The Itinerary

It started as kind of a vague, "someday, maybe I will" type of idea. It was born from Facebook scrolling, sharing pictures, and saving posts of different libraries, bookstores, and random places that house books; constantly tagging my friend Jennifer with thoughts of, "Adding this to the tour!"

It bloomed from "We need to check this out" and "Oh, that looks awesome!" to breaking down the future visits by continents, then geographical areas. While it was still just a "someday" idea in my head, it was shifting into a concrete goal. A "We will make this happen" move. Starting first with "the local tour" (aka anything in the United States while I work on getting my passport) The Itinerary was officially born, and it is growing. (I really need to write all of these places down.)

I started officially crossing visits off The Itinerary in March 2026. But in actuality, Jennifer and I started much earlier. Back in October 2024, I traveled to Kansas in a pursuit of clarity and to figure out who I am in this phase of my life. During that trip, we visited a small library in a town near Jen, which turned into an adventure to find a Carnegie library in Wichita. We located the building, but alas, it was now a bank. Later, a weekend trip to Chicago brought another library and bookstore into the mix. I already have plans for a return quest to that Chicago second-hand store... That 1906 copy of Shakespeare will be mine!

Sorry about that. Got a little bit of Gollum eyeing his precious on that last line.

So, today we officially start the written record of The Itinerary. This is a journey to share the love of books, showcase the meccas of the written word, highlight true community spaces, and admire the sublime architecture that houses wonders of historical reference.

Enjoy the ride!