My Dream Job

Single Girl had commented that I should work for National Geographic or the Travel Channel since I love to travel, learn about the places I will visit, and educate people about the things I learned on each of my journeys. I will admit, that has always been a dream of mine...for the most part.

I always wanted to write for a travel magazine - traveling the world to exotic destinations (tropical and/or historical) and tell the tales of my adventures as well as provide insider tips. That type of work, from my understanding, was mainly freelance. Translation: not a steady paycheck. That, my friends, I can't imagine living without. Therefore, I work my 8-5-er just like everybody else.

When I plan a vacation, I am absolutely meticuluous. I try to keep all the prices within reason (actually, as cheap as possible without losing out on quality), and try to hit not only the major tourist attraction but also getting to experience some local secrets off the typical beaten path. I utilize every travel site and travel bulletin board to search out the information I need, and 9 times out of 10, I am able to tailor an itinerary to the best interests of all those traveling.

Any of my friends who have taken a trip with me will attest to my attention to detail, and almost OCD way of coordinating a vacation. All they have to do is tell me the few things they want to include within the days of our trip, and I plan the whole thing. Controlling much? Yes, but in a good way :) You think I'm exaggerating, but Baby and friends will tell you that I hand everyone a typed itinerary for everyday of the trip upon our departure from Houston. I. Kid. You. Not. It's not an hour-by-hour itinerary or anything to that anal degree, but it will outline what time we have the one major touristy thing to do for the day and what hours are our free times to do whatever....oh, and prices of everything so we can keep a tally. To give you an idea, here is an example of mine and Baby's itinerary for Peru. Yes, I typed and gave him an itinerary a couple of days before we left to prepare him for our holiday. The format is a bit off due to blogger, but you get the drift.

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Rice Spice and Baby's Itinerary
IAH-LIMA-CUSCO-SACRED VALLEY (URUBAMBA)-MACHU PICCHU-CUSCO-LIMA-IAH

Wednesday, May 23rd--
3:50 p.m.- Depart IAH
Continental Airlines – Flight# 590

10:34 p.m.- Arrive LIM

HOTEL FOR 1 NIGHT
Recommended –
Hotel Basadre Suites ($70) (we didn't end up staying here though)
http://www.hotelbasadre.com/
Confirmation# xxxxxxx
011 51 1 4422307 – Phone
Free car from/to airport
Cancellation policy – 48hrs prior

Thursday, May 24th--
1:15 p.m.- Depart LIM (~$58 USD ow)
LAN Peru flight# 39
www.lan.com

2:30 p.m.- Arrive CUZ

***TAKE CAR/TAXI TO SACRED VALLEY – URUBAMBA ($25 through KR)***
Recommended –
Kuychi Rumi ($100/night for a house + $25 for start-up kit – start- up includes basket of oranges, papaya, bananas, apples, tangerines, pineapple, cheese, ham, eggs, butter, bread, coffee, tea, milk, sugar, salt, pepper, Andean cereals, yogurt, drinking water, and napkins – enough for breakfast and snacks for a couple of days)
011 51 84 201169 – Phone; 011 51 84 9690952 - Cell
Contacts: Claudia or Rodrigo
http://www.urubamba.com/webing/home.htm

Until end of day- Relax in Sacred Valley to acclimatize

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So there you have it. Proof of my anal rentative travel planning. All in all, it makes for a smoother trip in the long run though.

I found a blog called Reason to Wander a few months ago about a couple chronicling their trip around the world. I wish I was as brave as they are to do what they did just to be able to fulfill a lifelong dream before they are too old or physically unable to make it happen. A young, married couple decided one day that they should travel the world for a couple of years. So they sold all of their belongings - cars, house, gave away pets, quit their jobs, etc. - and headed out on their journey. Crazy, huh? I propositioned Baby while we were in Peru of this idea. Although he thought it was very cool, he didn't think either one of us were geared to just drop our lives to travel without a stable income. Alas, he is right. Even if we saved up, used all our savings, borrowed against our 401K's, cashed all the loose change we have in jars, we wouldn't be able to sell all our personal belongings nor his house. It's just the concept of not having something to come back home to when you're done with the adventure that scares the bejesus out me. As you can tell, I am a planner. I would need a plan on where we would end up, and "homeless" is not an outcome that sounds pleasant for my final entry in my travel itinerary.

What is your dream job?