There’s a huge list of world activities coming our way in 2012. We don’t have the budget to go to most of them (read: 99% of them), but if we could here are the three we still wouldn’t miss.

1. London’s Olympics
Ever since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to go to the Summer Olympics. Surely sitting at a stadium or inside an arena for hours would get boring, but I have a weird thing about wanted to BE there. Even if I do have to sit through 30 heats of the 100 meter backstroke.

Plus, the Queen celebrates 60 years on the throne this year. How can you not go for a visit?

2. Washington, DC
I’m sorry but there is nothing like being in Washington, D.C. on a presidential election night. Four years ago I sat in a bar in Washington’s Eastern Market neighborhood watching the results roll in. As each state was called the crowd cheered or booed (depending on their party), and a sense of neighborliness filled the bar. When the election was finally called people poured into the streets to celebrate. A city of Political Geeks + Presidential Election = Fun.

3. Palenque, Tikal, Chichen Itza, Copan
If the Mayan’s world is going to end on December 21, 2012, you better check it out while the temples are still there. Their empire stretched from Mexico to Honduras so I suggest you get a move on!

What places or events do you want to go to this year?

Just before taking our big trip we started to think long and hard about some of the aspects of travel most people don’t like to talk about…medical assistance while traveling.  As we looked and looked we found that most traditional plan descriptions wouldn’t cover us abroad and most travel assistance plans had so many restrictions in the fine print that we feared what would happen to us in the event of a catastrophe.

We eventually settled on a reasonably priced US based plan that had some level of ‘get me back home’ coverage in case something super awful happened to us.  That policy was hard to find and we were never able to find any other options.  Thankfully, in the end, we never filed a single claim.

Almost all travelers go through some amount research and ultimately find a travel assistance plan.  The actual number of people who bother to read the limitations on reimbursement for medical evacuations is a bit shocking when it comes to travel assistance.

That’s why Emergency Assistance Plus is such an interesting product.

With this product, which is not health insurance, you’ve got a ticket home or to the hospital when you need it most.  That’s why we’re so excited to announce that Emergency Assistance Plus has sponsored a giveaway here on ishouldlogoff.com.  Since you’re here and likely curious about what the deal is, here is what it will cover when and if your regular travel or medical insurance may not:

Medical Evacuation:

• Helicopter or Ambulance to get you to a more appropriate medical facility if your current facility can’t properly treat you.
• A Medical Specialist sent to you if you can’t be moved to the right facility and local treatment is unavailable.
• Transport Home after that trip to the hospital so you can recuperate more comfortably.

Medical Assistance:

• Help monitoring your care, replacing your lost or stolen medications, and even finding a place to stay before or after a hospital visit.
• 24-hour Doctor/ER/Dentist/Attorney locator service to help you find the right professional anywhere in the world.

Assistance For Companions

• A round trip airline ticket to bring a loved one to your bedside if you’re away from home, alone, and in the hospital for more than 7 days.
• Airfare home for dependents if you’re suddenly unable to care for them.
• Ticket home for a companion if you’re evacuated.

Travel Assistance

• Help tracking down or replacing lost luggage, passports, driver’s licenses and other important documents.
• Language help when you’re traveling abroad and can’t find someone to talk to you in your own language.

Personal Security Services

• Real-time security information keeping you up to speed on political turmoil, social unrest, natural disasters and even major weather events.
• Take that another step to help you arrange transportation away and even secure visas if necessary.

So now you’re curious how to win, right?  It’s simple:

• Like us on Facebook and leave a comment about the offer.
• Leave a comment below.

We’ll choose a winner at random on January 20, 2012 from all comments received by January 19, 2012.  The prize is one year FREE of Emergency Assistance Plus!

Well the season is upon us.  Last minute shopping has ALWAYS been a forte of mine – nothing like a limited time frame in which to make decisions.  Most blogs are going to tell you to get practical and useful gifts for the traveler in your life this season (and we normally would too), but here are a few ideas that might take the yawn out of the inflatable pillow and eye mask giftset.

1) Mifi device. We’re all connected these days, no matter how much we want to log off. These little gadgets make your cell phone a wifi hotspot allowing travelers to have internet access when and where they choose.  A god send if you’re trying to skype in the middle of a desert or in a place where internet costs $10 an hour.  A cheaper alternative is to tether your phone, but not all phones do this. (Prices vary depending on your wireless provider)

2) Mobile Foodie. Can you put a price on delicious food?  While I’m ALWAYS a proponent of street food, I have come across meals that from time to time need a little something.  Indeed, we carried around red pepper flakes for part of our RTW trip just to spice things up a bit.  Unfortunately the bags were messy and I constantly found small red pepper flakes in my clothes.  Enter Mobile Foodie.  All the spices you need to make Indian, Thai or Mexican food, tucked into a neatly stacked container that won’t break in your bag. ($22 from Flight 001)

3. Storage Sandal. Check out this ‘Stash’ Sandal by Reef.  A slide out draw protects your cash and hotel key while you’re on the beach.  Then again it does nothing to protect against the kids that come by to steal shoes just to sell them back to you.  Oh well, still its very James Bond.

4. Mini-Tool with USB. Leave it to the Swiss to improve an already awesome traveler’s gadget.  Victorinox has created a Swiss army knife with a USB drive.  It looks like it can hold up to 16GB, way more than you’d need to upload at an internet cafe. (Available at Amazon.com starting at $48)

5. E-Reader. With downloadable magazines, books and newspapers, an e-reader is today’s answer to the tired paperback swap shelf at your hotel.  Do yourself and your travel bud a favor, give them intellectually stimulating activity for the plane/train/bus. (Available through Amazon, B&N.com or your local electronics retailer)