Fun and games–traveling outside the U.S. #MFRWauthor

I admit to not having traveled outside the U.S. very much. And it’s sad because I love going to new places and meeting people and seeing things. However, the U.S. is so beautiful and diverse, there are places here I haven’t seen and should.

My first trip outside the U.S. was when Jack and I were traveling. We went into Canada a fair amount. We didn’t have much time to sightsee or have fun except once, when we rented a car and drove from Calgary to Banff and up the Icefield Parkway to Jasper. What a great time! Besides the scenery, the park at Jasper had opened a little early. We were just about the only guests in the restaurant—where Jack had trout they’d caught in the river practically outside the door. The cabins where we stayed were close enough to hear the rushing water as the spring snowmelt headed downstream. The trip was only for a weekend but it was so special that I remember it as though it were yesterday.

I’ve been lucky enough to have visited Great Britain and Scotland a few Scotland and castletimes. Each has been an enlightening experience. I love Scotland! The people are so friendly and the country feels like home to me. Maybe in another time and another life…? England proper is also wonderful. What a great city York is! So walkable, so historical. I loved my time there. The same for Oxford, where I attended the OxBridge program for teachers one summer. However, I wished Oxford had a few more benches around!

My sister-in-law talked me into going to Italy several years ago. To tell the truth, I wasn’t all that excited to see Italy, but she wanted someone to go with her and Jack encouraged me, so I went. She promised that once I saw Italy I’d want to go back again. The woman spoke truth! We spent time in Venice, Florence, and Rome, Each city was so different, and yet so the same. So much history, so much art. Too much to take in, in any one visit—or two or ten.

So where would I like to go if I were able to travel? I could happily go back to any of those places again. I’d also like to see Croatia and that whole peninsula, and I’d love to meet my pal, Jan in person! Australia and New Zealand, here I come!

I wish!!

What is your dream trip?

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee

Burning Bridges by Anne Krist: old letters put the lie to Sara’s life. Now, mending her past mistakes while crossing burning bridges will be the hardest thing she’s ever done.

One Woman Only
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers

Hitting the Lottery—Oh, My! #MFRWauthor

I used to say that hitting the lottery was my retirement plan. Just think. You could spend your whole life living wildly, with no concern for the morrow Lottery!and then, when you reach your Golden Years, pick the right numbers and be set up for the rest of time. How great would that be?? Unfortunately, life rarely happens like that. Still, it’s fun to imagine…

So voicing our wish lists of things we’d like to do if we won the lottery has always been a fun thing for Jack and me to do on long trips. Here is my Lottery Life Plan:

  1. Pay off bills.
  2. Buy my mom and aunt a place of their own, along with pool and pool boy.
  3. Donate lots to charities we hold dear.
  4. Travel.
  5. Travel.
  6. Travel.

There are so many places to go and so little time to see them all. For instance, I love Scotland but I haven’t seen nearly all of it. And I haven’t setScotland foot in Wales or Ireland, so I could probably spend a year or more on just those two islands. And Italy is a place I’d like to spend more time. I’d like to go on a safari to southern Africa, and see the Maldives. If I had the money to spread the trip out (with stops in Hawaii and Tahiti, for example), I’d hop on a plane to New Zealand and visit my pal Jan in Australia—someplace I’ve always wanted to go (despite their poisonous snakes and spiders). Closer to home, I’d like to revisit western Canada, and points here in the U.S. Sounds like so much fun!

However, as much fun as it is to think about and to dream about, I have to admit we’re pretty happy with life as it is. Do I want a big house, new car, Travelyacht, island, wardrobe, and expensive jewelry? Nope. Best off not having any of that stuff. It would be nice, though, to see new places and share the adventure with those I love, which really means spending time with those I love, and we can do that with very little cash at all.

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
Naval Maneuvers When a woman requires an earth-shattering crush of pleasure to carry her away, she can’t do better than to call on the US Navy. Sorry, Marines!