When Jody (husband/dad) took a travel-heavy job, the children (4 of them!) were 0-6 years old. We followed him around like a pack of groupies.
Cheri discovered the joy of a clean hotel room and en-suite bathroom and never looked back.
As fans of Rick Steve’s Europe Through the Backdoor, we took up the challenge of treating every town like a dream trip to an exotic location.
Even the smallest podunk place offers something interesting.
Over the years, we’ve shared some amazing experiences as a family – Poland, Berlin, Hawaii…From Disneyland to the battlefields of the Civil War…Road trips across the American West and every corner of the Pacific Northwest.
Today the kids are grown and traversing the globe on their own – to Nicaragua, Honduras, Jordan, China, Iceland, Thailand, France…
Growing up in a traveling family built a love for the diversity of people in our world – their history, art, and culture.
And Jody and Cheri?
They are reveling in travel as empty nesters.
As an Enneagram Seven, Cheri has a travel bucket list longer than she is tall!
Jody, for his part as an Enneagram One, is a good sport and up for any adventure – but he also keeps Cheri from selling everything they own and buying a sailboat…or a caravan…or a hot air balloon…
Cheri and Jody’s travel bucket list
Places to go
Every country in Europe
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Kazakhstan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Macedonia
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Vatican City
Every state in the USA
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Montana,
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Visit every attraction in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia.
Other countries
Canada – Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Victoria, Sunshine Coast, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Montreal
Thailand
Vietnam
Argentina
Brazil
Costa Rica
Australia
Iceland
Israel
Other
Road Trip – Hwy 101 from Washington to California
Alaskan Cruise
Experiences to have
Places I want to sleep
Hearst’s Castle, CA – spend the night
Spend the night on a tall ship
Underwater hotel
Ice hotel
Sleep in a treehouse
Sleep in a lighthouse
Stay on a private island
Sleep in a castle – bonus points if it’s a turret
House swap
Sleep on the beach
Stay in a historic lodge – especially in a National Park
Stay in a fire lookout
Transportation to experience
Submarine ride
Segway tour
Float a river
Ride a Tuk Tuk
Ride an elephant
Ride a camel
Go to the airport and take a random flight
Hot air balloon ride
Cruise ship
Helicopter
Glass bottom boat
Subway
Lightrail
Monorail
Gondola (in the air)
Gondola (on water)
Fly first class
Horse and carriage ride in a major city
Rent a Mini Cooper on a trip
Ride a cable car/trolley
Take a trip on a train (2-3 nights)
Ride a double-decker bus
Riverboat cruise
Physical things to try
Snowshoe
Backpack for ONE night (Cheri: I said ONE night, family!)
Flamenco dance lessons
Hula dance lessons
Salsa dance lessons
Human hamster ball
Trampoline House
Water park – a big one
Kayak experience – w/o being scared
Stand-up paddleboarding – and (for Cheri) actually stand-up!
Sand sledding/surfing
Snorkel w/o getting water up my nose
Whitewater rafting
Zip-lining
Cross-country skiing
Walking tour – a long one, probably in England’s Lake District
Bike tour
Explore more caves
Walk across all of Portland’s bridges (on the Willamette)
Ice skate in another country
Food experiences
Molecular gastronomy dinner
Eat at Chez Panisse, California
Eat at a medieval theme restaurant
Dim Sum in Chinatown
Try a martini
Cooking school in another country (probably France or Italy)
New England clam bake
Attend a traditional tea ceremony
Eat a softshell crab sandwich
Ways to be entertained
Shakespeare Festival – Ashland, OR
Murder mystery on a train
Renaissance festival
Attend a rugby match
See Stomp
See an opera in Europe
Ride every ride at Disneyworld, Florida
Ride every ride at Disneyland, California
See Cirque de Soleil
Attend a TED event
Attend a music festival – jazz or classical
See a show on Broadway, NY
See Blue Man Group in Las Vegas
Random things I want to try
Throw water in the air and see it freeze
Attend a poetry reading in a coffee house
Be in a flash mob
Use a metal detector on the beach (w/o the white knee socks and sandals)
Try on a suit of armor
Ride a mattress down the stairs (too much Princess Diaries?)
Do karaoke
Mud bath – preferably in a spa
Play bingo in a Community Center
Pinball in an arcade
Pan for gold
Celebrate my birthday in another country
Host a couch-surfer
Luxury experiences – just to see if they’re all they appear to be…for research…
Spend a week at a spa
Attend a black-tie gala
Attend a film premiere
Get picked up by a limo
Luxury cruise
Attend a Nobel Prize Ceremony
Order room service in a fancy hotel
Afternoon tea at a fancy hotel
Attend a gallery opening – the kind where the champagne is free
Meet a world leader
Dubai
Geeky travel-ish learning
Cook a meal from every country
Learn about European art
Draw the world from memory
Attend a language camp
Speak French
Speak Spanish
Speak Croatian
Speak Portuguese
Speak Italian
Speak Dutch
Speak Swedish
Host exchange students
Attend a blog/social media conference
Go on a press trip
Learn to take excellent travel photos
Keep a travel journal/scrapbook
Make a travel smash book