My 2022 Bucket List

Wow! It’s been a while since I have written an actual travel bucket list. Ever since the pandemic hit, I saw no value or reason to write one. With us being stuck in Singapore for the most part of 2020 and also a significant amount of 2021, I was happy enough to travel to another neighborhood, let alone eat outside. Ever since we moved to the US, things have changed, though. And I am finally able to plan a whole new 2022 travel bucket list that I am gonna share with you today. We will see how much we tick at the end of the year!

12 US STATES

Since we are now living in the US and have a great hub with SFO, we are planning to explore lots of US states and their capitals. And by saying lots, I actually mean MANY. Depending on restrictions and travel advisories, I am actually trying to checkbox one (new) US state per month. That makes twelve US states in total for 2021.

Ranking among the top cities and states are Phoenix in Arizona, Salt Lake City in Utah, Austin in Texas, Portland in Oregon, and Denver in Colorado. Daniel – for some reason – is also keen to go to Alaska, so he asked me to add Anchorage to my list.

A destination that we actually had planned to visit way earlier is Hawaii, which will also count towards the US states, obv. Being only a few flight hours from San Francisco and one of a kind, we anticipated traveling there on a regular basis when we moved here. For some reason, we haven’t made it – yet, but for 2021 it’s ranking high on the list, that’s for sure.

Trips in NorCal

Since San Francisco is a great starting point for lots of small towns, wine regions, and National Parks to explore, I am planning a few trips in the region too. Towns like Montecito, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, or San Jose are waiting for my visit and are easy destinations for the weekends.

Canada: Montréal and/or Vancouver

Let’s face it, visiting and exploring the US states won’t really help with filling the been app. And if you know me, you are aware I really want to hit a certain percentage in that little app before I eventually settle down. We both haven’t been to Canada yet, and with Vancouver only being 2 flight hours away, we might finally be able to make it this year, and if it’s only for a weekend trip. I, however, had glimpsed at Montréal for a long time though, so let’s see where we’ll finally get to.

CENTRAL America AND/Our South America

It is pretty vague to name a whole continent basically, but we are basically keen to start our Central and South America journey now that we live close(r). Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador are high on the list, but I also have a glimpse at Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize. I doubt we will make it to travel to them all, but visiting one country from Central or South America is def the goal for 2022.

Carribean

And if that wasn’t enough, let’s add one destination in the Caribbean too. Unfortunately, the Caribbean islands are almost as far as there were from Germany, but they, therefore, make an ideal place to meet friends or family halfway. Since we have visited the Dutch Antilles before, I would love to go to the French West Indies this time. Maybe Guadeloupe? Other potential destinations are The Bahamas or Cuba…

Ok, I think that’s enough for a whole year, isn’t it? I don’t think I will be able to tick all of my boxes this year, but if I learned one thing in 2020 (and 2021, for that matter), then it’s that life is too short and too unpredictable to calculate your dreams to fulfill. Let’s just dive in there and see what 2022 brings on.