Should We Stay or Should We Go - Our Travel Journal

  Snowbird A snowbird is a person, typically a retiree or senior from northern US states or Canada, who migrates to warmer southern climates during the winter months to avoid cold weather.  As we have for the past four years, once Christmas and New Year's Day was in our rearview mirror, we packed our suitcases, said goodbye to the cold and snow, and made our way to the warm waters of the Caribbean. Each year we have spent the winter months in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  After a very busy Christmas Season we decided that we would start our time by allowing someone else to take care of us.  We spent the first three weeks cruising around the Caribbean and it turned out to be exactly what we needed.  While it wasn't without it's hiccups, it gave us a chance to truly rest, relax, and recuperate. After that, we settled into two months in Punta Cana, in the same complex we'd stayed in the previous four years.  By now, it feels like an extension of home - it f...

I’m not someone who tends to buy a lot when we travel. We really don’t need more things, and suitcase space is usually pretty limited. That being said, over the years we have brought a few special items home with us, and each one holds a memory. This painting is one of those pieces. It has a very special place in our home, especially because it’s of one of our sons. (picture of my son at that time) Back in 1995, we had moved from Canada to Barbados with our young family after John took a position with a local insurance company. Not long after we arrived, I became involved with the Canadian Women’s Club. At one of the annual events, I noticed a local woman off to the side taking photos of the children. She came over and introduced herself, explaining that she was an artist. She liked to photograph people who caught her attention and later paint from those images. At the time, I didn’t think too much of it. More than a year went by, and then one day a friend mentioned that the artist had...

  A Day in Virgin Gorda: Exploring The Baths During one of our cruise stop in Tortola, which is in the British Virgin Islands, we decided to do something a little different.  We left most of the crowds behind and headed  to a neighbouring  Island called Virgin Gorda. It turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. The trip over was an easy one. The ferry terminal was a quick walk down the street from the cruise port, and the ferry ride only took about 30 minutes.  It was all very easy and made for a nice little adventure away from the cruise crowds. When we arrived, there were shuttles waiting to take visitors over to The Baths, which is what Virgin Gorda is best known for.  It’s made up of massive granite boulders that are scattered along the shoreline, creating natural tunnels, caves, and little pools of water. As you make your way through, you’ll come across areas like the Cathedral Room, and the trails eventually lead you out to beautiful beaches...

Today feels like (another) new beginning.  I always have good intentions with this forum, but then seem to fall away and put it on the back burner.  I think I suffer from writer's block and am always very critical of my own writing  While I enjoy writing, and getting my thoughts down, it's not natural for me. However, this month I am going to participate in the  Ultimate Blog Challenge  where I will be committing to posting daily for the month of April.   This blog has always been a place where I share pieces of our retirement life, especially the travel side of it. Not in a "look where we went" kind of way, but more as a way to remember the moments, the lessons, and the small things that made each experience meaningful. So for this challenge, I'm setting a few simple goals: to be consistent - even on days that I don't feel like writing to capture more of the everyday moments and not just the highlights to share a mix of stories, tips, and reflections ...

I'm very late with my 2025 travel update, but here it is. 2025 was a year of disjointed travel - by that I mean there was a little of this and a little of that - no real structure to where we went.  It was more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants kinda year.  Still, with that we had some great trips and saw some incredible places. To start off the year, I joined a couple of friends on a Caribbean cruise for a week of fun, relaxation, and lots of girl time.  From there I flew to Punta Cana to join John to ride out the winter in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, as we have done for the last four years. We have developed a real community there and enjoy our time with friends and family.  In June we flew to Vancouver Island for two weeks.  While we had been to British Columbia a few times prior we had never made it to Vancouver Island.  It was a trip filled with hiking, wildlife, and incredible scenery. Our summer months were spent close to home, splitting our time...

image created with ChatGPT Well, here we are - January 11th, and it’s been almost a full month since I last posted. I had fully intended to document our latest travels. On top of that, I’d signed up for the Ultimate Blog Challenge for January and was actually starting to plan for it. So what caused my plans to derail yet again? In one word: life. (Doesn’t it always?) A couple of weeks before Christmas, my youngest brother - who has Down Syndrome, is non-verbal, and now uses a wheelchair - ended up in the hospital. The group home where he lives wasn’t able to provide staff support while he was admitted, so I spent all his waking hours at the hospital, making sure he had whatever care he needed. Another brother was able to step in during the last several days and do the afternoon and evening shifts, which gave me a much-needed break and some time to finish getting ready for Christmas. Thankfully, Rick was discharged four days before Christmas - and I’m quite sure no one was happier than...

Photo by Amelia Cui on Unsplash This fall, our travels took us from Europe to the Caribbean, beginning in Paris and continuing on a transatlantic cruise aboard the MSC Seaside. If you have followed us for a while, you'll remember that we took a transatlantic cruise at the same time last year, and we weren't eager to try another one.  However, we decided to give it another try - partly because this deal was too good to pass up, and partly because we were going to sail into the Caribbean and we knew that the weather would be much warmer. This is a peak at what our itinerary looked like: October 25 – Arrive in Paris (overnight flight) October 26 - 27 - Enjoy Paris October 28 – Fly Paris → Barcelona October 28 – Board MSC Seaside Oct 29 – Valencia Oct 30 – Sea Day Oct 31 – Casablanca Nov 1–8 – Atlantic crossing (sea days) Nov 9 – Barbados Nov 10 – Grenada Nov 11 – Sea Day Nov 12 – St. Maarten Nov 13 – San Juan Nov 14 – Sea Day Nov 15 – Sea Day Nov 16 – Miami Nov 17 – O...

 After a couple of failed attempts, thanks to a pair of determined snowstorms, we finally made it to Elora to celebrate our 38th anniversary. It’s only about an hour’s drive for us, but winter had other plans the first two times we tried. The delay just made the anticipation grow and served to make the evening feel even more special once we actually arrived. We started our evening with dinner at The Friendly Society , a quaint little restaurant tucked along the edge of the Grand River. The restaurant is on a lower level of  a historic limestone building near the Elora Mill. and is warm, cozy, and inviting - exactly what you want on a cold December night. The food was delicious and the atmosphere unhurried.  The whole experience set the perfect tone for the rest of the night. After dinner, we wandered through the village, taking in the glow of Christmas lights strung across the streets and shop windows. Elora has a charm that’s hard to describe - historic stone buildings,...

Photo by Mariya on Unsplash December is here! It's my favourite time of the year, but also the busiest. I have spent the greater part of the last week scattering Christmas decor over every inch of our home, compiling many lists, and spending way too much time on Amazon. Bring on all the chaos, busyness, and celebrations.  I couldn't be happier! I've been largely absent from this platform - not because I've had nothing to share, but because I've been busy life-ing and at the end of the day I've had no energy to organise my thoughts. Since my last post we took a 27-day trip which saw us flying to Paris, then onto Barcelona where we boarded a 24-day cruise that would take us back across the Atlantic and eventually ending in Miami.  (Yes, if you have followed this blog for a while, you'll know that we took a trans Atlantic last year and weren't eager to do another anytime soon.  Fortunately this crossing was a vastly different experience.  More on this trip ...

 A few weeks ago, John and I decided to spend the day doing something we both love. We went out exploring on our bikes. Packing up early in the morning, we headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake to ride along the beautiful Niagara River Recreational Trail. The weather was overcast, but it was warm and calm, perfect for cycling. Sometimes a cloudy day is best for riding - no harsh glare from the sun and moderate temperatures that make for a great ride. The trail itself is a joy to ride. It winds gently along the Niagara River, with plenty of spots to stop and take in the view. On one side, the river flows toward Lake Ontario, and on the other, rows of vineyards stretch out across the landscape. The fall colours were just starting to turn, adding splashes of gold and orange among the vines. Every so often we passed a winery or a pull-off overlooking the River, begging us to stop and enjoy the views. We rode towards the Falls, not quite making it before we decided to turn around and ride bac...

  There’s something so special about this time of year in southern Ontario. The mornings are cool and crisp, the air smells fresh and earthy, and every step through the woods brings that satisfying crunch of leaves underfoot. It’s like nature takes one last exhale before winter and paints the world in golds, reds, and oranges. I can never get enough of it. A few weeks ago, I joined a group of friends for a road trip into cottage country to soak up the fall colours. It was a little early in the season to see a lot of colour but the weather was perfect. We started out in Buckhorn, where we were staying for the week. The drive itself was a treat - the winding roads were lined with towering maples and shimmering birch trees, some glowing in stunning hews of autumn. Around every bend, it seemed, was another lake that was edged in colour. Our first stop was in Dorset, a small Ontario town set in the middle of cottage country. We found a spot for lunch, and enjoyed chatting over soup and...