Coulda Woulda Shoulda

We only had two weeks in Thailand during our six month trek through Asia and Russia, which in hindsight was certainly not enough time but at least a put-together tourist place like these islands made it easy for us to relax. Anyone who has been to Thailand will tell you of ‘must go’ places; specific islands that your trip will be lost without. But in reality, as with all destinations, each island has its own magic, similar to each other in the same fantastical ways and yet special and unique enough to help create a very personal experience. We spent three nights on Koh Tao during our short trip, at the suggestion of a friend, who later revealed to me that this moment I shared with this man and his fishing rod, is one she was privileged to experience as well. It’s easy to get caught up in the tourist flow of a place, especially Thailand. Everywhere you look, there is something for YOU. Scuba diving lessons, ENGLISH breakfast, cheap room rates, FREE Internet with purchase of coff...

I spent the month of August in Dallas (potentially not the BEST month to visit Texas, however..) for work and did manage to learn a few things about the lovely, wonderful people of that grand state .. or at least the Dallas area. 1. You will be called Ma’am. Street art As a Canadian, I’m used to politeness but there is something significantly special about the way the people in Texas converse with each other and people they’ve just met. Their every word appears to just drip with southern kindness topped off with a lovely smile and “you have a nice day now you hear and come back real soon.” 2. You better enjoy meats. And large potatoes. And very large amounts of food. Lunch? The portion sizes are always a shock for us Canadians but I’ve got family in northern States and I’m not certain that I’ve ever seen as much food presented as a one-person meal as I’ve ever seen in my life. The BBQ’ed anything was to die for and the steaks were thicker than my head. Oh and did I mention the ...

Being somewhere means you have an opportunity to experience something. That means, if you are on a beach in Mexico, you have as many margaritas as you can and eat as much tortilla as humanly possible. If you’re hiking the Mournes in Northern Ireland, you make sure to stop when the sun comes out to admire a rare view. And if you’re at home, where you live, where you work, where you don’t necessarily think of yourself on vacation, you find the things that make the place where you are incredibly special and you make sure you soak in all of those places. I’ve heard it called a ‘staycation’, which I like, though I would go further than that and say this is more a state of mind. Sure, it’s easier to explore when you have multiple days off in a row but that doesn’t mean you can’t experience at least some form of discovery each day. I am lucky that I do have the hours in my day to make this possible. I don’t commute as I have a home office and I don’t have children that need me. Both o...