Trips start with me saying the name of a country three times while hopping up and down on my left foot, twice. There are 195 countries in the world, according to Wikipedia. I can’t see them all, in this lifetime, so I usually choose countries to visit that look warm and friendly, have good pictures from people who have been there, and good reviews by fellow travelers. Sometimes friends and family give me their dream vacations. Pat, who keeps Scotttreks.com flying with tech genius, suggested the Dolphin Fountain in Mazatlan, all the five star restaurants in Paris, the Great Barrier Reef for diving. In the Dominican Republic he likes LaRamada, the north side beaches, the grave of Christopher Columbus, Altos de Chavon and Casa de Campo. To celebrate my ninth travel ring, I buy myself a brand new Dominican Republic guide book at Barnes and Noble, full of places to see, foods to sample, music to tap my foot too, places to hang my hat. There are 195 perfect countries on this planet to visit, thousands of cool places to explore, and friendly hospitable people in all of them.. Scott is getting ready to ramble, once again, but hopping three times is getting difficult I wish I had a magic carpet to make getting there and back home as easy as Mom’s apple pie with a big scoop of ala mode.