2012 Travel Plans

Is it just me, or is it super hard to create a yearly budget & goals without creating a yearly travel plan?

January/February – visiting a friend in Tahoe for a weekend:
I don’t actually ski or snowboard, and if we can do something else (run?  Snowshoe?  Cross country ski?) this won’t be too expensive.
Flight:  $200
Misc:  $200

May – hometown half marathon
To see my family and do a fun little race.
Flight: $250
Race:  $55

July – Boston for one of T’s conferences (maybe)
$500+ (mostly flight)

August – Sierra Nevada backpacking trip
We want to start near mammoth lakes and backpack ~30 miles to yosemite
$400 (Assuming 1 night in hotel)

September – Switzerland and ?
This is for another conference of T’s.  The “?” part is yet to be determined.  I know I said my next international vacation would be to South America, but it is really really hard to pass up going somewhere where one of us gets a free flight.  So I’m looking at options for this.  And Switzerland was gorgeous, so… it would probably be OK if the “?” part wasn’t anything other than more of Switzerland.  But the strongest contender (currently) is northern Italy (focusing on cinque terre).  If we can stay in a friend’s flat in Paris (unlikely, really) maybe we’d go there instead.
This trip is still tentative.  I’m not only counting chickens before they hatch, I’m counting them before their mother has even laid any eggs!
WAG total:  $5000

December – T’s parent’s for Christmas
Maybe we can get some flight deals or something, but typically $400 each is a good price for holiday flights.  We’ll also get to meet a new niece or nephew!!!  Kids make the holidays SO much more fun.
Flights: $800

Just looking at this list, I think I’ll pass on Boston.  I know, I know, Boston is totally worth visiting, but I typically have more fun on nature trips than city trips, and…  I’m OK with passing on it.  I’ll save the cash for myself or for a trip to see NYC while T is on the east coat.  I also have a friend who might be getting married, though she hasn’t said when or where yet, so I’ll leave that out.  I wouldn’t mind sneaking in another trip to the midwest at some point… but again, I’ll leave that out.

There will also be a fair number of trips to visit T wherever he is staying (starting in July), though most likely he’ll come back to L.A. because we’ll have much better living accommodations here.  While I definitely have to consider this, this is a separate issue.

Total without Boston: approximately $7000

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