...when mrwhoknew is leaving for the airport to pick me up from a solo trip and he is asked if we will be traveling somewhere next year and he just laughs and says "If I know her she's already planned it out during this plane ride home." (*raises hand sheepishly*...gotta have my Italy fix)

...when someone asks me where my next trip is and I say Italy, and they say but you've just been...(like going back to Italy is a bad thing?)

....when you have a trip planned for November 06 with a friend(I don't know where yet) and my December 06 Italy trip and you wonder if you are going to last all these months without going somewhere, and you begin plotting....

....when the pound coin keeps getting pulled out of your change purse but you won't take it out because you love the little rush you get whenever you see it.

...when your friends and family nag you about replacing your 16 year old vehicle and you tell them as long as it runs fine you'd rather spend your money on a trip.

...you actually consider moving to the East coast because it's only a 6 hour plane ride to Europe instead of 11 hours or more from California and not only are the flights cheaper but you could go more often...never mind the actual costs of relocating, finding a job...but then you think I have a good job that pays me a livable income and as a government skivvy I must take 120 hours a year vacation and where else could I go where I'm forced to take 120 hours as a "minimum".

...when you get excited when you see an advertisement for luggage

...when you are watching the Olympics and you see a competitor from "xyz" country and you think "oooh, I've never been there" and begin contemplating when you can go there, too.

...when your new work colleague speaks with an accent and find out he's from Germany and you can't wait to ask him all sorts of questions about what part he's from, etc.

...when you're annoyed because you charge everything you can to your mileage card but can't convince your mortgage lender to accept the house payment on a credit card. Think of the mileage that could be accumulated!(and before anyone flames me for being reckless with debt, I pay off my card each month...being debt free gives me freedom to travel!)

whoknew- I had friends who put their college tuitions on their cards.

Darn scholarship!

whoknew,
I know what you mean about sometimes wishing you were on the East Coast, but every time I see Mt. Rainer I know I need to be here on the West Coast, but still...

And yes, we too tried to get our morgage put on our card, but no go, however, we're able to put DDs tuition on one...and then of course, there's the roof...

when your Earthlink account advises you that you have used 90 hours for the month and you know that most of it was used on Fodor's.

When you have trips planned out for the next two year. They are booked and paid for also.

When you go to googleearth.com and look up your destinations so you can see them by satelitte.

"....when the pound coin keeps getting pulled out of your change purse but you won't take it out because you love the little rush you get whenever you see it..."

That is SO me! (And, in the same vein, when you keep a big stash of foreign coins, some of them outdated, and when the kids ask you what each one is worth...you know. Despite the fact that you have dyscalculia and blithely give out the wrong phone number on a regular basis.)

When you keep putting off an eye exam and new glasses (gotta save money for the tickets, you know).

...then break down and do it anyway just before the trip because you decide that even if everyday life isn't worth seeing, vacation is.

I'm with anitas on this!

Also, when you get done with a trip and start dreaming up and planning your next one (even if it is two years away) in order to give your life purpose.

I guess your name is appropriate, work-to-wander.

ergo viaggio sempre

travel always

When ...

You do what we are doing:

We leave on our flight at 6:30 pm on a friday and return 3 weeks later on a sunday night at 10:45 pm.

you better tell us all about it!!!

You read travel guides for fun...

Have maps of the world as the art in your apartment...

talk in different accents depending upon the last place you have visited---which ends up driving your friends batty.

When you keep your bag packed with the basics and readdy to go.

* When you open the newspaper and check how is the weather like in your favorite European cities before checking the local forecast...

You guys do that too?

-One wall in your office is devoted to the biggest World map you could find which has white pins stuck in all the places you've been and red pins in all the places you've lived, and all you can think about is where you should plan for your next pins to be put

-You find yourself daydreaming about throwing a dart at the map and leaving for wherever it lands

-Quitting your jobs and devoting your life to buying houses so you can rent them out, so they can provide income for you to travel

-Waiting to have children until you've been all over the world (Five yrs. so far!)

My husband and I are definitely hooked!!

-when you see an incredible last minute fare to a place you want to visit.

-and your initial reaction is...hey, this looks good....maybe....

-regardless of the fact that you are 99.99% certain that you can't do it because of your daughter's wedding or something.

I love this thread, so I am posting again to bring it back to the top....

***
...you are about 9 weeks from delivery and trying to decide how far away is too far away for "the last trip we'll take before Squirt arrives." Please note, we've had at least three of these "last trips" so far!

...you're already planning Squirt's first out-of-the-womb travel experience for three-months old, but you're sure you won't be able to hold out quite three months before taking "him" someplace!

...you look at possible relocation options for career based on travel opportunities from each locale!

We are completely out of control.....

You get angry that you cannot take advantage of that 80%-off fare sale to Lower Slobovia even though you have never wanted to go there.

Sorry to be morbid, but when you get diagnosed with a life threatening illness, and you are able to look back on your life and be thankful that you have spent your life traveling, instead of spending the money on a huge house. And, you comfort yourself by thinking you still have time to see the few places left on your list!