travel Archives - Page 3 of 3 -

Recipe for Going Crazy

June 6, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

Add:
1 road trip
1 high-energy toddler
1 minor time change that throws off the schedule of people who normally quite like routine
Different environments that seem to inevitably cause above-noted toddler to have a gigantic screaming fit at bedtime
1 mom already feeling the angst of a state of limbo
A few shots of driving back and forth between places that are beautiful but that also happen to cause this:

Subtract:
Sufficient personal space
Normal required amount of exercise
A few elements of normally good diet and nutrition

Your finished product should look like this:

Heading home tomorrow.

Filed Under: Happy things · Tagged With: anxiety, bedtime, family, sleep, travel

Hello, Inspiration – Rocky Mountain Soul

June 5, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

With apologies in advance to my mother, who will probably cry when she reads this.

Sometimes inspiration isn’t a thing or a person, it’s a place.

I’ve driven this road a hundred times. It contains a part of my soul that I only actually see – actually feel – when I’m on it.

It leads me to where I’m from – not a city, necessarily, but a place packed with memories.

The significance of this place was passed down to me by my family’s history and my mother’s love of the mountains. It has now been passed down to my son who, when we met up again after he drove with my parents for a while, proudly announced, “I saw Grandma’s favourite mountain!”

Inspiration is being in this place and watching for trains, even though I’m now 36, not 6 (and not a boy).

It’s spotting wildlife – new generations of those same animals we drove past in my childhood.

It’s tall mountains and big skies.

It’s a place that lives in me. And right now I am alive in it.

My song: John Denver – Take Me Home Country Roads

All photos from Flickr as credited. Instead of snapping shots of the scenery, we’ve been soaking it in.

Filed Under: Happy things, Hello, Inspiration · Tagged With: family, gratitude, love, travel

Helicopter Improvisation

June 4, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

We’re on a little road trip to visit family and see my middle sister walk across the stage to get her degree. [Potential burglars, beware: our house is still occupied and the dog is there too. He might look cute but he thinks he’s fierce, and that’s about all it would take for him to take you down. Seriously.]

Anyway… We split the trip into two days, because we’re travelling with a toddler and we’re smart like that. Along the way, we spent a night in a hotel. During the whole drive, Connor was so excited about having a bath in the hotel. So when we got there and it was time for a bath, we excitedly ventured into the bathroom and he promptly jumped into the bathtub.

We turned the water on. The tub filled up, ready for some splashy fun.

And then he asked the question.

“Do we have any bath toys?”

We didn’t. We have pretty much everything else we’ll need, but we didn’t think to bring bath toys. We did this same trip last year and I don’t recall a need for bath toys, so it didn’t occur to me to bring them.

Normally this would be a moment of panic for me. Anxiety would set in. It had been a long drive and I wasn’t prepared for a meltdown about the lack of bath toys.

But wait! A moment of mama brilliance. Surely in the travel box of toys we’d brought there would be something that could go in the bath. And there was.

Between a small, blue helicopter (that doubles as a submarine, as it turns out) and a shower cap that worked nicely as a fishing net, we had a pretty darn good hotel-room bath.

Confession: I’m not always this brilliant. Only sometimes. 😉

Filed Under: Happy things, Motherhood · Tagged With: travel

A stellar example of just how much I do not have my shit together

February 24, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

As mentioned, I’m travelling for work this week, as I did last week. Last week I went to Montreal, where it was very cold. I got there and realized I had forgotten a sweater and had only brought one glove. Brilliant, Robin. That’s helpful.

I felt silly, but it was fine.

This week I’m in lovely Toronto (where it’s warmer and there’s less snow than in my balmy west-coast home – go figure). I brought my gloves and my sweater, though I haven’t had to wear them.

What I didn’t bring was underwear.

Really, how does one forget to pack underwear? It’s the first thing I normally pack. It’s in my top drawer. I brought socks. I brought my sports bra (which I actually used – yay, me!). But underwear? Not so much.

After having a good laugh I texted my husband to tell him this (because, really, he needs more evidence of the fact that I’m crazy). He asked if I bought new ones or just planned to go commando. I’ll never tell. 😉 (But let’s just say I only realized my predicament when it was time to leave for the presentation I was scheduled to give.)

The old me would never have done this. The old me – the pre-baby, pre-PPD me – would have had a list. I guess they did remove my competence with the c-section, because I didn’t have a list.

I also don’t have any underwear.

Filed Under: Happy things · Tagged With: admissions, travel

Wordless Wednesday: Peace and Quiet

February 23, 2011 by Farewell Stranger ·

I’m travelling for work again today, the second time in two weeks. I used to relish these trips, even if they were short, even if the travel was long, because it gave me some time to myself. A little bit of peace and quiet.

I still cherish this time and try to make the most of it, but I look forward to it a little less, dread it a little more. Because sometimes what I’m leaving behind is peace and quiet* and I appreciate it more now.

*Yes, I realize he’s not always quite this quiet. But he’s still my little boy.