As I begin to peruse the travel books and brochures that I have so far for the road trip I think about what "things" I'd like to have along with me.
Well, I need to keep the blog up so I need a computer or access to one.
Add a netbook to the list.
I will be taking a bizzillion pictures I assume.
The Man currently has me in training to take the camera EVERYWHERE and take pictures.
I can always delete the fuzzy ones later but I can't do that if I haven't taken the picture.
Good philosophy...
So, netbook will be handy there.
Might need another disk for the camera.
Add that to the list.
What if I take so many pictures that I want to save them on something else.
Add a larger capacity memory stick to the list...
Oooh! Sale on 8 gig thumb drives at The Source.
That's now off the list.
What about auxilary transportation while I'm on my road trip.
Hmmmm.
A bike!
Great!
Not great if it's hanging on the back of the vehicle for a multi-thousand kilometer trek.
Get a little bike.
Huh???
Research folding travel bikes.
Ah! they do exist!
Go to the local bike/sports store.
Get advice. Go to bike store at Bloor and Spadina that specializes in folding bikes.
Ah ha!
Thinking that a small folding bike (some come with a carrying case!) will fit behind the seats in the back seat of the vehicle.
Very nice idea....
Won't be off roading but will be able to "go for a ride". If I want.
Looked at luggage today in Winners. Still don't know what to do there... Back pack or suitcase type thing for the Prague Pilgrimage.
That's on the list too.
Oh yeah, and hiking boots, and good hiking socks (many pairs),
better get some crease free travelling pants (sounds like a movie to me),
oh yes, and some Czech money; Crowns I think they are... I better research that more...
I think I'll need a list of at least one laundromat in each province and state (I guess I'll have to do laundry at some point along the way) ,
a map of the Oregon trail,
a Cool-a-tron (to keep things cool on the road trip), we used one on the last Girl Guide trip I was part of out east.
and the list just keeps growing and growing.
I tell you I just don't know how people travel "at the drop of a hat"...
OOoh, a hat! I'll need a hat....
probably a touque too....
EEEEKKK!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
On Retreat
I think everyone should have the opportunity to retreat.
The word says it all.
R-E-T-R-E-A-T
Go away to somewhere that is either different than your regular life or just retreat into yourself for some reflection, renewal or a personal time out.
I decided a few weeks ago to do that and made a reservation at a perfect spot for a retreat.
One of my special places on earth (other than Southampton Ontario) is Ste. Anne's Spa and Inn near Cobourg, ON. You just have to walk in the door and the scent of the whole spa experience hits you and you immediately start to relax. I do anyway.
For the first time ever I decided to stay overnight. Actually, two overnights.
I figured this would be good practice for my travels in the next year that will be done solo.
Can I cope just making idle conversation with those around me? Or just sitting silent and listening to those around me chatter?
No problem there. Passed that test.
Actually I spent a few days just reading, relaxing, enjoying a long hike in the woods and hills around the spa. I read a book! I was empowered. I was pampered. It was great!
For most of the time I didn't speak to anyone, other than placing my order in the dining room for a meal.
I spend my days talking, mostly to strangers, in my job. It was sooo refreshing to just sit back and listen to the world around me.
As I walked through the forest early Sunday morning, the frost was still clinging to the tips of the branches of the cedars, I realized that I need that "nature break" in my life or the concrete world will get to me. Many of the travel books I looked through I was drawn to the "natural wonder" section of the book. This is where my focus will be for my trip I think.
As I sat in one of the andirondak chairs on the south lawn at Ste. Anne's listening to the world getting ready for winter, I thought what a great scene it was. Dressed for the cool weather I just sat and watched Lake Ontario in the distance and the rest of the outdoors just be.
The retreat concluded, as all breaks do, with a trip back to reality. I made this trip a nice gradual one by avoiding traffic (as best I could) on the way into Toronto. Dropping my things in the apartment and promptly lying down for a snooze in the sun on my futon.
Tomorrow will be another day....
The word says it all.
R-E-T-R-E-A-T
Go away to somewhere that is either different than your regular life or just retreat into yourself for some reflection, renewal or a personal time out.
I decided a few weeks ago to do that and made a reservation at a perfect spot for a retreat.
One of my special places on earth (other than Southampton Ontario) is Ste. Anne's Spa and Inn near Cobourg, ON. You just have to walk in the door and the scent of the whole spa experience hits you and you immediately start to relax. I do anyway.
For the first time ever I decided to stay overnight. Actually, two overnights.
I figured this would be good practice for my travels in the next year that will be done solo.
Can I cope just making idle conversation with those around me? Or just sitting silent and listening to those around me chatter?
No problem there. Passed that test.
Actually I spent a few days just reading, relaxing, enjoying a long hike in the woods and hills around the spa. I read a book! I was empowered. I was pampered. It was great!
For most of the time I didn't speak to anyone, other than placing my order in the dining room for a meal.
I spend my days talking, mostly to strangers, in my job. It was sooo refreshing to just sit back and listen to the world around me.
As I walked through the forest early Sunday morning, the frost was still clinging to the tips of the branches of the cedars, I realized that I need that "nature break" in my life or the concrete world will get to me. Many of the travel books I looked through I was drawn to the "natural wonder" section of the book. This is where my focus will be for my trip I think.
As I sat in one of the andirondak chairs on the south lawn at Ste. Anne's listening to the world getting ready for winter, I thought what a great scene it was. Dressed for the cool weather I just sat and watched Lake Ontario in the distance and the rest of the outdoors just be.
The retreat concluded, as all breaks do, with a trip back to reality. I made this trip a nice gradual one by avoiding traffic (as best I could) on the way into Toronto. Dropping my things in the apartment and promptly lying down for a snooze in the sun on my futon.
Tomorrow will be another day....
Monday, November 1, 2010
Reading Material....Tons of it
Well, after sorting through websites and advice and thinking "what if", I decided that a travel agent would be the person that will help me the most in the planning and moving towards booking this adventure.
With my CAA membership card in hand The Man and I dropped in to check out if they were busy at the local CAA store on the weekend. They weren't! Yay!
So, after explaining what I was after, C, the agent, entered all my information in to her snazzy computer and she has my plans in her sights.
This is a relief that I have someone professional making all the inquiries and bookings for me.
I guess I just got overwhelmed at the prospect of trying to do this all myself.
Interestingly though, she seemed to overlook the comments that The Man was making regarding going first class.
Was it our appearance? Did I not stress it enough?
Hmmm
I will email her and let her know that I'd like to travel in some level of luxury. Maybe in the train to Prague? Maybe in my flight over to Europe?
Just interesting that she was trying to find the "best deal". Which, I don't mind, but interesting perception.
This weekend, on my personal retreat weekend, I plan to scour through as many travel books as I can, sticky notes in hand and my "Book of Lists" handily at my side as I put together a Must Do/See list for the cross Canada trip.
The books that I have ordered from the different provinces have begun to arrive. Saskatchewan was first and then PEI. I figure Saskatchewan WANTS people to visit so they're just jumping on any request.
My cousin, A-M, has put me in touch of a former room mate of hers that organizes Heli-hiking tours. Very, very cool! Fly up to a very remote part of the Rockie mountains, hike with a guide, get picked up again and back to the lodge! Wow! Very exciting stuff.
The arrival of the travel guides has really started to make this trip a reality for me. Now I have concrete stuff to make PLANS with.
Wheeee!
With my CAA membership card in hand The Man and I dropped in to check out if they were busy at the local CAA store on the weekend. They weren't! Yay!
So, after explaining what I was after, C, the agent, entered all my information in to her snazzy computer and she has my plans in her sights.
This is a relief that I have someone professional making all the inquiries and bookings for me.
I guess I just got overwhelmed at the prospect of trying to do this all myself.
Interestingly though, she seemed to overlook the comments that The Man was making regarding going first class.
Was it our appearance? Did I not stress it enough?
Hmmm
I will email her and let her know that I'd like to travel in some level of luxury. Maybe in the train to Prague? Maybe in my flight over to Europe?
Just interesting that she was trying to find the "best deal". Which, I don't mind, but interesting perception.
This weekend, on my personal retreat weekend, I plan to scour through as many travel books as I can, sticky notes in hand and my "Book of Lists" handily at my side as I put together a Must Do/See list for the cross Canada trip.
The books that I have ordered from the different provinces have begun to arrive. Saskatchewan was first and then PEI. I figure Saskatchewan WANTS people to visit so they're just jumping on any request.
My cousin, A-M, has put me in touch of a former room mate of hers that organizes Heli-hiking tours. Very, very cool! Fly up to a very remote part of the Rockie mountains, hike with a guide, get picked up again and back to the lodge! Wow! Very exciting stuff.
The arrival of the travel guides has really started to make this trip a reality for me. Now I have concrete stuff to make PLANS with.
Wheeee!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Finding the Right Direction
Plans continue to come together and though the "I want to see/do" list is getting longer the questions mount up too.
I've researched a "dude" ranch or guest ranch as they are also known. This one's in British Columbia!
It offers morning and evening rides, meals, evening entertainment of some kind (like a Wrangler vs. Guest volleyball tournament!), a bar, fly fishing instruction (never done that), trap or skeet shooting instruction (never done that either) and a horse for the duration of the stay.
The horse is "mine" for the time I'm there and I learn to tack it, brush it, feed it and muck out it's stall.
It really sounds rather neat.
I've also be looking at the Oregon trail and the drive down the west coast to California. I'd like to go to Big Sur, the Red Wood forest and see a sea lion in the ocean.
As you can tell the concrete jungle is getting to me and I'm imagining seeing the "wilds" of North America in the next while. There's so much to explore.
Many folk have offered ideas of things to see and they get jotted down in the trip book to be researched and thought about.
Last week, with the help of the internet, I asked for tourism books and travel guides to be sent to me from all the provinces and many states. The mail box will be filling up soon I hope.
As many people have suggested that I book things for my trip on line it all seems rather foreign and out of touch to do it that way. With time on my side I'm going to go to a travel agent and as them to sort it all out for me. The big stuff anyway. The driving trip I can manage much of on my own.
I'm narrowing down my travels in Europe and would really like to take a train through part of it.
The Alps would be fantastic to see by train I think and with my love of the mountains it seems to obvious to do that. Now I just have to figure out from where.
So as I continue to look forward I'm seeing a plan slowly start to come together.
Here we go!
I've researched a "dude" ranch or guest ranch as they are also known. This one's in British Columbia!
It offers morning and evening rides, meals, evening entertainment of some kind (like a Wrangler vs. Guest volleyball tournament!), a bar, fly fishing instruction (never done that), trap or skeet shooting instruction (never done that either) and a horse for the duration of the stay.
The horse is "mine" for the time I'm there and I learn to tack it, brush it, feed it and muck out it's stall.
It really sounds rather neat.
I've also be looking at the Oregon trail and the drive down the west coast to California. I'd like to go to Big Sur, the Red Wood forest and see a sea lion in the ocean.
As you can tell the concrete jungle is getting to me and I'm imagining seeing the "wilds" of North America in the next while. There's so much to explore.
Many folk have offered ideas of things to see and they get jotted down in the trip book to be researched and thought about.
Last week, with the help of the internet, I asked for tourism books and travel guides to be sent to me from all the provinces and many states. The mail box will be filling up soon I hope.
As many people have suggested that I book things for my trip on line it all seems rather foreign and out of touch to do it that way. With time on my side I'm going to go to a travel agent and as them to sort it all out for me. The big stuff anyway. The driving trip I can manage much of on my own.
I'm narrowing down my travels in Europe and would really like to take a train through part of it.
The Alps would be fantastic to see by train I think and with my love of the mountains it seems to obvious to do that. Now I just have to figure out from where.
So as I continue to look forward I'm seeing a plan slowly start to come together.
Here we go!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
To Be Free...
As I travel on a crowded subway to and from work or look around the busy streets of Toronto I wonder what it will be like to be free.
Free of the commitments of work,
of HAVING to be there.
What will it be like to be free of the congested travel of the subway?
Will I miss the chaos?
Doubt it.
Will I miss the convenience of "having someone else do the driving"?
Maybe.
Last weekend I travelled to Niagara Falls to play a couple rounds of golf with a good friend B.
She is a good golfer.
I'm passable.
It was fun.
The weather was perfect.
The plans worked perfectly.
My golf score wasn't great but...
it didn't matter.
For 2 days (3 if you count the day off after the trip) I was free.
I was a tourist.
I have to get into tourist mode.
I spend my weekends with The Man and the beloved dog in a touristy area of Ontario but we aren't tourists. It's our life there. We have commitments, friends, places to live. We don't act as tourists. We organized, plan and strategize our time together, as it is limited. I have to get back to the crowded city....where I don't always feel free.
To be a tourist is to be free!
Interesting concept.
In the coming year I plan to investigate this concept FULLY!
Free of the commitments of work,
of HAVING to be there.
What will it be like to be free of the congested travel of the subway?
Will I miss the chaos?
Doubt it.
Will I miss the convenience of "having someone else do the driving"?
Maybe.
Last weekend I travelled to Niagara Falls to play a couple rounds of golf with a good friend B.
She is a good golfer.
I'm passable.
It was fun.
The weather was perfect.
The plans worked perfectly.
My golf score wasn't great but...
it didn't matter.
For 2 days (3 if you count the day off after the trip) I was free.
I was a tourist.
I have to get into tourist mode.
I spend my weekends with The Man and the beloved dog in a touristy area of Ontario but we aren't tourists. It's our life there. We have commitments, friends, places to live. We don't act as tourists. We organized, plan and strategize our time together, as it is limited. I have to get back to the crowded city....where I don't always feel free.
To be a tourist is to be free!
Interesting concept.
In the coming year I plan to investigate this concept FULLY!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Where will I be?...
When I plan something as big as what I think I have in store for me I am already putting plans together for NEXT year at this time.
Will I be in Ontario?
Who knows...
As we watched the "Thanksgiving Classic" from Winnipeg I thought "that would be fun to go to next year".
Hmmmm
Someone, on the weekend, suggested I be in California on New Years Day 2012 to go to the Rose Bowl.
Hmmmm
(Can you tell I'm a football fan?)
Where to start? Where to end?
It's such a strange feeling to be "unscripted" in my plans.
All my life I have been scripted in my agenda, times, schedule, departures and arrivals.
What's it like not to have an agenda?
To go somewhere and see something just because you can.
Most people I know NEED to have an agenda to feel they are contributing to what ever they are doing or being. I've fallen into that trap. It's very strange to know it might not be that way in the coming year.
Selfish?
Everyone is telling me this adventure is one of a lifetime.
I have to keep remembering that...
So far all the plans have been fitting in so well. I have contacts in Texas, Florida and Arizona..
Hmmmm
Someone told me tickets for the Phoenix Coyotes games are only $20.00.
Hmmmm
But I digress...
The book of lists is getting longer.
Then my co-worker lent me a book on Prague.
Oh my!
There is so much to see!
The lists continue to grow.
My Prague cousin has told me that they have plans to show me all the places that were significant to my father.
Wow!
This is GREAT!
Will I be in Ontario?
Who knows...
As we watched the "Thanksgiving Classic" from Winnipeg I thought "that would be fun to go to next year".
Hmmmm
Someone, on the weekend, suggested I be in California on New Years Day 2012 to go to the Rose Bowl.
Hmmmm
(Can you tell I'm a football fan?)
Where to start? Where to end?
It's such a strange feeling to be "unscripted" in my plans.
All my life I have been scripted in my agenda, times, schedule, departures and arrivals.
What's it like not to have an agenda?
To go somewhere and see something just because you can.
Most people I know NEED to have an agenda to feel they are contributing to what ever they are doing or being. I've fallen into that trap. It's very strange to know it might not be that way in the coming year.
Selfish?
Everyone is telling me this adventure is one of a lifetime.
I have to keep remembering that...
So far all the plans have been fitting in so well. I have contacts in Texas, Florida and Arizona..
Hmmmm
Someone told me tickets for the Phoenix Coyotes games are only $20.00.
Hmmmm
But I digress...
The book of lists is getting longer.
Then my co-worker lent me a book on Prague.
Oh my!
There is so much to see!
The lists continue to grow.
My Prague cousin has told me that they have plans to show me all the places that were significant to my father.
Wow!
This is GREAT!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Questions, Questions....
My mind is constantly whirring, thinking, planning, "what if-ing". I have months to go before I leave for Prague and then my road trip but there is so much to think about.
I have started a "Book of Lists". There is too much for my little brain to hold.
EEEKKK!!
First off I have discovered what it will take, financially, to keep up my pension at work.
When I've put in this many years of service, I don't want to lose it.
Then benefits. What do I need to do to keep those up while I'm on my Pilgrimage?
Right, check that off the "investigate" list.
Little things like do I need a visa (the document, not the card) to travel to the Czech Republic?
What about Czech money? Where do I get that?
OH my brain's overloading.
One thing at a time....
When I set up this blog I meant it to be a report on my pilgrimage not only to Prague, Czech Republic but also my travels across Canada and the States.
There's so much to plan for that too.
I like to have plans set down, for the most part, I like to know what I'm going into.
But
I've never done anything like this before.
I'm glad I have time to figure it out.
A member of my extended department at work just came back from 3 weeks travelling the east coast. I need to pick her brain. What was good, what wasn't?
Another friend told me about a Boston Beer Festival held in June.
Oh my...
I need to add these all to the list.
What would I like to see? What are my "must do" events and attractions?
Some folks have asked if it's hard to know that I'm going on these adventures but they're not happening for some time.
I say, that's perfect! I need the time to make the best plans all work out and fit in as much adventuring as I can.
Oh yes, I want to go to a working Dude Ranch in the West too!
More to figure out....
I have started a "Book of Lists". There is too much for my little brain to hold.
EEEKKK!!
First off I have discovered what it will take, financially, to keep up my pension at work.
When I've put in this many years of service, I don't want to lose it.
Then benefits. What do I need to do to keep those up while I'm on my Pilgrimage?
Right, check that off the "investigate" list.
Little things like do I need a visa (the document, not the card) to travel to the Czech Republic?
What about Czech money? Where do I get that?
OH my brain's overloading.
One thing at a time....
When I set up this blog I meant it to be a report on my pilgrimage not only to Prague, Czech Republic but also my travels across Canada and the States.
There's so much to plan for that too.
I like to have plans set down, for the most part, I like to know what I'm going into.
But
I've never done anything like this before.
I'm glad I have time to figure it out.
A member of my extended department at work just came back from 3 weeks travelling the east coast. I need to pick her brain. What was good, what wasn't?
Another friend told me about a Boston Beer Festival held in June.
Oh my...
I need to add these all to the list.
What would I like to see? What are my "must do" events and attractions?
Some folks have asked if it's hard to know that I'm going on these adventures but they're not happening for some time.
I say, that's perfect! I need the time to make the best plans all work out and fit in as much adventuring as I can.
Oh yes, I want to go to a working Dude Ranch in the West too!
More to figure out....
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