good thirty-forty feet high. You could not see out and you could not see in. It was a cold, miserable place. At the time there was no shrubbery or trees or any living plant life inside the living area. Everything else was red dirt, concrete, iron and brick. Years later grass was planted in some areas of the buildings and tufts of grass peppered the athletic field in erratic patterns and lent a little color to the palette. Your only sense of the outside world was to look up at the blue sky and see the white clouds as they scurried by.This is James P. Mitchell who was Warden of 500 Spring Street the day I arrived. He was a no foolin’ round kind of guy. This video gives you an excellent inside look at the prison after it was condemned and shut down. I see my old cell in Building Three on the top tier. Just seeing it again brought a sinking feeling and a spirit quenching moment.I was assigned to Cell Block 3 (Segregation), West side, third tier. I spent the first day checking in, getting my clothing, bedding and hygiene products. Meeting counselors and doing paperwork. At the time, this prison was the most secure, maximum security prison in Virginia and I had been sent there because I had an administrative hold (warrant) on me from the State of South Carolina for another Armed Robbery. In the history of the walls Black men were electrocuted for TOUCHING a White woman. A decidedly racist environment. Anyone with an admin hold was deemed high risk for escape and was treated with extreme caution, which meant leg irons and waist chains everywhere you went outside your cell. It was a soul crushing, physically debilitating experience. You couldn’t run, skip or dance a jig; but, shuffled around with your leg irons cutting into your Achilles tendon and rubbing your ankle bones raw. If you were a problem or had a smart attitude they had a tactic to put you in your place. A guard would walk up behind you as you passed by and kick one foot behind the other, causing you to trip. With no way to break your fall (with your hands shackled to your waist) an unexpected trip would result in a face plant and many black eyes and chipped or broken teeth. It was almost inevitably accompanied by an “Oops, watch your step” and laughter from the guard. There was no mercy for the convicted. Not all COs were pricks; but, enough of them to make your life miserable if they wanted to. You felt absolutely helpless. There are no witnesses to anything in prison. Shady CO’s perform their deeds in private. Lots of blind corners, empty rooms and hallways in a prison. I think in hiring the guards they had put an ad in the paper, “Sadists wanted.” You just had to bow your head, make yourself as invisible as possible and tough it out.Because I was awaiting transfer to SC for additional charges I was not placed in Gen Pop (general population); but, kept in the Ad Seg (Administrative Segregation) Unit on lock down. Lock down is staying in your cell 23 hours a day with one hour for a shower and exercise three times a week. Your world was a five by nine by eight feet concrete and steel box in a cavernous tomb like building built a hundred years ago. Everything was rusty and mildewed with black and green mold. The smell of urine and the mildew was stifling and within days you developed a hacking cough that produced a yellow slime from your lungs. During the Summer months the humidity and heat brought another stench, the smell of human funk. In the winter months we huddled under thread bare, scratchy wool blankets, our breath creating vapor trails as everyone wheezed with the flu which raged rampant in those close quarters. The lights never went out. The rats ran over the pipes and down the halls with impunity and cockroaches swarmed the cells, running over your face and body as you slept. It wasn’t unusual to wake up and find a cockroach perched at the corner of your mouth or eye looking for moisture. It was a 24 hour a day cacophony of doors clanging shut, locking levers and mechanisms being thrown in and out of battery, buzzers going off, loudspeaker announcements, whistles, COs barking orders, and shouting and screaming by other prisoners and guards. The crescendo of sound dropped to a dull roar between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. Every four hours a siren wailed and it was count time. You were required during standing counts to be at the door of your cell to be counted (three standing counts and three in-place counts every day). You were housed with another inmate you hoped and prayed was a decent sensible person. I was lucky, my cellie was a guy named Mitch from the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Like me, he was a young, early twenties fellow that was soft spoken, genuine and didn’t belong in this God awful place. We were both thankful for someone to lean on in this hellhole.The only saving grace of this situation is you were not put out in the general population with all the crazies with multiple life sentences and thousand year convicts who cared about nothing and no one. Violence erupted at the slightest provocation or pretext of “disrespect”. You minded your own business, did not speak to anyone you absolutely didn’t have to and avoided protracted eye contact unless you wanted a confrontation. As a new arrival most confrontations were a test to see if you could be “punked”. Any sign of weakness resulted in the predators converging on you to see what havoc they could wreak. With little else to do, the predatory sickos were obsessed with the weak and toyed with and tested them mercilessly, day after day. If you ever backed down or showed any sign of reluctance to fight back, your life was hell from then on out. To get your “cred” back, you had to at some point seriously hurt someone (shank or club someone) to get the crazies to back off. Daily life was something to be tolerated and ended each day with a prayer, thankful that you were one day closer to your release.A year later I was transferred to stand trial for my crimes in my home State of South Carolina. I was sent to the notorious CCI in Columbia. A crumbling, turn of the century dungeon that housed South Carolina’s death row and execution chamber. The conditions of this prison were horrendous, thus it’s name the “Prison from Hell.”https://www.thestate.com/news/local/article183488606.html Click on “Listen to this article” beneath the video.Thankfully once again, I was not placed in Gen Pop. Four more months of lockdown. By now I had been on lock down for over a year and a half [almost 13,140 hours 788,400 minutes]. It took about 120 days for my case to come to trial. I received an additional twenty years sentence to run concurrent (at the same time) as my Virginia sentence. When I returned to Virginia I was assigned to Powhatan Correctional Center (the State Farm) and was so thankful for being moved to Gen Pop and off lock down. Powhatan was another maximum security facility located on a sprawling farm next to the James River.Inmate labor worked the farm and provided food for the facility as well as many of the other correctional units nearby. Because of my concurrent sentence from South Carolina I received a detainer on my custody status and remained at the highest security classification my entire term of detention. About four years in, my appeal was successful and a determination was made that I had not used a gun in the commission of this crime as the victim had contended. The victim had falsely and maliciously claimed I had a gun when I did not. This was pre video surveillance and a camera smartphone in everybody’s hands. Seven witnesses and no one else had seen a gun. My charge was changed from Armed Robbery to Strong Arm Robbery and my sentence was reduced from twenty years to eleven. Elation and tears of joy swept my body, I felt like I had won the lottery. Routine set in. I worked at various jobs in the prison complex. I did piece work as a seamster making prison uniforms. After taking a welding course I worked in repairs and construction for the surrounding facilities. My most distasteful job was working on the “kill floor” at the prison abattoir. Just prior to slaughter, animals are walked up a raceway into the abattoir where they enter the stunning box. ... As soon as the animal is stunned, it is shackled by a hind leg and then the large blood vessels are severed to induce bleeding (a process known as 'sticking'). That was my job, the stunning and the sticking. I believe I was assigned that job out of spite by prison authorities, as my love of animals was well known. It was no secret I had a pet mouse and a pet cat in the institution. It was devastating to me and a mind numbing experience to be the taker of life on that scale. We processed tens of thousands of pigs and cows. All of whom were dispatched by my hands. Crazies kept their distance from me. After all, I was the only convict on the yard with a gun and a razor sharp ten inch knife that took a hundred lives every day. Every evening I would lay on my bunk, stare off into the distance and muse in disbelief about the enormity of it. Three days a week I tutored illiterate inmates, coaxing them towards their GED.Unless you were independently wealthy before being committed or have well to do people on the outside, most inmates have to find a hustle to pay for the little extras that make life bearable in a prison environment. I was amazed at the ingenuity displayed by some who were sixth grade educated. You must understand from the onset that things of this nature were an “us against them” exercise. Hustles were generally victimless, except maybe the State. It was survivalism and ingenuity at it’s finest. I judged no one for their hustle. I pointedly didn’t have anything to do with their hustles, because if they flop or more importantly get caught you don’t want to be blamed as somebody in the know. Inmates who worked the kitchen plied the food trade. A fat, hot, grilled, real eggs and real cheese sandwich could be had from 4a.m. to 8 pm 7 days a week. For the right money (three First Class stamps or 5 stamps for two sandwiches). They were also the source for someone wanting to make “mash or pruno” (alcohol) as they could get the necessary sugar and yeast. Some of the kitchen workers ran delis. You could arrive each day to a selected table in the dining room and have waiting fresh vegetables and fruits and high end protein foods. Things stolen from the guards kitchen or just not available to the rest of population. It all came at a cost or trade. Inmates who worked the laundry hustled dry cleaning and wash & iron services for the better heeled. Then there were the stores. You could borrow food stuffs and cosmetics usually one for two back on payday (some items like Ramen noodle soups were two for three back). Then you had the guys who ran the gambling and drugs. Some of the better educated and savvy ran legal services and institutional infraction advisories. Some who worked outside the fence specialized in bringing contraband into the institution. Then you had your armorers you could buy weapons from. If you could cut hair or do braiding or any other kind of specialty with hair, you were always in demand.My running partner and best friend was an Italian kid from Brooklyn, of course his name was Anthony and he went by Tony. We had a very specialized hustle. We could bring back through the visitation shakedown process (which involved stripping naked, raising your nut sack and spreading your buttocks and opening your mouth rolling your tongue around fingers through the hair) the contraband brought in through the visiting room. Most contraband brought to an institution was brought on visiting days by visitors. Visitors went through very strict pat down and some strip search routines if they were suspect of anything illicit; but, the right to visit, if you had done nothing wrong, was kind of a sacred right as people sometimes came great distances to visit. So however people were able to smuggle items into the visiting room was up to them. It was then the package was handed off to us and we made it disappear from the visiting room and reappear on the prison yard, for either a cut or a fee. We used this dodge at least a thousand times for the seven and a half years of my incarceration in Virginia and were never caught. Tony left first and when I left I sold the method for $2500. My personal hustle stemmed from that ability to bring in contraband. My visitors would bring me cigarettes. I would tell you how we did it; but, out of respect for whomever is still there, someone may still be using this hustle, so I cannot divulge our method. With the advent of tobacco being restricted from prisons, a cigarette was worth what dope was. During those years, with the price of a pack of cigarettes being what they were (1978 $0.36 1979 $0.40 1980 $0.45 1981 $0.49 1982 $0.60 1983 $0.63 1984 $0.72 1985 $0.78 1986 $0.85 1987 $0.94) you could get as much as a dollar (or equivalent) a cigarette. With a cost of two to five cents each and selling for a dollar, it was more profitable than cocaine or heroin. In addition it was a whole lot easier for a visitor to explain a pack of cigarettes on them than an ounce of dope and with tobacco not being per se illegal the worst they could do to me were institutional charges (not outside criminal court). With good time, work credits and education credits I maxed out that 11 year sentence in 7½ years and was returned to South Carolina.In South Carolina, with 7½ years under my belt and no detainer I quickly moved into “trustee” status and was housed at a minimum security housing unit, which meant dormitory style housing with more freedom but less privacy. Now I was close to home and had people who knew people, which definitely helped. The prison warden, “Ms. Rick”, was a member of a church my father had preached at when I was a boy. She was my guardian angel. It was good to be home. I was assigned a plum job as a driver to transport inmates from prison to prison and from remote camp units to prison hospitals and court appearances. My van was assigned a single guard who accompanied me everywhere I went. My assigned guard was a five foot, chubby Black woman I called “Mrs. G”. She was the best. Many times when we were on our way to or from an assignment she would tell me to pull into a McDonalds and she would treat me to a Big Mac, fries and a shake. She had a strict policy of foregoing fries to watch her hips; but, she ate TWO Big Macs. That little woman could put down some groceries. After eight years of incarceration, this was manna from heaven for me. Mrs. G mothered me and after a year of working together she even trusted me to go into malls unaccompanied and walk around and just look at everything. After so many years of institutionalization any exposure to public things was mesmerizing. She would give me a dollar, or two if it was payday, to buy a soda and a ice cream cone. As I said, she was the bomb.Many people have asked what a “day in the life” of being a prisoner is. I have to tell you it is different for every single person in that prison. Other than shared communal activities and meals, everyone and everything is a wild card. Everyone has their path to making this journey. That being said, a day in my life as an inmate had many variations. During the time I was in Ad-Seg was one set of circumstances. Then during the time I was in Gen Pop doing distasteful work another. Or when I was a trustee with considerable freedoms? They were all very different “days in the life” of a man behind bars.Reading was my escape. After all, books can take you anywhere, keep you floating on a cloud of imagination and be that one thing you look forward to with an otherwise fairly forlorn agenda. I read at least one every three days, so I would say I read about a thousand books over a 9 year period. I had a friend who signed me up and paid for 3–4 book clubs. I loaned out the newest novels for canteen. You may be surprised to know the most loaned out books had to do with the OJ Simpson crime, trial and after life. They were worth their weight in gold for earning value.I guess the most painful “day in the life” was while I was on Ad-Seg lockdown and not any given day, just the whole lockdown experience. Making a home out of a coffin-sized living space brought back memories of my Navy bunk on a guided-missile cruiser; but, without the camaraderie that makes it worthwhile. Your personal space gets real small. The monotony of nothing to do was ever present. I read a lot of books and found reading to be the escape I needed to breach those walls. Unless you were an early riser, a day started with the 7 am distribution of breakfast. A cup of coffee stretched with chicory flavoring. A biscuit with some yellow stuff in it (supposedly eggs - probably artificial - they were poured from a carton) and some fatback to chew on (extra biscuit one First Class letter stamp). 8 am was the first standing count of the day. After breakfast and count, we started a cleaning routine that involved scrubbing the entire cell down with toothbrushes and lye soap. Done daily it was probably overkill; but, it took up about two hours of every morning and made sense to us being in a constant state of lockdown and close living conditions. After cleanup, it was exercise time. Pushups, situps, resistance curls, squats, and jogging in place. We were pretty creative when it came to outfitting our personal gyms. Breaking a sweat was our objective and it took a good hour to achieve. Two thirty minute sessions because there was only enough floorspace for one person at a time. One exercised while the other provided the count. We had no watches or clock. After a good sweat and a brief birdbath, it was time for the 12 noon count and then lunch. Lunch was an orange, apple, or banana with a bologna and cheese sandwich and a carton of milk. Mustard packs were quite the commodity as the only thing that brought the bologna sandwich to life. Getting an extra sandwich cost one stamp (another stamp for an extra slice of bologna, one slice of cheese and two mustard packs – another stamp for extra fruit). From 8 am - 4 pm we were not allowed to be in or on our bunks. So we sat on the floor, leaned up in one corner or another, as we spent some quality time reading or snoozing. The afternoon was sprinkled with medical appointments and counseling sessions. After the 4 pm count, we could lay on our bunks again and 6 pm brought supper. A thin gruel of some kind of soup (saw a lot of onion, cubed carrots and kernel corn) and a fist-sized chunk of cornbread/or brown bread washed down with one eight-ounce cup of sweetened tea (extra cornbread/brown bread and tea – 1 stamp). 7-9 pm brought showers and one hour of exercise three times a week in a caged in twenty-five by twenty-five feet enclosure, open to an inky night sky above. This rec area was shared with the death row inmates. After returning to our cells, some letter writing and making entries into my personal journal kept things real and in perspective. More reading until I fell asleep. Wake up in the morning and do it all again. I spent 788,400 minutes on lockdown in Ad-Seg. Possibly some of the longest minutes of my life.A day in Gen Pop worked around the same counts as the rest of the institution. After 8 am count, work crews formed at the gates and inside workers got on their brooms and cleaning duties, or whatever their assigned tasks were. Your daily job was scheduled from 8-4 with a ten-minute break each hour. Bag lunches were distributed at noon and after another count eaten on the fly during breaks. The same fruit and sandwich (workers got two cartons of milk); but, for variety added SPAM and other cold cuts to the offerings. Just that little variety probably kept us from going nutso. You eat a baloney and cheese sandwich every day for five years and see if it doesn’t make YOU a little twitchy. From 4 pm count to 8 pm count was free time. You could go to the yard, run around the track, play cards in the common areas, watch TV, eat supper in the dining hall, workout at the weight pile, get a haircut, hang out at the [law] library, engage in any religious or educational objectives, take a shower, wash clothes, clean up and arrange your “house” or just sit in the sun, catch some rays and top off your Vitamin D. After an 8 pm standing count we could come out of our cells, into a common area, play cards, mix foods and talk until 10pm, after which we were locked in our cells for the night. Reading, drawing, writing, playing chess/checkers or cards whiled away the time until you fell asleep. At midnight and 4 am we were counted while we slept. Wake up the next morning and do it all again.My time as a trustee was probably the easiest time I served. Being a “AA –Driver” trustee meant I was on permanent “out count”. Which meant I was the responsibility of the assigned guard to my van and I didn’t have to be any particular place when the rest of the institution had standing counts. I could come and go out the gates of the institution to the vehicle pool whenever I wanted to. From 6 am to 8 pm I had free run to be almost anywhere in the institution inmates were allowed; but, for the most part, I was on the road, picking up and dropping off inmates at various institutions and work camps. Up at 6 am every morning by 6:30 I was out the gate cleaning, washing, and fueling up my van with a cup of real coffee in my hand from the guard’s shack. Depending on the schedule for the day Mrs. G and I were on the road by 7 am. Mrs. G’s daughter worked at a Dunkin Donuts so Mrs. G had an endless supply of DD coffee and brought a giant thermos full every day. She also had a hook up with the guard’s kitchen (her husband was a supervisor) and had them pack biscuits with real butter and real eggs and sausage and Smucker’s grape jelly. Mrs. G loved to eat. Giant flakey biscuits with butter, eggs, sausage and grape jelly, I could get five stamps apiece if I smuggled one back into the institution. The van was my kingdom. I drove, operated the two way radio with ten codes and times, reporting our progress to Central Communications, and delivering an ongoing count of how many inmates we had with us and where we were going next. I made sure we stayed on time and schedule, read the maps if necessary while Mrs. G watched the road for what we called “pirates” (civilians who would interfere with the operations of the van or try to pull off an escape of an inmate) and kept an eye on the prisoners we had on board. A two feet long mirror above her head gave her a bird’s eye view of everything/everyone in the van; but, she hated it because it also showed the bald spot on the top of her head. In the year and a half I drove vans, we never had any escape attempts; but, we did have one incident.We were headed to Columbia, SC with a van load of prisoners from outlying camps headed to the main prison hospital for medical appointments. I noted Mrs. G had been quiet for about 30 minutes. I looked over and saw her with eyes closed taking what looked like a brief siesta. This was highly unusual with prisoners in the back. About five minutes later Mrs. G’s coffee cup slipped out of her hand and crashed to the floor. I looked again and saw her head lolled to the side and her eyes were rolled up into their sockets. We were still an hour from our destination at the prison hospital. It was absolutely forbidden to stop the van anywhere with prisoners on board, except inside an institution’s gates. I didn’t care, this was Mrs. G. I drove until I saw the next blue “H” sign at an off ramp, designating a hospital at this exit. Driving like a bat out of hell, I pulled into the Emergency Room entrance, jumped out and ran inside to summon help. Mrs. G was a diabetic and had a blood sugar event which had lead to a heart attack. I called in the emergency and explained the situation to Central Communications and while we sat waiting I regaled the ten prisoners in the back about how we would all be getting time cuts for this. I wasn’t sure about that; but, I was mainly concerned with trying to keep an escape from occurring compounding my decision to stop. In about an hour, prison authorities arrived without incident from the nearest prison facility. The doctor said in fifteen minutes it would have been too late. Mrs. G was out for sixty days; but, when she came back we were as thick as thieves and I was her adopted son. Instead of being reprimanded and punished for breaking protocol, they cut five years off my sentence.June 1986, I went before the parole board for the first time and was denied, which was not uncommon. No one made first parole unless they paid some powerful lawyer a God awful amount of money. June of 1987, after nine years of incarceration, I again went before the parole board and was released on parole. In August of 1987, I started college and completed a four year degree in three years. Graduating in 1990, I received a BS in Business Admin. and Computer Science from Erskine College and never looked back. Within that three years I also paid off the Court ordered restitution to my victims and shortly after graduation, maxed out my 15 year sentence with 12 on a 15 (because I had paid off my restitution I forewent the customary period of probation after parole - I was a free man). I worked for Lucent Technologies in Atlanta for the ten years (1996–2006) of its existence as an IT Manager. Working on an MS in Criminal Justice from Purdue. Went to Piedmont Technical College and got an AS in Machine Tool Technology/CNC programming. I intermittently worked for JACOBS engineering for years as a precision millwright doing turbine and motor alignments making $125,000/year. Between stints with JACOBS I took short term contract work overseas as a translator for our American troops and various NGOs in Afghanistan. After thirty-five years I received a full pardon from both South Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia. I became a notary public, an ordained minister, got my Concealed Weapons Permit from South Carolina and an FFL from The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) Federal Firearms Licensing Center (FFLC) [currently seeking SOT]. I now own my house, vehicles, a lake property and a boat free and clear and with 7 grandchildren have had a very fulfilling life. It was all because of the kindness of the people from my hometown and church who were willing to give me a second chance. My special thanks to Lee and Eleanor, Bill and Emilie, Jim and Sandra. They were with me, in a supportive role, every step of the way.

20 Best Places to Visit in 2020, er… 2021What are the best places to visit in 2020 – or on second thought, 2021? Increasing amounts of travelers complain about crowded destinations. So the secret to trip planning in 2020 2021 will be finding areas that aren't congested but still provide unique and authentic experiences. Here are 20 best places to visit in 2020 2021, which offer adventure and enticing attractions on the road less traveled.Source: unstoppablestaceytravel.com1. Mérida, Spain2. Catania, Sicily, Italy3. Albuquerque, New Mexico4. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam5. Southeast Montana is one of Best Places to Visit in 20203. Albuquerque, New Mexico6. Lourdes, Occitanie, France7. Havasu Falls, Arizona9. Erie Canal, Macedon, New York10. Saguenay National Park, Quebec, Canada11. Castle Hot Springs, Arizona is one of Best Places to Visit in 202012. Asheville, North Carolina13. Mazatlán, Mexico14. Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North, Arizona15. Chiang Mai, Thailand16. Rochester, NY, another 'Best Place to Visit in 2020'17. Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain18. Santa Fe, New Mexico19. Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains20. Yuma, Arizona is one of the 'Best Places to Visit in 2020'How to Get a Tanzania EVisa for Filipinos and Other NationalitiesNovember 27th, 2020 Posted in Africa Travel Blog, Guide for Filipinos, Travel Blog, VISA Application Guides No comments. If you want to see “Lion King” in real life, go to Tanzania. Tanzania is visa free for Nations located in the South and East of Africa; however, most foreigners can enter via Visa on Arrival or EVisa. To make your trip smoother, I recommend getting an EVisa ahead. Here's our guide on how you can apply for a Tanzania EVisa for Filipinos and Other Nationalities.Source: newsbreak.comWhy Costa RicaWe especially love the good reasons why Julie recommends coming to Costa Rica, she says why Costa Rica has maintained one of the lowest Covid-19 fatality rates in Latin America and its government has been recognized for its successful management and containment of the virus , so when the country reopens on November 1 to all Americans who meet the requirements, travelers will be able to return feeling a sense of confidence.Those looking to travel sustainably will also be pleased to see Costa Rica's progress: This long-time global leader in conservation and sustainability that runs on 99.5% clean and renewable energy plans to achieve complete decarbonization by 2050.We expose only two of the reasons.There are more. And there are even recommended places to visit and activities to do.We strongly recommend reading them.Without a doubt Costa Rica will be one of your best options for travel in 2021.If you want to take advantage of the opportunity to visit and have a dental treatment in Costa Rica, make your appointment now. Check prices and the wide variety of dental treatments we are offering.Source: dentalimplantscr.comIf all goes according to plan, 2020 will see the opening of a Kempinski in Tbilisi a gleaming, glass complex on Mount Mtatsminda that will shout to the world that Tbilisi has arrived.National Geographic’s list of best trips for future planning - National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)Summary:Left alone to thrive were leafy rainforest and a thrill-seeker’s dream collection of natural marvels: nine active volcanoes, 365 rivers, towering waterfalls, black sand beaches, and blistering-hot geothermal features like Boiling Lake, a flooded fumarole with water temperatures nearing 200°F (93.3°C).The most popular and accessible, three-mile-wide Perito Moreno glacier, stands almost 200 feet above the surface of Lake Argentino.Surrounding the island is Lord Howe Island Marine Park , home to the southernmost coral reefs on the planet, more than 500 fish species, and a who’s who of protected and threatened marine species, including the whale shark, great white shark, and hawksbill turtle.On the 90-minute forest ramble, Squamish and Shíshálh cultural ambassadors share knowledge passed down through the generations to help visitors understand how First Nations people across southern British Columbia use the land for food, medicine, and technology.When completed in 2021, the England Coast Path will link existing stretches, like the South West Coast Path (Cornwall’s Atlantic coast, pictured here), with newly minted paths to create a 2,800-mile coastal trail.In Pongara, one of five national parks protecting important sea turtle habitat, the beachfront Pongara Lodge offers close-up views of nesting leatherbacks, November to March, and migratory whales and dolphins, June to August.Maldives makes it to Forbes List of 20 Best Places to Travel in 2021 (visitmaldives.com)Key Topics: lti maafushivaru, travel restrictions, safety protocols, ritz carlton, julie danziger, embark beyond, patina maldives, marcio kogan, ritz carlton reserve, centara grand muthaafushi resort spa maldivesOutline:Maldives makes it to Forbes List of 20 Best Places to Travel in 2021Looking Forward to Traveling Again? Here Are the Top 10 Places to Visit When Restrictions Are Lifted - POPSUGAR (popsugar.com)We feel repeatedly compelled to honor the Land of the Rising Sun because every new development be it a luxury hotel, restaurant, or even a bullet train link is always executed with the greatest of care. (harpersbazaar.com)A boom of luxury hotels and boutique property openings like Villa Brown , The Orient , and Lady Stern Hotel a thriving design and contemporary art scene, and a cornucopia of gourmet restaurants, like Mona , Assaf Granit's Machneyuda , and newcomer Satya , Jerusalem beckons the interest and attention of the world's savvy travelers and tastemakers. (harpersbazaar.com)The Leading Hotels of the WorldTo a ryokan -style luxury hotel in a serene corner of Kyoto? (travelandleisure.com)The island's biggest resort opening in years is set to debut in January 2020 a reimagining of Mauna Lani by Auberge Resorts, the first Hawaiian venture by the Bay Area-based luxury hotel brand. (travelandleisure.com)An hour-long ferry ride up the Bosphorus, in a quiet seaside district, the luxury hotel brand transformed a pair of opulent Ottoman-era mansions into a boutique hotel unlike any other. (travelandleisure.com)November marked a new chapter for the fabled Eden Rock , which originally opened in the 1950s as the first luxury hotel in St. (travelandleisure.com)source 20 Best Places to Visit in 2021