—-Earl Wilson
I know that September is back-to-school time, and winter season looms ahead. Don’t get me wrong, there is much to look forward to in the next few months. For all the years that I was teaching, my very favorite time was the two weeks we got off during the end of the year. Summer break always seemed a bit too long for me. The week of spring break went by too quickly, but those two winter weeks were glorious.
Living in Florida meant we usually had company, and the kids were always in a good mood. The exchange of gifts and holiday treats were secondary to the time we spent together just having fun. We would explore museums, tromp around the zoo and play a million board games. I miss those days. Thanksgiving is my favorite time now. That week is always filled with the most amazing food of the year. We all cook our specialties and bring them to the Thanksgiving table to share each year. Best of all, it is the one time of the year when all of the kids fly in and our table is complete.
For some reason, I am having trouble getting into the spirit of pumpkins and turkeys and reindeer. Like most of America, our political arena is taking over my thoughts, and I am not handling it well. I am starting to feel a helplessness that is rare for me, and so I am giving myself a one week hiatus from the news, and in that time I will plan some fun vacations. I have been wanting to add some more travel reviews to my blog, and this will give me an opportunity to work towards that end.
The first vacation blog will be in October, after our trip to Savannah, Georgia and St. Augustine, Florida. Savannah has always been my feel good place. It is a walking town, and the people are delightfully southern. The food is good, and I plan to pig out on southern delicacies.
We have been discussing next summer’s vacation, and Vermont/Montreal seems to be topping Art’s list of possibilities. Vermont is the one New England state that we never visited, and the covered bridges and waterfalls do sound inviting. Then again Montreal is one of our favorite Canadian cities (second only to wonderful Vancouver), and we haven’t been there in quite some time.
Visiting Jonathan and Nick in Cleveland is a possibility. We have never been, and it is supposed to be a real up and coming city. New Orleans is another place that I have always wanted to see, but I don’t think that summer is the best of times in the bayou. Las Vegas with a detour to the Grand Canyon is a strong possibility. Everyone tells me that Las Vegas is a must see place.
2020 is the year of our big vacation. I have been to France, Italy and The Netherlands, but I have never seen England, Ireland and Scotland. We have been talking about possibly putting together a trip to include highlights from those countries. Of course Switzerland and Northern Italy sounds pretty tempting too, but we have plenty of time to plan our next European adventure.
See that...I am smiling just thinking of traveling over the next few years. If any of you have any suggestions of vacation spots that should not be missed, please respond in my comment column or drop me a note. If you have any “don’t miss” restaurants or tourist spots in the places I mentioned, please let me know about those too. I promise to give you all hotel, restaurant and touristy info as soon as my trips are completed.
This week I read/reviewed a book that was too close to local news to be comfortable.
School Days: A Spenser Novel by Robert B. Parker has PI Spenser working to dig out the truth behind a school shooting. Parker does an excellent job leading his wise cracking PI through a very sensitive subject. Definitely an oldie but goodie read.
As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly