Winding Down
With summer vacation winding down, my thoughts are turning to returning to work. The time for getting paperwork in order is approaching, and I'm of two minds about it. Part of me is ready to get back into the routine of classes, but another part of me is resisting the idea of having to live by that routine. One last week remains before I have to hang up my summer hat.
We returned yesterday from a week traveling. My husband's job is secure for another six months, so we decided to take the summer vacation we'd canceled a couple of weeks ago. Our journey started with a return to two of my childhood homes. I hadn't seen either home for more than 30 years. Part of me was really hoping both homes would be the exact same now as they were so many years ago. Unfortunately, neither were. My favorite of the two, an old farmhouse with a a long drive and a big red barn out back is now mostly just the farmhouse. The barn is gone, and many of the trees from the front yard, along the drive, are gone as well. Even the old windmill that we climbed as kids is no longer part of the scenery. The only reason I knew it was the house we lived in many years ago was the address on the mailbox. It seemed to be the only thing that hadn't changed.
From there, we went north, through Michigan to Mackinac City. We spent the night there, in a little red cabin. I awoke during the night and lay there listening to the quiet. The next morning, my husband asked if I had noticed how still and quiet the night had been. This was surprising as we were right in the middle of hotel row. That little red cabin insulated us from the outside world.
The next day we traveled into Canada, to Sault St. Marie then on to Little Current. Little Current captured my heart. This small, quiet harbor village is the essence of quaint. I could live there and be completely happy. Sailboats from faraway places pulled in for the night, and we had a great view of them from our room in the Anchor Inn, an old building housing a restaurant/bar and rooms that conjure up images of lovers secretly meeting and hiding from the world. I'm going to go back there one day.
After a night in Little Current, we caught the ferry to Tobermory. Our hotel here was away from the busyness of this tourist spot. We sat in adirondack chairs on the lawn, our view again that of docked sailboats. Other vacationers sat with us, the soft murmur of voices along with the boats rubbing against the docks, water lapping against the rocks, the only noises drifting across the air.
From Tobermory, we made our way to Toronto. After being away from dense populations, Toronto was a shock. None of us liked Toronto per se. We liked the CN Tower, the city lights at night, and getting to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the mass of people we could do without. We left a day early to head on to Buffalo, NY. Our last day was spent at Niagra Falls, with a ride on Lady of the Mist, then just sitting and enjoying the falls.
Not a bad way to finish off the summer. In fact, I'm very grateful for being able to take the trip, see parts of Canada that were absolutely beautiful and parts that were not, as well as parts of the US I'd never seen before. I have lots more memories for my memory bank, memories that I can pull out and laugh over years down the road.
Hanging up the summer hat won't be so bad I guess. It does seem now, as I think back over the past week, that my summer cup certainly is full, even overflowing. Life is good.
We returned yesterday from a week traveling. My husband's job is secure for another six months, so we decided to take the summer vacation we'd canceled a couple of weeks ago. Our journey started with a return to two of my childhood homes. I hadn't seen either home for more than 30 years. Part of me was really hoping both homes would be the exact same now as they were so many years ago. Unfortunately, neither were. My favorite of the two, an old farmhouse with a a long drive and a big red barn out back is now mostly just the farmhouse. The barn is gone, and many of the trees from the front yard, along the drive, are gone as well. Even the old windmill that we climbed as kids is no longer part of the scenery. The only reason I knew it was the house we lived in many years ago was the address on the mailbox. It seemed to be the only thing that hadn't changed.
From there, we went north, through Michigan to Mackinac City. We spent the night there, in a little red cabin. I awoke during the night and lay there listening to the quiet. The next morning, my husband asked if I had noticed how still and quiet the night had been. This was surprising as we were right in the middle of hotel row. That little red cabin insulated us from the outside world.
The next day we traveled into Canada, to Sault St. Marie then on to Little Current. Little Current captured my heart. This small, quiet harbor village is the essence of quaint. I could live there and be completely happy. Sailboats from faraway places pulled in for the night, and we had a great view of them from our room in the Anchor Inn, an old building housing a restaurant/bar and rooms that conjure up images of lovers secretly meeting and hiding from the world. I'm going to go back there one day.
After a night in Little Current, we caught the ferry to Tobermory. Our hotel here was away from the busyness of this tourist spot. We sat in adirondack chairs on the lawn, our view again that of docked sailboats. Other vacationers sat with us, the soft murmur of voices along with the boats rubbing against the docks, water lapping against the rocks, the only noises drifting across the air.
From Tobermory, we made our way to Toronto. After being away from dense populations, Toronto was a shock. None of us liked Toronto per se. We liked the CN Tower, the city lights at night, and getting to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the mass of people we could do without. We left a day early to head on to Buffalo, NY. Our last day was spent at Niagra Falls, with a ride on Lady of the Mist, then just sitting and enjoying the falls.
Not a bad way to finish off the summer. In fact, I'm very grateful for being able to take the trip, see parts of Canada that were absolutely beautiful and parts that were not, as well as parts of the US I'd never seen before. I have lots more memories for my memory bank, memories that I can pull out and laugh over years down the road.
Hanging up the summer hat won't be so bad I guess. It does seem now, as I think back over the past week, that my summer cup certainly is full, even overflowing. Life is good.
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