W IS FOR WANT

We will always WANT to travel.
TAKEN: NOVEMBER 2014
(La Romana, D.R.)

Well, with only four letters left, I am on the home stretch. I always struggle at the end of the challenge BUT I knew I wanted to write about this.

I think everyone sets up what they want differently. For us, it has always been openly discussed. The universal correlation between want and need. 

When I started down the rabbit hole of making a point, I Googled want vs. need.

The AI generated response replied with this: "Need" refers to something essential for survival or well-being, while "want" describes a desire that is not essential for living but can improve quality of life. Which is why travel ticks both of those boxes for us.

Several decades ago, before I really understood how to manage my seasonal affective disorder, by Easter every year I was in a varying state of depression. So, starting when the twins were ten months old, we began using our tax refund to head to South Carolina for a dose of vitamin D.

Once the children finished post-secondary school (circa 2012), I began to contribute a weekly value into an annual travel fund. As I began to book all of our travel online, one week a year turned into two in the shoulder season; and a long weekend at the end of January – beginning of February.

With the severe health scares my travel buddy hubby as had in the last few years, we talk regularly when our travel adventures may end. Though we don’t know when that might be, we know one thing to be true.

We will always WANT to travel – but I also know, I will always need to travel.

V IS FOR VITAMIN

 

Catching some amazing waves in
Sayulita, Mexico
TAKEN: ARPIL 7th, 2016

U IS FOR UPBEAT

Enjoying the upbeat music
from our 18th floor balcony.
TAKEN: APRIL 12th, 2025

 Like most, upbeat music is definitely a part of who I am. As a matter a fact, any and all music is.

The trouble with live entertainment when you're on vacation, is it usually happens after you've had a day full of sun and snorkeling; so being in a crowd of a couple of hundred people when I am tired isn't at the top of my list.

Vacation or not, I should clarify that my travel buddy hubby and I are both morning people. Actually, when on vacation, we give each other an hour of grace. By 7am we are on our second cup of coffee and by 8am we are dressed and on the move. 

So, by nightfall when the nightly entertainment gets started, I am ready to shower away the sand and sunscreen, and get begin to get ready for bed.

It wasn't like that last fall in the Mexico, but then again we were stuck in the middle of a tropical storm, so water activities through the day were limited - leaving energy for night time fun.

I guess you can say that this trip, we were given the best of both. 

Amazing twelve hour days in the sun, and a balcony seat to the entertainment stage (lit up in pink and blue in my pic) at our sister resort next door.

Though we couldn't really see the singers and dancers, you can clearly see the theatre was packed, and the acoustics of the music flowing over was fine.

Yep, what can I say... an Aruban Michael Jackson with backup singer/dancers doesn't get much more upbeat than that!

#yagottalaughaboutit

T IS FOR TIRESOME

Photo Credit: reddit.com/r/onguardforthee

 

As we are ending our current Federal Election cycle, I find the ongoing political dialogue that 'Canada is broken' tiresome.

Every time I hear that statement it makes me go Hmmmm, and scratch my head.

You see, I find it baffling that voters that own a beautiful house, lake lot, $85,000 truck, fifth wheel or trailer, speed boat, quad, and vacation to other countries every year.... Can pontificate that "Canada is Broken".

Why? Because they want more!

#mytwocents

S IS FOR SUNSCREEN

Day three and almost ready for our
2nd bottle of 30 SPF sunscreen.
TAKEN: APRIL 8th, 2025
(Palm Beach, Aruba)

 For a maturing woman my age, I don’t fret that I have never had a manicure, pedicure, or even a facial. 

Yet, I will boast that the one beauty staple I seriously embrace, is sunscreen. As a matter of fact, for my trip to Aruba, I packed five different kinds. 

I did a lot of personal research before leaving on that jet plane. And with the island having a closer proximity to the equator than we'd ever experienced, I knew the last thing I wanted to do was burn. 

The photo I am sharing today, I snapped on our second full day on the beach. (Yes, those toes are with me... but not mine.) 

For my entire stay, I started my morning with a waterproof 50 SPF applied to my face and shoulders, and a 30SPF spray applied to the rest of me. For the afternoon, I moved away from the spray and used a sweat resistant 30 SPF sunscreen lotion.

I wasn’t always so diligent. I’ve always worn it when away but in the last decade the strength of the UV Rays has become more intense.

For example, when we traveled to Jamaica for a long weekend to celebrate our wedding anniversary in June 2023, I only used spray. On our last afternoon there, the wind made me miss some areas around my shoulders and I burnt. My skin took more than two weeks to heal; signifying the UV intensity.

Nothing makes me cringe more than seeing people burnt to a crisp on with very first day of holiday. Not only because I know the pain they will be in as they try to sleep – but also because I am seeing a complete waste of money. 

You spend thousands of dollars to holiday.  Then remain in pain the entire time, limited on what you can enjoy, having to shy away from the sun your traveled to experience.

Rhondi Rule #412: Always wear sunscreen. Because it is simply the ultimate in adulting!

R IS FOR REMEMBERING

Remembering my Dad.
Taken: SPRING 1996

 

To the living, I am gone.

To the sorrowful, I will never return.

To the angry, I was cheated.

But to the happy, I am at peace,

And to the faithful, I have never left.

I cannot speak, but I can listen.

I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.

So as you stand upon a shore, gazing at a beautiful sea,

As you look upon a flower and admire its simplicity,

Remember me.

Remember me in your heart:

Your thoughts, and your memories,

Of the times we loved,

The times we cried,

The times we fought,

The times we laughed.

For if you always think of me, I will never be gone

Author ~ Margaret Mead

Q IS FOR QUIET

 

The older I get.... It seems
quiet is what I seek most.
TAKEN: JULY 23rd, 2022
(Me, floating around Orillia Lake)

I'm not quite sure what happened. Ten years ago, I’d jumped through hoops to stay busy with friends and family but for the last couple of years, I just generally want to be left alone.

I suspect it started with the social distancing mandate that COVID had us live through. Then, as health issues began to plague my travel buddy hubby, I just became hyper focused on him and our home.

I suspect the icing on the cake was when I changed jobs at the end of 2021 and slowly began working from home (I only leave my home office a couple of days a month).

There are times when I feel guilty that I enjoy my seclusion - but as I can see retirement on my horizon, I feel I have earned my quiet moments.

 I truly feel I have spent my life in the service of others. Nursed both my parents to their death before I turned forty and gave my children ever possible opportunity I could manage.  In some areas, I think by doing so I failed them in some way. (…Maybe more than one.)

As we entertained fourteen for dinner Good Friday, my hubby and I decided that Saturday was going to be our day of rest.

The best reward?

A quiet nap.

It was perfect!

P IS FOR PODBEAN

A snapshot of some of my
latest PodBean episodes.
TAKEN: APRIL 18th,  2024

As I mentioned in my A is for Audio post, I decided to start a podcast platform. As predicted, I only complimented my first three offerings with a posted audio file.

I have promised myself I will go back and catch up but it will take me some time. I am thinking if I try to tackle one a day for the month of May, I just might get there.

Next year, my letter E is definitely going to be for EFFORT.

Like I've always said, it's the thought that counts!

Click here to check out my 2025 posts so far.

O IS FOR ORANJESTAD

Driving past the Malecon boardwalk
in downtown Oranjestad, Aruba.
TAKEN: APRIL 13th, 2025

During my recent visit to Aruba, I travelled through their capital of Oranjestad four times. In all expereinces, the downtown traffic was horrendous.

That said, as the lightbulb for the letter 'O' went off in my head, I was on a coach bus headed to the airport to fly home. This was the only photo I snapped. 

Our week away was so jampacked that working on the challenge took a back seat. As I planned to catch up on my writing on the plane, as I traveled to the airport I began to go through my up coming words in my head. 

This one, specifically, has always been a challenge, and usually signifies when the onset of writers block sets in. How I couldn't have thought of this word in advance makes me scratch my head. perhaps a simple single of how my overthinking begins.

Anyway, this bustling harbour city feels a tad over developed. When traveling east to west, if feels like you're grains of sand going through an hourglass. Two lane traffic where tens of thousand get off cruise ships to browse luxury retailers, and traffic slowly creeps through the city center.

Don't get me wrong, we had an amazing time, but won't be returning. Not because of the expense, or traffic in Oranjestad - but because of the airport.

It was the most painful I have ever had to navigate... and believe me, I have navigated a few!

N IS FOR NEIGHBOURS

 

Our lovely neighbour texting me
a snowy photo of our home.
TAKEN: November 23, 2022

I read somewhere that great neighbours make ordinary communities extraordinary, and I tend to agree.

When we were first married, we married in June and my father offered for us to live rent free in his town home for two years to save money. 

We moved in the following month, then he decided to move in with us in November; we bought our first home the following month.

Though we bought the house across the street, we lived in the most amazing neighbourhood. I could visit with my Dad daily, and the kids were constantly in and out of his home. As a matter a fact, every single door was open and welcoming - as was our to them. 

They say it takes a village to raise a child but in our case, our Toronto Street neighbourhood helped raise our three.

Funny how a single word sparks so many memories.

We moved from that home in 2002 and to this day... I still miss it.

M IS FOR MEANINGFUL

 

My meaningful tradition.
TAKEN: APRIL 2025
Palm Beach, Aruba

Well, I am back home and trying to play catch up. I started posting whilst I was away but the sun and the sand convinced me that there was a bigger plan in place.

As I celebrated my 29th birthday (for the 31st time) I would have been remiss, if I didn't pack one of my treasured glasses, so that on my day, I could celebrate and have a drink with my Dad.

For those new to reading, I have been collecting the Petro-Canada vintage Olympic glasses (as shown above) for the better part of twenty years. I have travelled about a radius of approximately 180 miles, and searched every thrift store, garage sale, and online buy and sell site to collect more than 220 of them.

When I was staging my photo shoot in the beach, I could spy people watching me. As I returned to our palapa, I had one lady ask me, 'are you going to drink that?'

Ï simply laughed and explained that whenever or where ever I travel, I pack one of these beauties in bubble wrap, so that my Dad travels with me in spirit. Suffice it to say, I think he would have loved absolutely everything about Aruba.

Now, I know there are some folks out there that may think the glass collecting obsession is silly, but it doesn't faze me. 

Instead, if I could offer one vantage point of logic to their negativity it's that what they don’t know is, in the very minute I hold one of these new to me special treasures in my hand, I'm in a wonderful moment with my Dad. 

Today, on the beach, I could hear his laughter as he rattled the ice cubes in his glass, signifying it was empty and that he was ready for a refill.

Keeping his memory alive is very meaningful to me... and there's nothing even remotely silly about that.

L IS FOR LIGHTHOUSE

My Travel Buddy Hubby
at the California Lighthouse
(on Northwestern tip of Aruba)
TAKEN: APRIL 11th, 2025

 

Drone shot highlighting the
Sasariwichi dunes. Breathtaking!
(c) Wikipedia
Taken prior to the 2016 - 2017
restoration of the lighthouse.