I have yet to remember a winter as brutal as the one we had. It’s still holding on with its last dying breath. The east coast has had it rough, too. Many experienced leaky roofs, flooded basements and broken eaves troughs. I know our roof had a one-foot ice accumulation that took forever to melt. Thankfully, from now on, any storms coming our way will have the sun to deal with, which is a perfect introduction to my Freedom Friday post—summer vacation planning.
Last year, my family and I took to the highway to visit our country’s capital, Ottawa. I must say, we had a great time. We stayed at a well-known hotel, took in the museums, the restaurants, planned activities for the kids, and made it a point to have some much-needed downtime, something my wife and I always appreciate during a vacation.
This year, we’re not sure where we want to go. We talked about hopping in the car to head north where the resort communities lie. However, we haven’t made definite arrangements. Most of our travel plans involve extensive packing and unpacking. My natural inclination is to stay home, but where would the fun be in that? Although years ago, we did set up a gazebo in our backyard, plenty of deck chairs and enjoyed our virtual paradise all summer with BBQs and pool activities. Boy, we had fun.
Nova Scotia has been kind to us in past years, too. We traveled there in 2011 and in 2012. I wrote about the 2012 trip in my Nova Scotia post a year ago. We went twice because in 2011 the whole vacation was a washout. Rained the whole time we were there. I figured, the same thing couldn’t happen again the following year, so we took a chance and tried a second time. Sure enough, the sun apologized for the previous year’s misstep and obliged us with gorgeous sunny days.
I think what we’ll do this year is take a few weekend jaunts throughout the summer to various destinations throughout our province. We haven’t been to Algonquin Park, and I know many of my friends have raved about it from past conversations with them. Maybe we’ll take it as it comes and travel by the seat of our pants. After all, that’s how I write on occasion, so why not travel the same way?
All of a sudden, I remember about Jack Dawson, the character from James Cameron’s movie Titanic. He said, “I love waking up in the morning not knowing what’s gonna happen or who I’m gonna meet, where I’m gonna wind up.”
Perhaps it’s time to toss our planning and go with the wind to see where it carries us. I know we’ve done it before. Who’s to say we can’t do it again? The most fun we had has always involved no GPS, plenty of time on our hands and an open itinerary.
Sounds to me it’s time once again to seize the day!
Have you decided where to go for your vacation this summer? If so, what made you decide on going there?
Looking to God 
I like the idea of exploring your own back yard. I’ve lived in NS most of my life but have never really explored. Perhaps this is the year to do it 🙂
I love Nova Scotia since my wife’s family is from there! Great place to explore, too!
I know where I’m going for vacation this year. It’s a beach that my family and I went to last year, we had so much fun that we decided to head back there this year.
I’m home less than a week and am ready to hit the road. Sigh. When we lived in Germany, we had a little camper van. We would choose a road, travel for two hours and stay in that ares for the weekend. Loved it. I say go by the seat of your pants.
I should actually take lessons from you, Shelley! That was a major jaunt you guys accomplished this year. It was great following along!
Awww Thanks! Now how to occupy ourselves, that is the challenge!
I like the idea of just going and seeing where you end up. My husband is a planner, though. And my older son is practically inflexible and needs to know what’s going to happen before it happens. He wakes up in the morning wanting to know what’s for dinner. This past Christmas we surprised our boys with a trip to Flagstaff, Arizona. They had NO idea! We worked so hard to keep it a secret. As we started our trip across state lines, we finally told them. They were absolutely pissed (but had a great time anyway). Haha… I think I’ll have to try your no plans vacation when I have a chance to do it alone. 🙂
Give it a shot and tell me how it goes. We’ve done it in the past and this year is somewhat different, too! We shall see what the future holds!
With the boy’s schedule, there may be time for some weekend jaunts, but pretty local ones, I think! I love just heading off on the road and seeing what pops up, though. Those are my favorite kind of drives!
I’m looking forward to something different this year, but we’ll see how it goes. We put a lot of thought in past vacations, so this year may be interesting–also considering I may have the opportunity to travel to the States on my own as well!
Haven’t done a summer vacation in years. Something to be said for picking a direction and driving too. Hope you have fun.