Back on the Job

Arlee at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park
(summer of 2015)

         The bad thing about vacations is that they have to end.  But of course if they never ended then they wouldn't be vacations anymore would they?   I'll admit that as our trip was coming to a close I was looking forward to getting back home and back to my usual schedule.  Now that I've had a few weeks back on the job of being at home I'm dreaming about vacation travel again.

          When I was still in school, the end of summer was looked upon with some sadness mixed with the anticipation of entering a new school year.  It was a cycle I came to expect year after year:  Go to school for a few months--with a few nice vacation days during the school year--then be off for the summer.   Things changed once I was in college as I had to work through the summer to pay the rest of the year's schooling.   I still found time to work a lot and have fun nearly every evening.   Who needed sleep back then?   I was in my early 20's and filled with much more energy and stamina than I have now.  

          During a decade of my work years I was fortunate in being able to manage a touring show and be able to have my wife and kids along for the year long tour.  It was a grand life where it was almost like being on vacation and working at the same time.  We were getting paid to travel and had a job that was fun.  This was a dream come true as far as I was concerned.

            Even after I settled down and started a stationary job with somewhat regular work hours, I still was given opportunities to travel.   The travel wasn't like the kind of vacation most people think of, but the trips were treks to visit family.  That's the way it's always been for me.  We try to do a few touristy type of things which makes the trips more vacation-like, but the real mission is to be with our loved ones.

             Maybe one day our circumstance will change.  Perhaps if we lived closer to family we could actually take vacations to destination places rather than going to be with people.  Then again, I don't know whether people we want to spend time with will ever totally be out of the equation.  Relationships are important to maintain if we can manage to do so.

             Did you go on a vacation this past summer?   Are your travel destinations where people you know are or are they more based on place?      What is your dream vacation?

Vacation Destination (#atozchallenge)

The El Garces Hotel was later on historic U.S. Route 66
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Vacation Destination...

        Where do I go?  Where I always go.  My typical vacation destinations are Houston, Texas; Maryville, Tennessee; and the Jersey Shore area, with all sorts of stops and side trips along the way.  For the past several years this has been my general itinerary since these are the places I must go to see my kids, my grandkids, and my other family members.

         These are all fine places to go if one plans to take a vacation trip.  Exotic places and major tourist destinations are fine for some, but for me I want to see my loved ones and spend some quality time with them.  Besides, I've been to plenty of places in my life already and though I love the travel and the thrill of discovering new adventures, I've got to stick with the places of my heart and mind.

           No theme park or far away city can give me the joy of watching my grandchildren and hearing them talk to me.   Spending quiet time with my daughters or running around with them as they go through their life routines give me new memories and allows me to relive some old ones.

           Maybe one day I'll go to Europe or Australia or do some big vacation thing that I've never done before.  Or maybe I won't and not particularly miss not having done those things.  I'll let life just come as it will.  On the way home from our visiting, my wife and I will take our time.  Maybe we'll see a national park or two, a historical site, or some kitschy roadside attraction.   We'll enjoy the journey and we'll enjoy being home.

           Every day is part of a journey to some destination which may be new or may be old or may be the one that is totally unexpected.  My life has often seemed like one long vacation with a few stops here to work or there to rest.   The journey is the best that life has to offer.  One destination leads to the next.

            What is your dream vacation destination?   Are you sometimes disappointed when you reach a destination that you've been looking forward to?   What is it that you like about the journey before you get where you are going?

Travel (Elements of Memoir) #AtoZChallenge

      Travel captures everyone's imagination.  Whether it be stories about wandering off to far-off exotic places or something as commonplace as the typical family vacation, there are fun and fascinating stories to be told about traveling.  Most readers like to dream about the places where they are unlikely to ever go or compare notes about travel to places they've been.  Travel makes for good stories.

       If we look at the wide range of literature we see that the travel story is a common one that depicts metaphors of life as well as real situations that keep a story interesting.  Thinking about your own experiences with going places you probably have a few stories to tell about what happened to you in your adventures.

       The stories about traveling can be funny, frightening, or romantic.  Anything can happen when you're away from home and it usually does.   Isn't that why we travel in the first place.  The unexpected, the unusual, and the entertaining are some of the elements that can be injected into your travel stories.   Don't forget to include the people you meet along the way as well as the places you see.   Be sure to describe the details of the smells, sounds, and everything in the surrounding environment.   And definitely don't forget the food!   Make your reader's mouth water or even cringe if the food was not so good.

         A memoir has an added dimension when travel can be included in the story.   If travel is a big part of the story then you have the big plus of place in addition to people.  Think of some of your own travels and see what stories you can derive from those experiences.

         Have you done much travel in your lifetime?   Do you have any interesting family vacations to tell stories about?    What travel dreams and aspirations do you have right now?

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Another Journey Ends

English: Volkswagon bug RV (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       
        Time for a breather.   Kick back and catch up to all that's piled up while I've been roaming the roads of America.   It's been a great time that I somewhat sadly leave behind me yet exhale a sigh of relief that I am home again.   That is, the home where all my stuff is.   The place where I pay my house payment and receive the rest of my bills.   My heart may not totally be here in the place where I live, and my mind is divided as to where I would really like my "home" to be.

        This vacation that my wife and I embarked on was 47 days away from our house.  That's by my wife's count of the days.  I wasn't counting, but her number sounds correct.  It seemed longer in a way and yet it all seemed to fly.   It's good to be back in our own home, but it was nice being gone.  

         The saying goes "All good things must come to an end" and so it goes with a vacation.  Some family members and friends have suggested that when my wife retires we should sell our house, buy an RV, and just travel all the time.  I'm not sure about the RV part.  Sure, having the portability of possessions might be nice and it could be very handy to just pull over sometimes to sleep in my own bed and use my own bathroom.  There is much to be said for having a "house on wheels".  I'm just not sure about driving a big ol' thing around.

         In my younger days I had plenty of experience living out of a van and staying in motels all the time.  I got used to that lifestyle and quite enjoyed it.   It's a good idea to have an address--a base of operations so to speak.  I always used my parents address back then.  Now that's not a viable option.   I guess I'll keep a home somewhere.  Maybe not as big of a house as we have now unless someone is living in it when we're off galavanting.

          It's all something for us to consider in the years to come.   We've still got time to decide, but my wife and I need to start thinking more seriously about the years to come.  I hope there are years--many more of them.

          This previous journey has ended, but the life journey continues.   With each ending comes a new beginning.   It's a circle of life just like in The Lion King.  We've got places to go and people to see before they and we are gone.   The kids are getting settled into their own cycles of life and the grandchildren are coming and growing.   We don't want to miss out on those grandchildren who now live across the country from us.

         I guess we'll figure it out.   One journey has ended and others wait ahead of us.

         Are you living a life in retirement yet?   What are your plans for the future?    If you were living a life of travel how would you want to do it?

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Arrival

North America: orthographic projection, based on File:United States (orthographic projection).svg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   

           "Are we there yet?" is the kid's query from the back seat of the car as the family leaves the neighborhood.  The question might be asked several times before the destination is reached, but finally the family arrives.

          This is the cliche that is often related to kids and travel.  When I was a kid my family traveled a lot in the car going on trips for work and pleasure.  I grew up to appreciate the joy of the road trip and eventually arriving at a new or a known destination.  The arrival was always the anticipated reward, but for me the journey was usually just as good and at times even better.

          Over the past several months the road to April has passed swiftly by as our A to Z Team has been making preparations for the annual blog Challenge.  Now the April Arrival has come and a new journey through 26 posts for each letter of the alphabet.  My April journey will be one of many arrivals as each day I visit a new destination of some place that has a special meaning in my life.

           The places I will be visiting will be places where I've lived, or where I've worked, or just places that I've been to and they stood out for me for one reason or another.  Some of these places will be places where you have also visited or perhaps even lived.   Other places may be places you've wanted to visit or at least know about.  Then there may be the places you never knew existed.

           Since I've never traveled outside of North America these will all be places on the continent and that are accessible by automobile.  I'll say here that I'm a big fan of car travel and I love the United States and Canada.  The terrain, the people, and the cities and towns are all dear to me.

            I hope you will join me on as much of the journey as you can, but if you miss a day or two you won't get lost.  My posts won't be a series or anything that requires reading from one day to the next.  Each post will be a vignette that stands on its own.

             Tomorrow the journey begins.  Welcome to my memories of the places I've been and places where I continue to be.  Up ahead--one month of Arrivals.

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