January 30: National Escape Day

The first time we found a reference to National Escape Day we got all excited and made an insanely detailed plan about how we were going to trap one another and force each other to escape from our faux kidnapping.  I was going to tie Justin to a chair and then wrap duct tape around the knots.  Then, I was going to tip the chair on its side, blindfold him and barricade the door to our bedroom shut with him in it and the game wouldn't be over until he made it to the living room or we got divorced.  FUN!  He wouldn't tell me his plan, which is both amazing and terrifying.

Luckily for our marriage and the as-yet-unconceived eventual babies, we discovered that is not actually what National Escape Day is about.  Turns out, there are multiple definitions to escape, one of which is "A means of obtaining temporary freedom from worry, care, or unpleasantness".   So, that's a lot less creepy than our instincts told us.  We're just going to gloss over that issue.  Turns out, it is the less creepy definition that drives National Escape Day celebrations.

Among the celebratory options were pampering ourselves and planning our escape from the bitter and terrible cold of winter in Southern Texas.  We had a lovely home cooked meal together and relaxed aggressively.

I AM SO FUCKING PEACEFUL RIGHT NOW.

Then we decided to plan dream vacations - the perfect escape for if we had unlimited money.  That was so much fun and it was a really neat personality exercise actually.  Both vacations were supposed to be four weeks long.  I'll share the full plans below, but one thing stood out to me.  Justin picked two places and spent a lot of uninterrupted time in those places, focusing on really seeing and experiencing everything there.  I opted to fly us all the way around the world.

Side note - when we planned the activity, I was the one who said we should set the trips at four weeks each.  I made that rule.  It was my idea to put that restriction on there.  Then I realized halfway through my plan that I would be depositing us in Paris on the last day so I just extended my trip to forty days.  So, if you notice that my trip seems to pack more in than Justin's - just realize that I created a set of rules for us and then promptly broke them.  I'm not ashamed.

Without further adieu - Justin's plan - also known as "Justin and Kristen's Mostly British-ish Adventure"

Day 1-7: Fly to San Francisco.  Experience the following: Chinatown, dim sum restaurant, Pier 39, trolley ride, cool neighborhoods, etc...

Day 8-14: Fly to England.  Experience the following: Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, 221B Baker St, famous Dr. Who locations, Stonehenge, etc...

Day 15-21: Drive to Scotland.  Experience the following: Historic churches, Lochness, the Highland Games (go at the right time of year for that), historic castles, Glenmorangie Distillery, Edinburgh's Royal Mile, etc...

Day 22-28: Fly to Ireland.  Experience the following: Cliffs of Moher, Guinness, Jamison, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Blarney Stone, Dublin, Lisdoonvarna, Down Patrick, Dunmore Cove, etc...

And my plan - also known as "Around the World in 12 More Days than we Were Supposed to Have"

Day 1: Fly to Key West

Day 2: Visit southernmost point in Continental US then go to nearest beach and drink and relax

Day 3: Swim in Caribbean, be at beach, relax like a monster, etc...

Day 4: Fly to Hawaii

Day 5-15: Experience the following: Volcano on the Big Island, scuba diving, historic sites, beach volleyball, Luau, spa days on the beach, ziplining, helicopter tour, hiking, surfing lessons, camping under the stars, visiting the southernmost point in the entire US, etc...

Day 16: Fly to Tokyo

Day 17-20: Experience the following: visit the city, karaoke, stay in a unique hotel, visit historic and cultural sites, visit a Shinto temple, etc...

Day 21: Fly to Norway

Day 22-25: Visit Charlotte and Celina who are amazing and experience the awesomeness of Norway

Day 26-27: Go up to the arctic circle and stay overnight to see the Northern Lights, etc..

Day 28: Fly to Paris

Day 29-31: Experience the following: Eiffel Tower, Champs-Élysées, fine French restaurants and historic sites, the Louvre, etc...

Day 32: Drive to Germany (Berlin) and experience the French countryside

Day 33-35: Experience the following: German historic sites, authentic German beer, fragments of Berlin wall, German local towns etc...

Day 36: Fly to NYC

Day 37-39: Stay in the same hotel as our first anniversary trip and visit some of the nostalgic spots as that trip - add in a new Broadway show, maybe a sports event, a romantic walk through Central Park and a nice romantic dinner at a fancy-pants restaurant, etc...

Day 40: Fly home

So those are our dream trips.  We also decided to start planning our honeymoon.  We didn't take one right after our wedding because we'd been in Michigan for a month with me working remotely so it seemed more appropriate to wait.  My previous boss (she has since retired) was incredibly kind to give us that time -- trading off an immediate honeymoon for the chance to be in state during the last weeks of planning for the wedding was absolutely the right thing for us.

We would HIGHLY recommend doing some of fun Escape Day exercises Justin and I did, even if it isn't the holiday anymore.  It was SO MUCH FUN and we got to really dream together about the trips and share our bucket list with one another.  I doubt we'll ever be able to take those trips as outlined, but over the course of a lifetime, we know all the places we're going to want to see.  Very fun!