A Christmas Gift That Says It's Time to Accept Failure

Brian and Jackie, Karla's brother and sister-in-law, are always interested in our next travel destination. So this year, they decided to keep a travel theme in putting together the packages that made up our Christmas gifts, and in their own way, get into the act of helping us plan our next big trip. The centerpiece of our yuletide booty was the tome 501 Must-Visit Destinations.

When I tore off the wrapping paper (and lest you think I hogged the biggest package, it was the one I was assigned by Jackie to open), after reading the title, the first thing that I saw was the Pearl Mosque (Taj Mahal) in Agra, India. Been there. Done that.

Next, Karla and I saw the pictures of Liberty Island and The Louvre, and we were feeling pretty smug. It didn't occur to us that there were five other pictures on the cover of places that we had not visited. Nor did we turn over the book to see an additional eight pictures on the reverse cover of places we had not visited. No, we saw the three and both thought, "Probably been to at least 100 or so."

The next day, we decided to check out the one-hundred-plus places that had achieved "must-see" status and that we've shared. Even if there were just under four hundred more locations, we knew we were well on our way, with our best travel years hopefully ahead of us.

The final tally of catalogued destinations that we've seen together? Thirty-seven. Our spirits (and self-satisfaction) dropped faster than the full-moon's tide in the Bay of Fundy (on the list and I've seen but Karla hasn't).

So we haven't put as much of a dent in the list of places we must see as we first thought. Next week we're going out to buy the book of 1000 Places to See Before You Die. If nothing else, we're at least hoping for a higher "destination IQ" in terms of percentages.