Our topic this month is vacations and where do we go or would suggest going. When I lived in England I was about a two-hour drive away from the coast. When I moved to land-locked Alberta, I missed the ocean like crazy. My go-to vacation spot back then was Spain, mostly the Costa Brava and not the more usual Costa del Sol or Costa del Mar. I spent the first week relaxing and sunning myself on the beach and the second week finding places to visit.
Times change. After coming to Canada, vacations were trips home to the UK to visit my family although I usually find somewhere else to go or revisit favorite spots. Walking along the canal side in my hometown of Stroud, Gloucestershire, is always a delight. In Canada, I began camping – the first time since I was a Girl Guide – but camping with a difference. No more suspect army surplus bell tents, but more compact and well-designed campers and trailers.
I’ll be camping again this summer with my friend in her fifth-wheel, this time a tour of parts of British Columbia that I’ve never seen before. I haven’t been on a beach since 2002 when I visited Victoria, Vancouver Island. There’s something about sun, sea, and surf that completely mesmerizes me. Next January we are heading to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a month. I’ve never been to Mexico before and and am really looking forward to enjoying sitting on a beach and gazing at the Pacific Ocean. However, I doubt that I will sit gazing for long as my friend has a few ideas of where to go and what to do. Zip line, anyone?
I'm not sure that I'd suggest a vacation destination to anyone. What I look for and enjoy is going to be very different from what someone else may want to experience. But wherever you go and whatever you do, have fun. Going anywhere can make a difference in your life because, according to the Roman philosopher, Seneca, 'travel and change of place impart new vigour to the mind'.
Victoria Chatham
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