Wordless Wednesday - enjoying yummy strudel

 My mother and I eating strudel in St. Anton, Austria in 1994.

© 2010 Janet Iles

Bound for Mom Milepost #4 The World is Not Flat

My mom began the first years of her life living on the largest freshwater island in the world, Manitoulin Island. I do not know how often she had the chance to leave The Island (often referred to in this manner) before she left to come to Owen Sound to take her C-special at the high school here.

As a family, we travelled to different places in Canada and the United States on family vacations. While we were still in high school, she and my dad had the opportunity to take some very special trips with others who owned IGA supermarkets. Now, let me see if I can remember some of the places they travelled to -- Hawaii, Las Vegas, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Aruba . . . These trips were well deserved as they both worked long hours.

After their retirement, I also got to tag along on some of their trips -- Cuba, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, England . . .

My mother and I took several very special trips together after my dad's passing. We travelled to Newfoundland, visited a couple of Caribbean Islands, took a Rhine Cruise and went to Oberammergau for the Passion Play, took a cruise on the Danube with stops in some interesting countries and, of course, we went back to Manitoulin.

My mother enjoyed the trips she took. She enjoyed the anticipation and the planning for the trip, the trip itself and remembering the trips through the pictures in the photo albums. My mother kept a travel diary. Her detailed descriptions of each day, including the food that was eaten, bring to life her trips. My mother knew the world wasn't flat and she was thankful that she had the opportunity to expand her horizons through travel.

Guatemalan Trip

A week Saturday, I returned from eight days in Guatemala. Why travel to Guatemala? -- mainly because my brother lives there. This was my second visit. For both trips, I travelled with my sister. We had a great time seeing everyone again. While there, I celebrated another birthday. As far as I can recall, this was the first time to celebrate my birthday outside the country. When you have a winter birthday, you don't usually get to enjoy a meal prepared on the barbecue. On the Sunday before my birthday, my brother barbecued hamburgers for some of the extended family. On my actual birthday, I enjoyed breakfast and lunch outside under the thatched roof rancho watching the waves of the Pacific Ocean, a walk along the beach and a dip in the pool.
A visit to Guatemala would be remiss without some time spent in Antigua, Guatemala. We spent part of a day visiting the shops. The lunch at the restaurant at Hotel Posada de Don Rodrigo was delicious and the setting was beautiful. We all chose a typical Guatemalan meal.
After our enjoyable visit, we agreed we would not wait another five years to return. Thanks Doris and Ted for the hospitality. Here are a couple of photos from the trip.

Do you recognize the various foods on the plate? I did not eat everything, I must admit.

Holiday Travel

December 11 - Holiday Travel

Did you travel anywhere for Christmas? How did you travel and who traveled with you? Do you remember any special trips?

Most years our family would stay close to home for Christmas. Occasionally we would travel to see friends but it would only be a day trip.
During my teen years, our family travelled several times to Florida - Naples, Fort Myers and Sannibel Island. We flew. It was fun to get away from the cold and snow. I didn't mind not having a white Christmas.
When I was little my paternal grandparents lived across the street. At some point on Christmas Day, we would walk across the street to visit. Quite often, some of my aunts, uncles and cousins would be there.
As an adult, I have gone twice to my sister's for Christmas. Back in 1978, she was expecting child #2 any day, so we packed up everything and headed there for Christmas (via car).