InfiniteVoyage's VirtualTourist Home Page

Hello to every one who visits my homepage. Like you, I'm an avid traveler who loves to explore the world, from leisurely walks along the streets of Paris to observing the almost absent presence of tourists in Minot, North Dakota (ND). In fact, when my partner and I visited the International Peace Garden between ND state border with Canada and had to re-enter the US (apparently, when you visit the park you technically left the USA), the US border patrol gave us a "What are you doing in the middle of nowhere?" look and seemed unconvinced that we intentionally visited the said park. Anyway, suffice it to say, I believe there's always something to do anywhere. It's a matter of finding some fun out of everything.

I used to ignore my own surroundings and go gallivanting to distant areas of the world. For example, I lived in Philadelphia and New York City and pretty much didn't do anything outside of Philly city center or Manhattan, respectively. Anyway, that changed after encountering a fellow traveler (a Kiwi) last year. She asked me two simple questions: "Have you been to Yosemite National Park?" and "Have you been to Lake Tahoe?" and then proceeded to tell me her wonderful experiences in those parks. My answers were "No" to both questions. Now my answers might seem not that big of a deal. But, to me, the interaction was a profound enlightenment coupled with embarrassment. I mean, there I was in Mount Nebo, having just finished exploring Lebanon, Turkey and Syria and about to travel around Jordan and on to Egypt while at the same time I haven't been to those two of the most popular destinations in my own country. Instead of I who was telling her about some sceneries in my country, it was she who was doing the telling instead. Come to think of it, I think I was probably more humiliated than embarrassed. At the time, I realized that I'd only been to three US national parks (the Grand Canyon, the Badlands, and the Apostle Islands) and three US national monuments (The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Mount Rushmore). I had never been to Mexico and only saw a small area of Canada (considering its immense size.)

Since then, I always try to spend most of my vacation time exploring the US first. (For one thing, it's expensive to go to Europe for us Americans these days.) My hope is to see (in the form of hiking and camping) most US national parks and monuments, be able to explore all major (and, in some instances, minor) cities in all US states, spend some time on all US territories (from Puerto Rico to Saipan), and be familiar with the US's two nearest neighbors, Canada and Mexico. Perhaps then I won't feel as ignorant about my own backyard as before and be able to tell other travelers on what can be skipped and which ones deserve exploring.

Future Trips:

(in the planning stage)