Why does it always seem that when I have the money to travel, I don't have the time; but when I have the time to travel I don't have the funds to do so?

I was NOT the type to travel much during my college years.  My philosophy was always: get it over with (school), get a job and get finances under control and I'd be able to travel more.  But, as they say, life is what happens when you're busy making plans.  Although life has been good to me, I have an incredible wanderlust that has never been satisfied.  For more than 12 years I worked full time and often MORE than full time helping families with child custody, child abuse allegations and other family matters (without overtime pay!) and had limited opporunities to travel.

I feel like right now, for the next month or two, the planets will have MOSTLY alligned and I have a unique opportunity to make a quick but meaningful trip.  I've got flexibility with work and I have a support network in place to help with the kids, pets, etc.  Now, I finally have some work flexibility but, true that flexibility is the result of working less than full time and not having the extra necessary funds I don't expect somebody to buy me a vacation (but some generous soul is certainly welcome to!), so I'm just hoping that small contributions from 100 people may help me make it all happen.  I want to see if I can make this happen just $10 at a time in true crowd-funding style.  Just 100 people could make it happen.  Even less if there are contributions of more than $10--but anything is truly appreciated!

Really, I'm not set on a particular place.  I picked Poland (since I was forced to chose one), but it will really come down to what can be done most cheaply.  Poland is special to me since my grandfather is from there.  I've never been, but as a former student of Russian language and a child of the "Cold War" era, Poland has always had a special appeal for me.  Also, it is frequently one of the cheapest places in Europe to fly to and the currency, relative to the US Dollar makes it extremely affordable.

I plan to be gone for a week, spending a total of 5 nights in Poland.  In order to keep it as cheap as possible, I plan to stay in hostels or other budget accommodations and eat cheaply.  I anticipate a cost of approximately $500 for the airline ticket and another $100 per day for meals, hotels and local transportation.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any help that you can provide!