By Neal Wooten
I’ve accomplished many of the things I set out to do in life, but one area I feel I haven’t done enough of is traveling. I was never one to take vacations because I feel like my life has been one giant vacation. I’ve been to Montana, the Florida Keys, the Grand Canyon, swam on the beaches in California, and been to Vegas a few times. But there are still places and things I would love to see before I leave this world.
Number one on my list is the Galápagos Islands. The name is actually derived from a word that means “turtle” and the giant tortoises are the main reason I want to go there. Those, along with several other animals, can only be found on those islands. I would take this place over any of the popular tourist spots any day.
I’ve never even been on a cruise and not sure I ever will, which might make it difficult to get to the Galápagos Islands. I get motion sickness in vehicles, and it’s much worse on the ocean. The one time I went deep-sea fishing in the Gulf made me sick as a dog, and I was maxed out on Dramamine.
If it weren’t for the 17-hour flight, I would have taken a friend up on his many offers to go to France with him as he visits his parents. They live in Nice on the French Riviera. He sends me pics of the nightlife, the beaches, and those beautiful French women. Ooh la la. I’ve been to Canada and Mexico, but I’m pretty sure I’ll never make it to Europe.
There are places much closer that I keep meaning to go. I would love to go to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. It’s not a long drive at all. You can rent pet-friendly cabins very reasonably and pay a small fee to dig in the dirt of a 37-acre field for diamonds. Of course, I realize I could go to my 37 acres on the mountain and dig in the mud for free with the same results.
I just discovered a place in Kentucky called The Gorge Underground where you can take kayak trips through a dark cavern. The bottoms of the kayaks have colorful LED lights so you can see into the clear waters. The pictures online look awesome and if it involves kayaking, I’m ready.
These places are harder to get to as I get older and accumulate more stray dogs. I figure I’m about two years away from sitting on my porch all day with a loaded shotgun yelling for kids to get the heck off my lawn.
