Thoughts on Travel

I recently did an informal count of the trips we have been on in the past 12 months.  Many of the trips were pleasure combined with business, and the rest were pure pleasure, but in either case, I made the most out of being away from home.  Not every place is an exotic vacation destination, but I enjoyed every single one.  Here are some of the locales:

• Kauai
• Chicago
• Colorado Springs
• Napa and Sacramento
• Palm Springs
• Lodi and San Jose
• San Antonio
• Cottonwood, Arizona
• Pacific Coast cruise
• Payson, Arizona               
• Sacramento
• Flagstaff

In my younger days, I would fill every second with activity, but now that I’m older, downtime is built into my schedule and I don’t feel cheated by missing out on something if I’m not up and going for 12 solid hours.  I have other considerations that help me make the most of my trips and I’m going to share them here.

Enjoying Friends and Family

If meeting friends and family is not my ultimate destination, but I have loved-ones close by,  I’ve found that if I am traveling to a location within an hour or so to where they live, most folks are happy to oblige driving part of the way to meet me.  Even if there isn’t a long visit, a leisurely lunch is so worth it.

Enjoying Seasonal Activities

Are there special celebrations going on where you are visting?  Living in Arizona, I tend to forget there are any seasons other than summer and summer-lite.  Last year I was able to enjoy a fall festival at a Lodi winery lunching with my sister and brother-in-law.  It was fun way to enjoy the season and not something I would have been doing back home in Phoenix.

Attending Special Events

During our January trip to Napa and Sacramento, rain started coming down in buckets (luckily it didn’t ruin our wine tasting day!) so my sister did a little digging on the Internet and found there was a cat show in her town.  We enjoyed a rainy afternoon doing something completely unplanned and unexpected and I got my out-of-town kitty-fix in.

Transporting the Old Fashioned Way

Sometimes it’s nice to lose the wheels and to forgo the stress and hassle of driving or renting cars.  When my dear friend Lingga from Singapore met me in Palm Springs, we ended up walking almost everywhere from our resort, taking an Uber only back and forth to the airport.  The doormen at the hotel were shocked when we told them we were walking to our destinations, but we are both big walkers and loved the exercise and the time together catching up.  I really love walking alone and listening to my audio books, but first and foremost, I love walking with others and enjoying the outdoors (and the Divine!).  Those connections!

Meeting New Family Members and Seeing New Digs

Both my sister and my sister in law moved into new homes last year and I was able to visit them both when I was in their towns on business.  When you live far from family, life goes forward and you don’t always feel part of their lives.  My family has always graciously invited me to stay in their homes when I am in their towns on business.  I have met new kitties, seen new homes, caught up on grandchildren and enjoyed a home-cooked meal.  What better way to business travel??

Traveling with Friends

We’ve had good luck vacationing with friends.  Even with different sleep schedules, diets and  different interests,  it really adds to the fun when spent with friends.  We went to Hawaii with our friends Cindy and Kevin, our cruise with friends Shira and Gordon, a girls’ weekend in Cottonwood, and met friends Denise, Evon, Shira and Gordon for our Payson trip. Lately we have made a practice of inviting everyone to every trip and anyone who can joins when they can.  It’s worked out great!

Trying different foods/drinks

I may be one of the least adventurous food and drink people, but on some of our recent outings, it’s been fun being part of the group trying over-the-top drinks and foods.  I might not be the one ordering the THING, but I’m sure enjoying the one who did.

Wearing My Tiara

My landmark birthday this year meant I spent around – oh – THREE months celebrating.  My friend, Barb, gave me a tiara and I wore it to every single celebration.  Not only is it beautiful, it was FUN.

I will be sharing my latest summer trip in a few weeks. We were in search of perfect weather and we got it!