Travel Conundrums

I'm torn between two travel scenarios. Time is limited. Life is short and there are so many places to visit. So is it better to go to a new place every "big" vacation, or return to places you know well and love? We have a checklist, like most travelers. Spain and Morocco. The South Pacific. The Low Countries. Parts of Asia. We typically wander by ourselves, but I'd like to try a river boat cruise and possibly a small, specialized tours, like we did on the Big Island. That three hours taught us more about Hawaii's flora and fauna, the volcano, and the people than we ever would have gotten on our own.

It is a quandary. We love Kauai. It's beautiful. It's relaxing. The skies and water change constantly. We know where to eat, which beaches to lounge on, and which sites to revisit. In other words, it's a "chill" vacation. Completely different from visiting a new place, which can present such joy, but also stress and anxiety. We have a friend, older than we are, who had decided to only visit new places for a while. I get it. What if she leaves this world without experiencing all these new places? My only reply is that, sometimes, we need to learn a place more deeply.

We've decided on a compromise, for now. One vacation a year must be to somewhere new, with places unexplored. Some years, we may toss out the comfortable completely, and become adventurers for all our trips. But some years, we may decide to revisit places that heal your heart, if only for two weeks at a time.