Punxsutawney TPOL: Leaving My Basement Trip Report

Leaving My Basement is part of the Punxsutawney TPOL Trip Report where I move past The Lost & Found Year(s): COVID Trip Report.

Why am I ready to travel again? Simple. I am running out of blog content. After years of neglecting my blogging duties (see Hangover = Blogger Malpractice?), I am almost completely caught up with all my past trips. I just finished the Year of the Tiger Trip Report. This leaves me with only two more to do: Tahiti Triumph and Quest Around the Globe. That’s the good news. The bad news is that I have gone nowhere in 2020. (Check out my Trip Directory to see the sharp contrast between this year and every other year.)

In an attempt to get back to normal, I’m going to start planning my next trip, one step at a time. The first question is when do I plan to travel. I have no idea but I’m aiming for summer of 2021. The next question is where do I want to go. The initial answer was anywhere. Then I recalled that I’m in the midst of playing the country count game and need to add to that list. Currently, I am at 113 countries (see Where I’ve Been) and need to make up for lost time. I’m considering places like Oman and Monaco along with Algeria and Corsica. The next step is to figure out how to get there. Do I fly Iberia direct from Puerto Rico? I don’t even know if that route still exists. Do I return on Qatar Qsuites? I can’t recall the sweet spots for booking that route. Will I still have hotel status next year? I forgot my AwardWallet password. I do know that my passport was automatically renewed for Global Entry but I don’t remember where I last put it. Clearly, I am a bit tepid and a bit rusty. Fortunately, I have cataloged my Travel Lessons so when Punxsutawney TPOL musters up the courage to leave his basement, he won’t fall flat on his face (see Surrendering Vacation: When to Cut a Trip Short). Until then, I’ll keep posting about my planning in the hopes that I one day hit 270 [countries].