I stumbled across a website today, that for me, and I assume other travelers is alot of fun. It’s called earthroulette.com.
The premise of the site is you click the large button in the center of the screen; and are taken to a page with an image and description of the next destination to which you will travel. It’s meant to inspire you when you can’t think of where you’d like to go next.
On my first spin, I got Holland … no, not the province in the Netherlands, but Holland, Michigan. I’m sorry Holland, Michigan, but I spun again. On my next spin I received another town in the US (sorry, other town) and on my third spin; I lucked out and got Cordoba, Spain.
Will Cordoba be my next destination? Likely not, but I would love to visit it one day, so it’s now on the list.
This whole experience reminded me of a real-life adventure I had with my two sons back in say … 1994ish. We were living in Sydney, Australia at the time; and were on the hunt for a short get-away (at least I was; the boys were along for the ride).
There was a now defunct airline called Ansett Airlines that offered a unique opportunity to take a mystery flight. As I recall, you got to choose the length of time you wanted to be away (we chose a single day); prices increased the longer you were gone (and presumably the further you would then fly). They would contact you the day before you were set to leave; and let you know which flight you would be on. The price was very reasonable.
I booked this little adventure for the boys and I; and lo and behold, we ended up flying to Brisbane. I didn’t do any research (those were the days before the internet) until we arrived at the airport in Brisbane. It was our first trip to Brisbane, so we were woefully ignorant of all the beautiful city had to offer. We wandered over to a rack of touristy pamphlets looking for inspiration. That’s where we learned about the wonders of the Gold Coast and the myriad of theme parks out there.
We booked ourselves onto a shuttle bus and rode the 40 minutes out to Movie World at the Gold Coast. What a fun filled day we had; I remember the Bat Man ride was our favourite! We fit as much into the day as we possibly could, then shuttled our way back to the Brisbane airport and home.
As I reminisce on our wonderful day at the Gold Coast, I wish surprise trips were more of a “thing”; and I posit that they would be the most fun (not for everyone, I appreciate) … but I think (at least in theory), that it would be so delightful to put your travel arrangements into someone else’s hands and just show up at the airport for your big surprise. Even as I type this, I appreciate that you might want to have qualifiers (ie. “no place cold”, “not to your Aunt Esther’s”, “not to Holland, Michigan” and so on).
So, if anyone wants to plan a trip for me and hubby (though I haven’t checked with him yet); I’m in!
