All my bags are packed...I'm ready to go!

If there is one thing I've done very well over the last 8 and a half years--it's TRAVEL! I have been to Paris, Provence, Rome, Cinque Terra, Venice, Florence, Amsterdam, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, all over Germany...Dodgers' Spring Training, Seattle, New York City, San Francisco--I've been in Africa for crying out loud!
I love to GO...to MOVE...to EXPERIENCE cities, food and people!
I want a destination...an adventure!...and I want to do it NOW!

The definition of "travel" is to go on a trip or a tour; to go from one place to another; to move in a give direction or path
to journey...
AND...to move rapidly.


You'll notice there's no mention of sitting down there. No 'rest' or 'relax' in the traveling definition. And, I'll have to admit, you'd be hard pressed to find a photo of me sitting by a pool or reading by a lake.
Or resting.
Or relaxing.
I don't usually do much of those things.

However...things are changing in my world. And I'm gearing up for what I might call my very first VACATION.
The definition of vacation is: a respite or a time of ease, reprieve or recess from something; a scheduled period during which activity (as of work or school) is suspended; a period of exemption from work granted to an employee.
Yep, I am going to be on vacation. 

Dave and I have both had a very busy (and slightly hectic) last six months. Heck, we've had a crazy last few years. Come to think of it, we've had an action packed fifty years!
Having both helped at home when we were kids and having worked and gone to school while raising our families and keeping up our homes, we both quickly learned to juggle while spinning plates and twirling a hula hoop so that everyone around us (friends, family, patients, customers) was happy and well cared for.
And, amazingly, we kept a smile on our face the whole time!

Here we are at 50 and we are FINALLY able to admit it...we're exhausted, thrashed, weary, shot, run down, frazzled, spent. We need to mend, to refresh, to heal, to revitalize...we need to BREATHE.
And we're ready for a VACATION. Next month we will be heading to Alaska on Princess Cruise's Grand Princess!We are looking forward to sitting down and enjoying the beautiful scenery. We looking forward to reading, and walking, and EATING and relaxing! We have already made the decision to NOT sign up for ANY of the outside tours or excursions! We don't want to rush or hurry or have a time limit or deadline!
And...we're seriously considering literally unplugging from the world by not taking our computers and by turning off our phones...

However, since I am truly a traveler deep through to my core, I am reserving the right to update my status on Facebook (even if it's just 'sitting with a latte on the deck'), share a few experiences through email (I'll send you the link to the antique store we just wandered through!) and, of course, I can't imagine being about to resist Instagram-ing a photo of a totem pole or an Eskimo....or iceberg or two!
And then I'll probably need to blog about it.
You might even see the rarest sight of all--a picture of me sitting down and reading...and relaxing.
Of me--and Dave!--on vacation.