Travel Is Like A Box of Chocolates. You Never Know What You Are Going to Get, but It Is All Good


2018 Year-In-Review

 Last year was a year of amazing places and amazing people. I thank God for the wonderful world He created. Travel for me is like air. I don’t just like it. I need it and have needed it since I was 4 years old when I packed my suitcase and told my parents thank you but I am leaving now to travel the world. I never knew what, when, or how but I knew I wanted to see it all. I still have so much to see but each year we are making great progress. My husband also loves to travel and have new experiences as does my sister (through love not blood). Both co-author this blog with me.

We have found that the world is an extremely complex, extremely large place with never-ending opportunities to learn. We have learned that watching on TV and listening to what others tell you about the world is misleading. There are many great and wonderful countries in this world and many great and wonderful people. We may have different cultures but as human beings, we are all more alike than we are different. We recommend that everyone see the world for themselves. Travel really is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get, but it is all good (to quote a line from the movie Forest Gump).

We traveled to many places in 2018. Some were places we visited previously and some were brand new to us: Cancun (Secrets Capri); New York City; Smooth Jazz Cruise (Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize, and Coco Cay); Las Vegas, NV and Arizona (Grand Canyon); Caribbean Cruise (Aruba, St. Thomas, Curacao, St. Kitts); Detroit, MI; Lisbon, Mangualde, and Mesquitela Portugal; Rome and Venice, Italy; Myrtle Beach, SC; New Orleans, LA; and Coeur D’Alene Idaho. We met amazing people, spent time with family and friends, and had time together as a couple. We learned knew things, saw new things, and were blessed to continue our quest to see the world.

We have written separate blogs about the majority of the places we visited. We have given our thoughts on international travel and domestic travel. We think both are necessary to have a balanced appreciation of the beauty of both America and the world. We have given my thoughts about cruising vs. staying in all-inclusive resorts.  Our humble opinion is again that balance is best. We like both cruising and staying in all-inclusive resorts but we like to use cruises as scouting trips for places to which we would like to return because cruises are typically very short stays where you do not have time to really see a country and understand its culture. We discussed some of my favorite cities to visit, New York City being one of my absolute favorites and Lisbon is now added to that list. It was very nice to see Coeur d’Alene, Idaho as I had never been. It is a beautiful part of the country. We were also glad to visit New Orleans again as we had not been in years. The food is amazing there. The Smooth Jazz Cruise was our entertainment favorite for 2018. The trip to Portugal and Italy was the travel highlight of the year. The history, the culture, the food, and the people were life-changing. We saw everything from The Vatican to the Colosseum, to the Grand Canal to the Stagecoach Museum. AMAZING!


This year, we have been to Jamaica and have trips planned to Egypt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, India, California, Florida, back to Jamaica, Myrtle Beach, and more to schedule. We look forward to seeing more of the world and checking off some bucket list items such as seeing the pyramids, staying at the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, and visiting the Taj Mahal. As we titled one of our blogs, TRAVEL, YOUR MONEY WILL RETURN, YOUR TIME WILL NOT. Have a blessed 2019. Live, Love, and Travel!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Always A New Part of This Wonderful World to See

Our 2022  Travels We had amazing  travels  in 2022. We went to Costa Rica, Myrtle Beach, New York, Spain, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and  toured our new home base in Florida. We explored brand  new places which were Costa Rica, the Netherlands and  Spain. Part of the goal of  travel  should be to experience new things, learn new things, explore different cultures, and  enjoy yourself. I know many people who  travel  to the same places over and over or go to the same types of places (Caribbean only, Europe only, etc.). Carl and I want to see the whole world so our  blog  will reflect that. Every year,  we try to  travel  somewhere we have not been before and let you know about those places as well as go to some of our  favorite (or place for me) locations. Let's start with our favorite destination of 2022, Spain. Spain made our place for me list. We traveled to Barcelona, Madrid, and the Canary Islands (Fuertev...
Read more

It Just Keeps Getting Better - 2019 Year In Review

Friends - God is good! We thank the Lord for His mercy and His grace. His word is true!! God has shown that He has a plan for our lives, a wonderful future and a hope. He has opened up the windows of heaven and has poured out blessings that we do not have room enough to hold.  In 2019, Carl and I definitely lived, loved, and traveled. As far as living, we had ups and one major down. We lost the matriarch of our family after 87 years of her beautiful spirit gracing this planet. We know she is in heaven and we will see her again when we take our final trip to our heavenly home. It was our privilege and honor to be her primary caregivers for a number of years! Rest in peace Mom!! In other aspects of life, we had great life accomplishments and successes personally and professionally. God is an awesome and faithful God! As far as loving, we grew more in love with each other and grew even closer, although both of our hearts ache for our loved one that we loved so much and lost. ...
Read more

Travel is Like a Box of Chocolates!

Travel  in 2021 was like a box of chocolates. You never knew what you were going to get. However, we were all excited to just be able to  travel  again, even if there were limitations and restrictions. We had to research whether we needed a COVID-19 test to enter certain countries, whether we needed a COVID-19 test to re-enter the USA, and what documents or insurance were required to enter the various countries. Even with all of the additional requirements, we traveled to Akumal, Cancun, NYC, Los Cabos, St. Martin, Myrtle Beach, Pompano Beach, Atlanta, and Punta Cana. We decided to go to some places where we had been and also explore a few new places. We wanted to continue to expand our  travel  experience even in these difficult times. We realized more than ever that life is short and we need to live each day to the fullest. So many good people are no longer with us and our condolences are with their families! As a testament t...
Read more