Sometimes, people think that if you have seen the world, you might not have any interest in your own country. This is so not true! I love to travel in America. There’s so much of it I haven’t seen yet. My husband is on the same page. In fact, we have a plan to rent an RV and drive all over the country one day, posting lots of tourist shots to embarrass our kids along the way.

Lucky for me, my daughter decided on graduate school in California. So, I just visited her again, because tickets aren’t getting any cheaper after we get to Warsaw, people. (Also, so very over winter.) I still haven’t seen anything between Chicago and San Francisco, but at least I’m getting to see the west coast. Yosemite and the Grand Canyon can wait a little longer, I guess.

Here’s the thing: I already know that I can find my way around in another language. The thrill is gone. I am totally fine being able to speak English while I travel. I have absolutely no problem being able to understand signs, menus, and traffic laws. I love that everything is open all day and on Sundays. I like that most people are friendly and polite. I am especially fond of reasonably clean bathrooms and water fountains. Free water! What’s not to like about that?

I am also lucky that my daughter is an enthusiastic traveling companion (turns out that all those forced marches do pay off one day). We went to the beach. We checked out the Mystery Spot and the Winchester Mystery House. We did a lot of hiking. We spent two days in San Francisco checking items off the bucket list. Except Alcatraz, because we couldn’t get tickets, but we took a ferry out to Angel Island which was less crowded and possibly more fun. It was a blast.