If it’s summer, then it must be vacation time, right? Wrong.
I’ve seen a lot of folks in Greater Pittston driving to their favorite vacation destination or perhaps trying out a new location or even an historical locale. Some people jet set to distances far and wide.
I see Barbara Bullions, former Wyoming Area teacher, has taken another group to tour Italy in the last week or so. It’s always nice to see how much fun everyone has while on vacation and I get to live vicariously through others when they post photos on social media.
I don’t have vacation plans for the summer — not even a quick weekend to the shore or a day trip to a city. When you live the life of the self-employed, vacations are not something you can plan. Well, maybe you can, but for me, it’s not that way.
As for Mrs. Bullions, she’s done a great job over the years of planning and executing trips for students and adults to Europe for 10-day to 14-day trips. I imagine Barb has been all over Europe and there probably isn’t a landmark she hasn’t seen.
I have yet to go to Europe and, even at that, I’m not sure where I’d go. Since I am of Italian ethnicity, you’d think Italy would be my first choice. I’d love to see Rome or the Isle of Capri and my mother’s family in northern Italy near Florence, but it’s not like I have a burning desire to get there.
Most, if not all, of my mom’s relatives with whom I’ve been familiar are all gone. I do have a cousin in his 40s who speaks English fairly well that I can visit. He and I are friends on Facebook and I get to see life on his side of the planet from time-to-time.
Marko and his wife Vanessa have a son Jacopo and, while I have not visited them, my daughter Tiffany has and really enjoyed her time there.
Since I am such a tennis fan, I’d love to take in the French Open or Wimbledon, two of the tennis world’s grand slams, the other two being the Australian Open and the U.S. Open played in late August and early September.
I’ve always wanted to visit London. I don’t know why, other than Wimbledon is just outside of London. It’s not like I’m fascinated with the whole monarchy thing. Growing up in the U.S., it’s hard to grasp the concept of a king or a queen.
The monarchy is so revered in England. But when I think of how much wealth they have, including property, art, jewels, etc., I wonder why they are loved so much.
Dublin City in Ireland is probably another place I’d like to visit, even though some friends who have visited there tell me there’s not much going on except cool pubs.
I’d actually like to see Stockholm, Sweden, the beaches of Normandy, Paris, and, oh yeah, drive the Autobahn at some crazy, insane speed in Germany.
I have a few contacts in Europe, so catching up with them would be great, as well.
It’s interesting to know that so many people travel to Europe on vacation. Honestly, though, there is so much to see in our own country, it’s hard to justify going anywhere else. Besides, one would think it’s much safer to travel stateside then Europe or the Middle East or even the Far East.
My other concern is long flights. I get antsy after sitting in a car for more than two hours, let alone sitting on a plane for six to nine hours.
Recently, I was looking into flights to California out of Avoca to Philly. Again, the daunting task of sitting in a tiny airplane seat squashed next to the window or, God forbid, in between two people while you claim territorial rights in a middle seat.
Up until now, I’ve had final destinations in Florida, Texas, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Georgia, California, Colorado, Michigan, Kansas, Washington, D.C. and Montreal, Canada. Oh, I was on a cruise from Baltimore to Florida to the Bahamas and back once. For as much as I enjoyed the cruise, seven days was a bit long on the water.
Travel was not something we did in my youth. Who had the money? My parents struggled as middle class citizens and back then, flying was a luxury for business or wealthy people. It was expensive and my parents could not afford to fly our family of five anywhere. So we went where the car would take us.
Like many in our area, the Jersey shore was the destination, whether it was Atlantic City, Wildwood or Cape May.
The place we went the most in my childhood was Long Island, NY where my great uncle and his family lived. The lodging was free and that fit my parents’ pocketbook just fine.
Wherever your summer destination is, I hope you have a great time. If you’re having a staycation, I hope you enjoy that, as well.
Quote of the week
“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.” – Indira Gandhi, Indian prime minister
Thought of the week
“Don’t mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.” – Henry James, American-British author
Bumper sticker
“There is nothing permanent except change.” Heraclitus, Greek philosopher
