Sort of, anyway.
One of the things that my mom told me the first time I got married was that one of the things that she always regretted was spending every bit of vacation time she had going to see family, especially once she and my stepdad moved us all out to Utah. We went camping (and Utah's a gorgeous place for that!), but we never travelled anywhere that wasn't with a specific family destination in mind. North Carolina for his parents and her mom, Canada for her side of the family. Every once in awhile, we got to see something new--my stepdad's parents wanted to go to Las Vegas once, and we went up to Yellowstone, but when my schoolmates were taking trips to New York, to Hawaii, to Europe, it sort of seemed small potatoes by comparison.
I'm 31 years old, and I have been to Canada only a couple of times--mostly to British Columbia, though I went to Toronto once. I've never been off this continent--so, no, I haven't been to Hawaii. Yet. Eventually, once we finally get our honeymoon, I think that's where we're going. I've never been to Mexico. I don't have a passport.
So...yeah. I really took what my mom said to heart, and Brett and I started seriously talking about that a week or two ago. I love my family, I love his family (and believe me when I tell you, it's such a relief to have such a good relationship with my in-laws--I just hope he feels the same way about my family, though I think he does), and while we'll still go to Seattle and Boston, which are both very worthwhile places to go, we want to broaden our horizons a little bit, too. I've already started making a list in my head, and am actually going to write it down one of these days.
The great thing about it is that it can still involve family--and friends, of course. Imagine--we tell my folks and his that we're going to, say, New Orleans for a week, and we'd love to have them meet us there. Or if we say to our friends, hey, we're going to Orlando for a week (and going to take a trip to Boca to see Vicki!), who's interested? Not only do we get time with loved ones, but we also get to go to new places, to see something new, and the great part is that it doesn't have to be everyone doing the same things at the same time, either. If there's something everyone's interested in, sure, but that's the point of rental cars and public transit--to be able to do one's own thing.
I'm really excited about this, whether or not people ever end up going with us. I have to admit, too, I'm not really sure whether I've expressed my thoughts on it very well, either. Even though I'm not talking about any sort of immediate plan, it's still exciting enough for me that I'm probably not very coherent.
Or it could just be the 5am shift talking. Or the hour and a half I spent on the phone between starting this entry and finally being able to finish it.
Shut up. :)
So, anyway. Leaving aside this Grand Plan above, I do have a question for anyone who's reading. Where's the one place in the world that you most want to visit?
(And yeah, if you're interested in the group vacation thing, stay tuned. I'll end up more coherent about that at some point. No, really.)
Posted by Liz at September 23, 2004 08:27 AMI'm probably the only person in the world who has zero-interest in Hawaii. Maybe that's because I've done Baja Sur, and I don't surf. Yes, I recognize that it's a beautiful place, but I have no burning need to go there.
I loved France - we were in Languedoc, which is just on the French side of Spain - but our only time in Paris was spent in CDG airport, so I'd love to explore the city (cafes and art, perfect place for me).
We'd talked about doing a similar thing, and meeting my parents in Venice for Christmas this year, but with the move and all, that may have to wait - I have to say, when you rent a house and don't rely on hotels, you really get to experience the country.
Right now, Italy, because we DO have family there, is at the top of my list. And Fuzzy really wants to see England, because that's where his family is originally from.
And then, I want to explore some places closer to our new home. I've never been to the Gulf side of Mexico, only to Baja and the mainland (Mexico City on high school orchestra tour.) I hated the part of Arizona we drove through, but New Mexico AMAZED me, and I want to go back. (I'd kill to spend a week or two in Taos taking Natalie Goldberg's writing seminar, for example)
I think it's cool that you're formulating these plans. And I know what you mean - France was really our first trip that wasn't a con or visiting someone.
You should come back up to BC and spend more than an hour like last time. Glad to see that you're doing good these days. :)
It certainly has been a while since we talked. In fact, I can't remember the last time we did talk. Might've been that time I thought about coming back to play A'wyn. Perhaps not.
Posted by: Kevin Wolfhard at December 16, 2004 03:58 PM