Trips
The notable ones, written down so I don’t lose them.
Sometime in 2015 I made it a goal to leave the United States at least once a year, and apart from the stretch the pandemic took out, I’ve managed to keep to it.
I write the trips down here to prop up a fragile memory, and to have something to reflect on. There’s a fair amount I do differently in ordinary life to make these trips possible, and none of that shows up in the write-ups.
The list below is the record. The ones with links have more behind them.
The Record
- 25 April–1 May 2012 — Ireland. Dublin and Wicklow, with a conference as the excuse. The first time I left the country.
- 23–29 August 2012 — British Columbia. Vancouver, Lasqueti Island, Campbell River.
- 31 January–28 February 2013 — Italy, with family. Lucca, Florence, and Rome. Four weeks of it.
- 10–18 November 2013 — Ireland. Dublin, Birr, Dingle, and Kilkenny, routed out through Paris.
- 23–30 April 2014 — New York.
- 1–19 December 2014 — Tanzania. By way of Paris, Amsterdam, and a ferry into England.
- 6–24 November 2015 — Ireland. Donegal, Sligo, Dublin.
- 12–22 September 2016 — Italy. Bologna.
- February 2017 — Ireland. Kilkenny and Dublin.
- 26 March–4 April 2017 — Italy. Rome, Lucca, Vernazza.
- 17 April–3 May 2018 — Italy. Rome, Perugia, Lucca, Siena.
- 3 July–8 August 2019 — Scotland. Inverness, Keith, Stirling, Edinburgh. Five weeks.
- 9–19 July 2022 — Ireland. Sligo and Dublin.
- 5–15 October 2022 — Europe. Amsterdam, Kortrijk, Bayeux, Paris.
- 14–21 February 2023 — England. York, Leeds, Wilmslow.
- 31 May–8 July 2023 — Italy, with family. Turin and Ferrara. Nearly six weeks.
- 6–16 March 2024 — England. York again, this time with the family. I’d always thought the kids would love it and wanted them to see it.
- 10–15 May 2024 — London. A somewhat last-minute trip with my father and my cousin, to see Bryan Adams at the Royal Albert Hall.
- 17–23 April 2025 — Istanbul. My mother had broken her hip, and my sister and I went to get my parents home.
- 24 August–9 September 2025 — Hadrian's Wall Path. Flew into Edinburgh, walked west to east across northern England.
- 11–23 March 2026 — Italy. Rome and Lucca with the kids, the first trip after the divorce. A lot of walking and exploring, and not many tourist sites.
See also Places, which is the other half: things I’d tell a friend to go and see.