Packing My Bags - SNGF

For Saturday Night Genealogy Fun this week, Randy, at Genea-Musings, asks where we'd go if we won Ancestry.com's Ultimate Family History Journey Sweepstakes.

The prize? $20,000 in travel money, an 8 hour consultation with an expert genealogist, 5 one hour consultations with local experts and 6 World Deluxe annual subscriptions (one for me and five for other family members.)

I can envision three different paths my journey could take. The journey I choose would probably depend on what records the experts were able to point me to.

Journey #1

I'd travel the country looking for records, meeting up with friends and making new friends on the way, and experiencing the migration routes of my ancestors! I'd travel for two or three weeks and return home for a couple of weeks before hitting the road again. Some of my travels would be made alone and others would include my husband and/or grandchildren. I figure I could spent four months or more on the road. I'd travel to Northern New York, Ottawa, Quebec; Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont; Virginia; Indiana, Michigan and Illinois; and of course to Salt Lake City and the Family History Library!

Journey #2

I'd fly to England and start my search in London. After lots of sightseeing I'd head northeast to explore the Cotswold region. I'd continue north with a stop in Carlisle before heading into Scotland to explore the countryside on my way to Paisley. From there I'll head to Ireland and hopefully the experts will have helped me determine where in Ireland I'll be going! I'd guess there would be enough money for a two months of travel if we can find budget accommodations.

Journey #3

I'd explore my husband's ancestry with him. Perhaps by traveling with me he'll discover an interest in his roots. To get him interested I think we'll start off with a Mediterranean or European River Cruise. I know his Italian ancestors came from the Potenza Region of Italy so we'll head there next. Moving on, we'll head to Germany with stops in Berlin and ??? Hopefully the experts came through and we have narrowed down exactly where to go next! With this itinerary we will probably be back home in four weeks.


Well it was fun to dream. My plans to retire at the end of the year have made my budget very tight. Throw in my next surgery and even traveling to Michigan this year is up in the air.