Author: JOYE

As I prepare for my trip with just 8 days to go, I think back on all those other trips/vacations I took during the various stages of my life.

First Vacation – with friends to Jamaica in the eighties. How simple – I just had to organize my teenage self – no other responsibilities.

Next – my honeymoon to Las Vegas in the nineties. Again, simple – just my new spouse and I.

Now for a little more planning – an International trip with spouse and very young son to visit family in Europe. Quite a lot more planning and an inconvenient layover in Halifax:).

Next – two young sons ( no spouse) and a trip up north for  a week at the beach at a co-workers cottage. How I managed to pack EVERYTHING into my small Hyundai Accent will be a testament to my organizational skills.

Fast forward -Winter 2007 and Walt Disney World, FL  with teenage sons – airplanes, travel insurance, gravol, plane activities ( no phones/ laptops), passport, additional docs to prove my sons are mine ( as I am now separated from spouse and he has joint custody – therefore special forms needed), loads of cash to cover the cost of having to eat in restaurants, et al for all three of us, 3x a day!

Easy Breezy Trips- spa weekends with my BFF’s – London, downtown Toronto, Collingwood.

Now my first vacation travelling on my own – more to follow:).

Today’s entry centers around where I have been and where I would like to go.

In my teens – we spent our vacation time at Bluewater Beach on Georgian Bay. With side trips to Wasaga Beach ( one of the 10 best on the list). I can check that beach off my list……lol.  I’ve been to Montreal for crazy BFF weekends. I’ve been to Ottawa, Quebec, Vancouver, Red Deer. I’ve been to Illinois, New Jersey, New York and the thriving metropolis of Michigan. I spent my honeymoon in Las Vegas. I’ve been to Jamaica and the Netherlands. My last major vacation was in 2007 when I took my kids to Walt Disney World, Florida.

Now the time has come to explore the rest of Canada. Eventually we will make it to the breathtaking islands of the Caribbean – Curacao, St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire and St. Tropez (to name a few) by way of a Cruise ship. This is the trip I want to do with my kids.

Stay tuned as I share my life story with you! Thank you for reading. Joye

As I approach the start date of my vacation, I have been sharing my plans with everyone I come in contact with. I can tell by the various expressions from them, that going to thriving metropolis of Winnipeg MB is not their idea of a fun trip. That’s ok- our dreams and goals are ours and ours alone. This vacation has been 3 years in the making and I am thrilled to finally being able to cross one more Best Beach off my list. In my lifetime, I have already swam in and along the beach and cool clear water of Wasaga Beach on Georgian Bay. So technically this will be my second beach, but the first beach outside of Ontario!

I must say too, that lake water is much cooler than the pool at my local Goodlife Fitness facility. There the water is lovely at 85 degrees. Currently Lake Winnipeg is 71 degrees. But as swimmers, we are really a hearty bunch. It takes a lot of motivation, gumption and effort, especially in the winter or even early spring, to leave our cozy homes, comfortable couch and our novel, to head to the pool, don a bathing suit and jump into the water and swim for 45 minutes.

So, when it’s raining outside and people see me without a raincoat or an umbrella, I just simply explain – I swim 4 x a week, rain doesn’t really bother me! I’ve even stood at the sidelines of a football field, as team manager and cheered on my son’s team while it rained consistently. No umbrella, no rain boots – just there in the wet grass……as happy as can be:).

Till next week, and the countdown in days to my flight to Winnipeg.

This is my very first attempt at blogging. Forgive the simple narrative and dialogue.

I want to share my upcoming vacation as I make my way to the 10 Best Beaches in Canada as listed in Reader’s Digest. I will be heading out to Grand Beach in Manitoba later this month. As I love words, I want to develop the skill of descriptive writing in a journal type format. I hope you will join me and will find this blog interesting.

Any blog tips would be welcome and encouraged.

Sincerely, Joye

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.