Is it strange that I have the majority of my vacation time planned out through the end of 2009? Well, I also have plans for 2010 but that’s a different story.

With the plans for OZ all set and the trip to Europe pretty much figured out I’ve moved on to bigger and colder things.

Yes, Antarctica! I’ve always liked penguins and cold weather so it seems only fitting to go. There is also the educational aspect of it as after watching the March of the Penguins my husband looked over me with a rather confused look on his face and questioned “but how do they know which one is the emperor?!?” (For those of you who are equally confused: No, the penguins do not have a monarchy. Emperor penguins are a species.)

That said, in November of 2009, we’ll be headed down to Argentina to board a ship that will take us down to Antarctica. Once in the area, a smaller boat will ferry us over to put our toes on the coldest continent and meet the penguins. While it is quite a ways off, we can’t wait! As access to the area is a bit of a challenge planning well in advance is key to secure a spot.

Prior to that we’ll hopefully be headed to India in the spring for my birthday. While dates and such haven’t been set, I think we’ll pry be there either around my birthday or in May for the next Golden week. Beyond that, I’m hoping to see Tibet and Nepal in the near future and maybe a little Bhutan in there as well.

Sadly, my trusty old passport won’t be making many more journeys with me. Full of visas and stamps it seems my passport isn’t even going to survive until its expiration date of April 2009. It’s full and extra pages are not an option. Thus, upon returning from OZ in July I’ll be carting myself over to the US embassy for a thorough strip search (only a slight exaggeration) to say goodbye to my trusty old friend (I will get it back with the cover sliced in half to keep though but still, it won’t be the same).

I know, such problems I have…