When Kalina was born I looked up the South Carolina school regulations. Five years old by September 1st. Kindergarten. Countdown to Fall 2017 and our last big trip.

With one week schools breaks and rushed Christmas vacations on the horizon, this grand tour came to follow the cardinal rule of improv…yes, and…

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m excited for Kalina to start school. I loved learning and still do. It’s just that my favorite subject was geography and my favorite books started with maps and continued with a journey. The Phantom Tollbooth at nine. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy at eighteen. The Great Railway Bazaar at twenty six. Sometimes schools just seem so stationary.

So on this trip, the last hurrah, we would be in perpetual motion.

It started with Italy because Italy is a dream. There would be dramatic coastline and pesto. Yes, and…

A repositioning cruise that would take us through the Suez Canal and the length of the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Yes, and…

Since we’re already in the neighborhood, I’ve always wanted to visit Sri Lanka. Yes, and…

Radek has never seen the Moorish architecture of Spain. Why not meet friends for a road trip through Andalusia? Yes, and…

When school starts we’ll have Thanksgiving break, Christmas vacation and surely the grandparents could babysit for a long weekend…is it too early to plan a gap year? Who am I kidding? When you’re a traveler there’s always another map, another journey, another yes, and.