I’m off to Colombia for a few days because JetBlue had a Labor Day sale. The outbound flight was 2000 points which is why I couldn’t pass up a trip to Cartagena. I try to go to new countries to increase my country count (I think it has topped 80 ‘countries’) but I actually prefer going back to the same places so I don’t have to run around doing tourist activities the whole time.
At the Michigan alumni bar in Miami, I told an alum my itinerary which, for now, is as follows:
- Montana
- Las Vegas
- Grand Cayman
- Miami
- Cartagena
- Medellin
- Houston
- Moscow
- St. Petersburg
- Cypress
- Amman
- Abu Dhabi
- NYC
His immediate question was, “What’s the point of your travels?” I could’ve answered his question literally and gone on a points tirade about great redemptions etc. But what he was really asking was why I was going all over the place for no apparent reason. And honestly, I have no good answer besides why not.
It definitely would have been more peaceful to spend one week in Grand Cayman and avoid the headaches of going from airport to airport, hotel to hotel, and Uber to Lyft. It also would have been ridiculously boring. My fun is derived from the randomness of changing hotels daily, not sticking to a set itinerary, and all the complications in between.
Am I crazy or normal depends on who you ask.
I am the same. I get questioned by CBP upon entering the US “Why were you in Hong Kong for 1 day?” some don’t care.
I tell you why i take random pointless trips that accrue/use points – because i need to detach and get away – to be unavailable for some time – to be completely distracted and focused on something not work related. Also, to be recognized and (mostly) treated well through status or flying i/r/j/a/f etc.
I told my wife either i can go to a shrink and pay the money or do this. It works for me
Hahaha great comment! Totally agree.
Personally, I just really like to travel. If you enjoy yourself and nobody’s getting hurt, why overthink it? I presume you’re enjoying yourself?
i cycled through colombia on my world bike ride. the temperatures were hot, but the women were scorching. i had been on the road about 7 months at that point, not knowing i still had 63 months to go. but i’d settled into my groove and realized that the trip wasn’t about getting from point x back to point x. it was about the alphabet in-between.
sorry (*** *** = typo) :
“***It’s*** definitely would have been more peaceful to spend one week in Grand Cayman…”
Wow Forrest that’s a lot of cycling. And i agree.
Fixed the typo. Still getting used to writing posts via phone and that great keyboard