COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

My father’s father’s people were from England, my mother’s parents from Ireland. I know precious little about my father’s mother’s people, except that their country of origin was Holland. That would make winning this sweeps, four nights in Amsterdam and airfare, sweet. If I won this one, I would crack the family-research whip and learn more about this fleeting ancestress, an elementary-school teacher who taught citizenship courses after she had my father. Her father was struck by a train when he was crossing the tracks when she was 12; she sold salt-water taffy on the boardwalk in Atlantic City to put herself through “normal” school. Past that, I know almost nothing.

I must confess that Holland has never been high on my where-to-go-next list. It’s flat, wind mills aren’t my thing. But trips that start with low expectations, even ambivalence, can hold the most magic. The Dutch people I’ve met over the years have been nothing but lovely. Smart and cool (actually, very cool) and warm. I know the people would pull me right in. And, if we went during winter, the ice skating. And of course, there is the art.

Still, I haven’t been wanderlusting after Europe from some time. I’ve had my heart set on Africa for years (long before the recent Brangelina Effect, as previous posts will attest), Viet Nam, Chile and Peru (different countries but I’d probably hit both in same trip), the Seychelles. Speaking of places I’d like to see, the other day, on Jaunted, one of the travel websites I read daily (well, Monday through Friday; see links to my Daily Fixes to the right), I learned something new: There’s a club for people who’ve traveled to 100 or more countries. The Travelers Century Club was founded in 1954 by a couple of serious travelers.

Clicking around the website inspired me to make a list to see how far I was from the big One Hundred. I’ve got 76 to go. Here are the 24 in the order they came spilling out of my pen: Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, Korea, China, France, Italy, Spain, England, Denhark, Ireland, El Salvador, Alaska (it counts), Belgium, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Haiti, Malta, Sicily, Monaco, Vatican City. Airport layovers count. (Of these, Korea, Alaska and El Salvador were layovers; Korea and Alaska were scheduled landings, El Salvador was a diverted flight.)

Maybe Holland’s next.

Sweeps Mirage: Earlier this week, I could have sworn I found a sweeps for a stay at the Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, one of those enchanting little places I stumbled upon late one night in a desktop-traveler's moment. I even cut and pasted the rules. But now I can’t find the darn thing online. If I do, I will post accordingly.