Vacation- what a lovely word! It conjures images of rest, relaxation, & family adventure. We have reached the time of year that we make plans for our family vacation. While I have work seniority & a flexible schedule, the seasonal nature of Chris’ work limits him to time off only between October & March; add to that the fact that Sam is in high school, & we end up restricted to the end of December for a family escape. The past couple of years, we’ve gone up to Portland to visit Chris’ family, but this year I wanted to do something different. Since the Queen’s word is law around our house (& since his Mom spent a week with us in April & a few days in May) we are headed south this year. I bought the tickets yesterday & we are headed to… Albuquerque, New Mexico!
We are going for a Christmas family reunion with my Dad, older brother Bil & younger sister Crystal. Neither Chris or Sam have ever been in that part of the country, & I haven’t been in 30 years, so we are all looking forward to exploring, visiting my siblings (whom I haven’t seen in 5 to 10 years) & maybe even squeezing in a little skiing for the boys. The exciting part is … we are taking the train! Yes, I realize it’s a very long trip- 24 hours total- but it’s much cheaper than flying, no one has to drive, we can get up & move around whenever we want, & I can knit, read, or sleep as much as I want!
So, in keeping with the travel theme of this entry, here is the latest installment of “Thirteen Thusday”
Thirteen Countries I Want to Visit
2. Scotland: I would love to explore the family sites & to take the Great Glen Walk
3. England: Oh, so many places I want to see! My dream is a walking garden tour.
4. Ireland: Another place steeped in family history- I would have to spend at least a month
5. Italy: I had a taste when I was 16; I want to wander Toscana & Umbria, & take a cooking class
6. Switzerland: I want to see & hike the mountains, and stay in hostels
7. Germany: A cruise down the Rhine, see the castles & visit our honorary daughter
8. Norway: This is Chris’ heritage; a raw beauty & rich lore
9. Greece: A fascination with ancient history & mythology
10. Israel: My spiritual roots are here
11. France: Paris would be interesting, but I want to explore the villages & churches
12. Australia: The ocean & the wildlife fascinate me; Chris wants to dive the Reef
13. New Zealand: We were spell-bound by the scenery in “Lord of the Rings”
3 comments:
Reminds me that the whole world is waiting. I wonder sometimes what will be "open" for my kids as it was for me, and wish I'd been even more adventurous!
What a good reminder of all the wonderful places there are out there! We have very similar places on our lists - make sure if you come up to Canada you come all the way up here, okay?
I'd go to Ireland, Italy and Greece. Maybe Egypt, Turkey and Israel. And Fuji. (is that a country?) I read somewhere that's where they filmed all the Jurrasic Park movies.
Iran is supposed to be where the Garden of Eden was. Drat. Don't guess I'll be visiting there.
Taking the train is cool. We took a short trip once - from Connecticut to NYC.
No sleeping time - well, except for the snoring guy in the back. Early AM -The girls and I had just gone back to the diner car to get some juice and danish. This youngish guy wakes up, staggers down the aisle and stops at my seat. He leaned over and man, oh man, oh man, ****whoa****whew****wow*wow****
(gack...the fumes...please, no sparks anywhere, please!)He just wanted to know where we got the food. He seemed nice, just drunk as a skunk at 6:30 AM. His eyes were so bloodshot that he looked like he'd been strangled.
But it was fun. And a funny memory!
xoxo
Dana
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