Get me my Traveling Shoes!!

I love vacations!  I love everything about a vacation.  I love the planning, the anticipation, the journey there and back, the adventures, the new sights/sounds and smells of different places, the different cultures, the food, the languages, the topography of the land, the break from routine; I love the getting away and the coming back home.  A vacation provides me with a sense of renewal, rejuvenation, discovery, rediscovery, passion, inspiration and creativity!

I love planning for a vacation.  We’re going to take time off and we’re going somewhere!  First question: WHERE?  Beach? Mountain? City or Country? Foreign or Domestic? How to get there? Road trip, flight or cruise? Location and activities? Tropical or Historical?  Theme park or total relaxation?  Somewhere tried and true or somewhere new and exciting?  The possibilities are endless!

When we went to Japan last year, all the planning and anticipation didn’t EVEN prepare me for the actual trip.  It was amazing!  In my planning, I studied websites, books on customs and foods and magazines about Japan.  I looked at countless pictures….even pictures of the exact places we planned ongoing that my daughter had taken previously.  I thought I was ready and would know what to expect.  But once we actually got there and stepped off the plane…I was at once overwhelmed (in a totally GOOD way) by the sounds of people all around me speaking Japanese, the sounds of cars, trains, buses, traffic and bicycle bells….. the smells of seafood and ramen, the tantalizing odor of breads and pastries baking in the French bakeries, the familiar smell of french-fries at McDonald………and the visual stimulation of the riotous cacophony of all the COLORS!  The colors were so vividly beautiful!  It might have been the 15 hour time difference and bone-deep weary feeling of jet-lag, but I remember feeling like I was in a dream-like state and everything seemed like it was being projected in magical Technicolor!!  I remember walking along the sidewalks, looking up at temples and shrines and shopping centers and apartment buildings with clothes hanging out to dry on each balcony…..the ultra-modern juxtaposed with the ancient…..all in vibrant reds, yellows, oranges, gleaming sleek steel and glass and rich dark brown woods and the delicate white of the rice paper panels and I was thinking….WOW. What a land of dichotomy! My mind had a hard time wrapping itself around the diversity of these new experiences because they were so unlike my usual routine.  Which is EXACTLY the point of travel! J

I’ve had the same feeling of “travel-awe” before….but it has never been quite as striking as on the trip to Japan.  I felt the same feelings when we stood on the shore of the Abacos Islands in the Northern Bahamas…..looking at the colorful tiny shops and rainbow-sherbet colored beach houses. Smelling the sea and the fish faintly above the intoxicating scent of coconut-suntan oil…..hearing the sing-song, musical inflection of Native Islanders calling out to entice us to purchase their wares and hearing the metallic and happy sound of a steel-drum band playing in the distance while a refreshing ocean breeze cooled my face that was heated by the tropical sunshine….and seeing the diamond sparkles of the sunlight as it danced on top of the waves. 

The same feeling of awe again when I was in Telum, Mexico…seeing a sunning Gecko atop the rough-hewn stone ruins of Mayan temples that were built hundreds and hundreds of years ago…..the ruins are positioned on top of a cliff overlooking the bluest ocean I’ve ever seen.  Feeling the stubborn tufts of green grass rooted in the dusty white sand under my feet and the trickle of sweat down my face as we climbed up the hill.  There was a sweet smell of frying churros and the sound of vendors trying to tempt us to buy drinks with shouts of “!Cerveza Fria!  !Cerveza Fria!”  

Again, in Jamaica on top of Blue Mountain at a coffee plantation…..looking out across the lush green vegetation and vibrant red and orange tropical flowers and seeing the brilliant red coffee beans growing on the bright green bushes…..looking down the side of the mountain through the hazy humidity and being able to see all the way out to the sea - shining like mirrored glass in the distance. Hearing the lyrical cadence of our Jamaican tour-guide’s silky voice tell all about harvesting coffee beans and bananas. The textures also stand out in my mind…..the roughness of the palm tree trunks, the slick tropical green banana palm leaves, the smooth mocha color of the lady dancers skin contrasting with the bright yellow and red ruffled cotton dresses they wore, the softness of the hibiscus flower petals on my face and the pebbly sticky sweaty vinyl seat of the tour-bus we were riding in. 

In South Carolina, in Hilton Head….I remember seeing the Spanish moss hanging down low from the live oaks’ branches…looking almost eerie as it swayed slightly in the evening breeze at dusk.  The way the alligators seemed to smile at me as I peddled by on my bicycle made me giggle…..because I thought they were smiling because they thought I’d make a good afternoon snack!! I loved the way the comical looking crabs on the beach skittered sideways through the sand like they were in a terrible hurry.  I loved watching the graceful water-fowl swoop down for a bill-full of fish near the shore.  I loved the mesmerizing shadows of the sea-oats on the sand as they gently swayed in the hot afternoon ocean breeze. I loved the crazy antics of the dolphins as they dove in and out of the surf and the way the tiny silver fish jumped out of their way in frenzied groups as the dolphins fished for their breakfast. I loved riding our bikes along the concrete pathways through the shade-dappled woods and by the lakes flanked by serene herons and ternes standing on one foot at the water's edge. And I loved the wobbly sandy trails we left behind as we rode along on the packed wet sand of the beach itself.

In Williamsburg, VA….I was feeling a completely different vibe….but it was still thrilling!  I walked along cobblestone streets and saw old buildings that were important during the beginning of our country’s history.  I saw the way the women of old cooked their foods over an open fire that would be scorching, miserable and hot in July and August but that would be equally as cozy and inviting in January and February.  I saw how they forged metal, how they mixed and dried bricks, how they sawed logs and built houses and barns, how they cured leather to make shoes and belts, how they turned the stone to grind the wheat to make the bread…..all without the modern conveniences of electricity or running water.  I loved to close my eyes and pretend that I was alive back in that day….wearing a corseted dress and button-topped shoes as I went about my business of keeping house. I envision myself riding in a horse and carriage instead of a car….entertaining myself with books and stories by candlelight instead of being planted in front of a television or computer screen.  How different life must have been for women back then!!  In so many, many ways, much harder….but in some ways….maybe not as rushed and harried; although I suppose I have a romanticized viewpoint of the way it would have been. 

Other places I have visited that have inspired me would be:

Charleston with it’s Rainbow Row along the Battery.

Savannah with it’s old churches, parks, pirate houses and cemeteries.

New Orleans with it’s nightclubs, party-atmosphere, restaurants, French Market and Voo-Doo along the Mississippi River.

Sanibel and Captiva Islands with the lighthouse and seashells so thick along the beach that I was afraid to walk for fear of breaking some of the beautiful ones!

 

The mountains of North Georgia where Native American Indians used to roam the inhabited land of waterfalls and tall trees

The Smokey Mountains of North Carolina – shrouded in their smoky-misty-mantle, boasting black bears in trees and shy deer at the edges of forests. 

The green, rolling hills of Tennessee dotted with old feed stores, barns, horses and “See Rock City” birdhouses.  

The sand hills of North Carolina, green with growing tobacco fields and old brown leaning tobacco-drying barns.  

The flat cornfields and soybean fields of Indiana and the bluegrass fields and streams of Kentucky. 

The entertainment magic of Orlando, Florida where Disney has sprawled across the middle of the state bringing commerce, restaurants and entertainment in it’s wake. 

The great state of Texas where everything is bigger, the roads are longer and dustier and armadillos loiter…..looking like possums that just left a Renaissance festival, still wearing their medieval armor.

Atlanta, Georgia…where gracious Southern mansions with waxy green magnolia trees in the yard abut urban developments spray-painted with gang-sign graffiti.

Chattanooga, TN – a city cradled in the arms of the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountains and rocked to sleep by the gentle waves of the Tennessee River.

There are so many other places I want to visit….so much in the world I want to see, feel, taste, smell and experience!  I want to see the green fields and mossy rocks of Ireland,  the old castles of Europe, the colorful cities of Italy and the white-washed shores of Greece!  I want to see the ancient Roman ruins, the palaces of old-ago kingdoms and the works of art that birthed Renaissance! I want to sip coffee at a picturesque side walk café in France and visit vineyards and olive groves along the way. I want to watch ships sail from the harbors and ride a train at night so I can fall asleep to the sound of the clickity-clack of the wheels on the tracks. I want to ride a camel in the dessert!  I want to see the jungle and smell the flowers and scale the mountains and breathe the air and swim in the depths and soar to the heights!! 

What a wonderfully diverse, magical, mysterious and enticing world we’ve been given!!  My goal is to explore as much of it as possible!