In about 24 hours, our plane takes off for New York City.  2010 has not been heavy in the travel category for us here at World Travel for Couples.  I guess when you take a good part of 2008 and most of 2009 to travel around the world, that’s going to happen.  Since our return, we’ve gotten back on our feet, back into a routine, and are largely living a normal life these days.

But we still travel.  We still think and dream about that next destination.  And tomorrow, we leave for that next destination, one of the greatest cities in the world, New York!  And here I sit, at 7am the day before, clacking away on my computer.  I don’t have to work today, we have most of the laundry done, the house is in order, and we are pretty well prepared to leave.  So why am I awake?  Why am I not getting a good night’s sleep before waking up for an early flight tomorrow?

It’s because of that feeling I get.  That feeling before a trip.  That feeling before I’m about to do something exciting.  I get it every single time.  That feeling of excitement.  Of anticipation.  Of nervousness.  That buzz in the air.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am about to go on a vacation, out of town, on a trip.  It doesn’t matter how near or far I’m going or how long I’m going to be gone, I ALWAYS get the same feeling that day before.  I am like a kid on Christmas morning, gazing all wide-eyed at the mound of presents under the tree, wondering what awaits when I tear them open.

Even when going on a weekend camping trip, I get this feeling.  My stomach gets butterflies, my mind starts to race, and you can’t wipe the smile off my face.

Regardless of where we go, those feelings remain.  And this time, for me, it’s a bit more special.  Last summer on my other site, I wrote about what started the travel obsession.  I’ll let you read for yourself and won’t rewrite the entire post here, but to make a long story short, it was a band.

Live music is something I fell in love with during that very first concert I went to back in high school.  I went to as many shows as I could, until senior year I fell in love with one particular band.  Once I saw them live for the first time in 1996, it was all over for me.  I was hooked.  That led to my first real trip without my parents in 1997, a cross country road trip that literally changed my life.

Ever since then, I have driven and flown to 11 different states to see this band.  Friday and Saturday will mark the 39th and 40th times I will have seen Phish, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.  Phish and travel have gone hand in hand since that fateful trip back in 1997.  But this one is a little more special for me.

For the first time, I get to celebrate New Year’s Eve with my wife, my favorite quartet, and 20,000 of my closest friends in the greatest arena in the world in the greatest city in the world.  Since they first played Madison Square Garden on NYE in 1995, the first year I was into them, I have dreamed about going.  I was a poor college student who simply couldn’t afford to go in 96, 97, and 98.  Then they took a break and returned in 2002, making it nearly impossible to get tickets to their return show on NYE at MSG.  Again, I was shut out.

But this year, the gods were smiling upon me, and after scoring tickets in the lottery, I was in.  After convincing my not-too-excited-about-Phish wife into it, we booked our flights, and it was official.  After 15 years of dreaming, it was on.  It’s been a long three months of anticipation, and I have tried to keep it out of my mind as much as possible.  But now?  I don’t have to do that anymore.

So that feeling I get, it’s pretty damn strong right now.  If I couldn’t sleep because of the anticipation and excitement last night, I fear about what’s in store for tonight.  I sit here, smiling, grinning, downloading last night’s show, waiting, wondering.  I’ve been to New York before, I’ve seen Phish before, but this time, it’s different.  It’s their biggest party of the year in one of their favorite venues in one of their favorite cities.

To make it even better, we get to see and stay with friends we met while on our RTW.  We haven’t seen them since March of 2009, and we get to meet their newest addition to their family.  Everything seemed to fall into place for a perfect little trip to end 2010.  Great friends and great music in a great city.

And now, I wait.  I dream.  I fidget.  I will no doubt have my bags packed early today, and I will try to find a way to not get excited about leaving.  I will try to put it out of my mind.  I will try to be patient.  But I know it’s all for naught.  It will be all I think about, all I care about.

This is why I really travel.  For this feeling.  Right here.  Right now.  It doesn’t get any better than this.  The anticipation of doing something new, something different, something I’ve dreamed about for 15 years.  This feeling I get… this is why I will always continue to travel.