I was sitting thinking the other day that soon, I would have to start making plans for my next vacation. Funny how the mind works though: as soon as the thought of my future holiday destination entered into my mind, I was transported forward into the future, and with images stored in some hidden recesses of my brain, this time in my future started to shape and form, a reality solid enough that for a moment, nothing else mattered. It felt like I was there, several months forward, enjoying a well earned vacation!
Talk about time travel and the power of suggestion and it is not unreasonable to expect that sometime in the future, a device somewhere will enable us to travel to far away destinations and take holidays of a lifetime, without ever actually moving. Still, this is not a rant about travel through time and space. I will leave this thought to Hiro Nakamura, the expert in this time and space thingy and accept that we, humans have a perfect alternative to science fiction with the substantive difference that this alternative actually exists: imagination.
So there I was looking through my world atlas for a destination of my dreams flipping through the pages when I came across a map of North America and there it hit me.  At a rate of one State a year, it would take 50 years to explore the US, 50 American Vacations that would not even scratch the surface of this great big land of ours. Indeed I remember visiting the Grand Canyon with my wife last year when we thought that one week of exploration through this incredibly beautiful land had only enabled us to see but a mere fraction and we had promised each other to return another year. I remember thinking back then that this magnificent Grand Canyon National Park had been carved by the Colorado River, a body of water moving down from a great distance and it probably took it millions of years to achieve its goal, some 6 million years ago. A piece of art, millions of years in the making but the greatest architect of all, nature, to bring us this ultimate American Vacation dream.
Now I fully appreciate the elegance of European Vacations and the appeal of historical cities such as London, Paris, Madrid, Rome etc, forged by the will of men and women throughout a thousand years or more, but put into perspective, and all things considered, nothing really prepares the American or any other Tourist for the breathtaking beauty that nature has taken millions of years to construct. Chances are that sometime in the future, today’s cities will be rendered back to nature, submerged as they will be by a forthcoming ice age, and yet, the Grand Canyon will most likely still be there, practically untouched.
American Vacations are available in a multitude of packages and possibilities.  Where you decide to go will depend on your area of interest and your lifestyle. If you are sporty kind, American National Parks are truly amongst the best in the world. Maintained to retain their original wild beauty they offer amenities and services to meet the needs of most tourists. Bring waking boots with you as there are as more trails then you would care to count, ranking from beginner to advanced depending on how fit you are. When taking a walking holiday, remember to follow all the safety recommendations that available at the Parks themselves or online. Too many people have been the unfortunate victims of their own ignorance when it comes to precautions, and you will want to be careful. Most national parks offer lodging of some sort, and for the more adventurous amongst you, camping might just be the thing for you!.
If you are more of sedentary type of traveler, Las Vegas vacations for example might be a destination that will appeal to you even though it might not with your bank manager’s seal of approval.
But of course, talking about every possibility offered by an American vacation would take thousands of pages which would be obsolete the moment such a book was written.
So: chose a state of interest, determine the areas you want to visit, the type of vacation you enjoy and start planning. You can get there by car, train, plane, boat and once there you can either camp, stay in a hotel, a cabin or a vacation home. It doesn’t really matter how you do it, the simple fact is that this American Land of ours is truly a gift of nature and you will likely make this next vacation of yours a holiday of a life time.