Tag: vacation

My First Cruise – Epilogue

Life, My Community, Photography, travel

I mentioned in my last blog post that I was writing it from the middle of the Caribbean Sea, on my first ever cruise. That adventure is now complete, and I’ve returned to the cold of Toronto, Canada.

I come away from this experience with some truly delightful memories, and have also discovered some things about this option for travel that I really do not like. Some would say, just enjoy the journey. In fact, I really did. But I’m also one who watches the world around me, and there were some things that just did not sit well.

Normally, when someone says that they have things they didn’t like, these can end up being minor complaints, like my bed pillows were too hard or the air conditioning was too cold or the drinks too watered down. I’m hoping that you’ll find my list a bit more substantial, and that it reflects some unexpected surprises (at least they were surprises to me) about how these experiences are offered.

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On the Road Again – Well, Water This Time

Photography, travel

As I write this, I am sitting in a stateroom aboard a 3,600 passenger cruise ship in the Caribbean Sea, visiting several islands in the Eastern Caribbean. This isn’t a photography trip, but I’m making it one, carrying my full sized camera with me everywhere, even on this city sized floating marvel.

Over the past two weeks, we have had absolutely abysmal weather in the Canadian east, with snow and temperatures that would make any northern location traumatized. I didn’t plan it this way, but it seems I picked the perfect time for a holiday to the warm south. But it is the trip that almost didn’t happen. More on that later, but this blog post is about the challenges of travelling as a senior with photography equipment and the unique things about cruising with that in mind.

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Getting Lost in Muskoka (Spiritually and Literally)

Landscapes, Photography, travel

I’ve returned from a few days “up north” immersed in this year’s fall colours. Whenever you take a vacation, you hope to have stories to tell, and in my case, photographs to go with them. I definitely do for this trip.

This was a visit to several stops, including Gravenhurst and Huntsville and various tourist attractions associated with or close by each. I decided to string a number of stopping points together and make a 3 day mini-vacation out of it. You could just as easily take a single day and drive a couple of hours, get the immersive experience, and return home. Many do.

There is something about Fall and fall colour here in Ontario, Canada that has always drawn me emotionally. It signals the end of summer, but also points to change, and warns us warm-blooded (and cold-blooded) souls to prepare for the cold. The last few years, I’ve looked forward to the change of seasons. It brings a sense of calm and progression – an order in a chaotic world. Did I make the most of it this year? Read on…

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Warblers, Warblers Everywhere

Nature, Photography, travel

I’ve just returned from a few days away. Where? To the heart of songbird migration in my province of Ontario, Canada – Point Pelee National Park, situated at the most southern land tip of our great country. Four days away, immersed in nature, woodlands, lakeshore walks and the cacophony of songbirds returning to start families. It was absolutely amazing. See the images at the end of this post.

Timing is everything for these trips and yet you often have to plan months in advance to ensure you can find accommodation at your chosen time. The annual Point Pelee Bird Festival is an incredible event, where bird lovers from all over the world gather to look up through binoculars or camera lenses or both to welcome the returning hoards of songbirds and to experience those amazing songs.

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My Next Trip

Life, Photography, travel

Over the past few months, I’ve had a number of experiences that have shaped how I will be approaching travel in the future.

Seniors are definitely great travelers. It’s what the retirement brochures say you will be doing with your time once you retire – visiting family far away, visiting places you have never seen before, having adventures with like-minded souls and meeting new friends. All hyped up to help you comfortably transition from filling your days with work to filling your days with ???

But I’ve never been a big traveler. There are a number of reasons for that, but mostly because I’m a solo traveler – no regular companion. A number of reasons for that too, but I digress. I was determined to add more travel to my retirement plans and have only modestly achieved that goal. Some trips have been with family, some have been with friends, some have been with groups having a common interest and some have been on my own. I’ve enjoyed some more than others but have learned something from each one.

In the past few months, I’ve looked into 5 separate trips, each one offering something different. Two are now booked, another will likely be booked by the new year, one is complete and the other, well, didn’t happen. Here’s what I’ve learned about me and my travel interests at this stage of my life.

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Travelling with Friends

Landscapes, Life, Nature, Photography, travel

I recently took a trip – the first one in a long time. It wasn’t to an exotic far-away location, but rather about 3 hours north of my home. The area is very popular with city residents and tourists alike, because of its small towns, wide open tracts of land covered with trees, rock formations that are part of the Canadian Shield and fresh air.

I don’t travel much with friends, at least driving in the same vehicle and staying in the same hotel suite. I instead prefer to meet my companions at our desired destination and prefer to have a quiet place to myself at the end of the day. At least, that’s what I’ve concluded now after several trips done in more traditional fashion.

The bigger challenge, and the purpose of this post, is how to manage my photographic interests while travelling with others. It is hugely difficult when travelling with those who are not photographers – family especially. I won’t go into those details, for fear of alienating any family member who might choose to read this (ha!).

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Lessons Learned from Two Weeks Away

Landscapes, Life, Photography, travel

Newfoundland_mapI’ve just returned from a two week trip to Newfoundland.  If you have not been to the east coast of Canada, make a plan to go.  It is an amazing experience – socially, culturally, but also photographically.

It’s my longest trip ever (yes, I lead a sheltered life) and the first time I’ve seen the Atlantic ocean (see what I mean about sheltered?).  I saw and heard a lot, but also learned a lot.  I’ll deal with the latter in this post. Continue reading “Lessons Learned from Two Weeks Away” →