#ThinkKit11 Day 29: Leavin' On a Jet Plane ...

I've been fortunate enough to have done some traveling. I can say I've visited four countries (set foot in three of them), and 38 of the 50 U.S. States (none beginning with "A"). Yet, I'm always looking for the next adventure.

Thursday, Dec 29: New Places
Is there somewhere you really want go in 2012? Somewhere local? Or anywhere in the world?

If I could list three cities I'd really love to visit in 2012 which I have never visited before, they would be (in no particular order):

1. Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida. I've been to Florida three times in my life. Two trips to Mickey-ville, and once to Miami & Key West. Yet, I've wanted to head to Tampa/St. Pete for many years. I'd love to head there in late-March to catch this year's IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Pete, as the city was home to Dan Wheldon, and there won't be a dry eye in the stands when they honor him there.

(PS - for 2012, could race officials rename the race "Dan Wheldon Memorial Grand Prix of St. Pete" please? That would just have a nice ring to it for this year - and there's little doubt all drivers would bust tail to win the race in the inaugural race for the new DW12 chassis.)

But, besides the race itself, I'd like to check out a few other places, too. I've heard resounding applause for the new Salvador Dali museum. I'd like to hit up a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game at Tropicana Field. Plus, I'm a sucker for roller-coasters, so Busch Gardens would definitely need (*ahem*) thorough testing.

2. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I've had this one on my list for many years. Don't get me wrong, having an IndyCar event there is outstanding (and I'd love to go), but I also have some friends whom live there (fellow IndyCar fans, and my Halo "clan" is based there), and I'm sure they can give me the low-down on where to go. Toronto has a large "design" culture there, as I've seen several documents, drawings, and application/engineering designs with references to Toronto. I can only imagine what flying into YYZ would be like, since I'm a fan of Rush. Similar to Tampa/St. Pete, I want to see Rodgers Centre (formerly known as the SkyDome), try out a few of their world-famous breweries, plus I GOTTA check out the CN Tower, because this looks FREE-KING AMAZE-ZING!!!

3. London, England, United Kingdom. If there was ever a year to check out London, this would be the one. Many of you know the 2012 Summer Olympics are there, and I've always wanted to go to the Olympics at some point in my life (I was devastated when Chicago didn't get awarded The Games). But there's SO much more in London I want to experience. Somehow, my family roots (father's side) have some connection to the U.K., but we've never really gotten the opportunity to do a genealogical study on that side of the family. I've always hoped one day I can fly my father and myself over there for two weeks and "study abroad". Plus, I've heard so much about the city and country that I really just need to bite-the-bullet, and go for it. My only exposure to the UK was that I had to change planes at Heathrow (which is the 4th country I've been to, but when you don't leave the airport, it doesn't count).

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So, there's three cities I'd love to see in 2012 ... sadly, the odds of me seeing two of them are pretty remote, but I'm going to try to get to one of them. Decisions, decisions ...