It is a privilege to be able to travel and so it is a privilege to be able to miss travelling....and I do miss it so much. I don't get away as often as I would like but I do make an effort to get away as much as is reasonable for our budget and life. Last year besides the odd day trip a little outside town I got away twice. Once for almost 2 weeks to Vancouver Island and once to Slave Lake, Alberta - both times with my daughters. Both trips were beautiful.
My sister inlaw joined us with her two daughters on the first one and we all stayed at my dad and stepmom's place. We went to several beaches, spent time with one of my friends in her tiny house on Salt Spring Island. We had fires at night and drank wine. We ate fresh crab my dad caught and we went on the harbor ferry in Victoria. It was idyllic and I can't wait to go back.
We met up with my best friend and her boys and her mom in Slave Lake. Another friend joined us with her daughter and all the kids spent the whole weekend in the lake. We rented cabins on the water, mere steps to the beach. We ate bbq and roasted marshmallows and all the kids told stories around the fire at night. It was fantastic, I want to do it every summer.
Travel is important to me. I love going to new places and experiencing new things. I have been fortunate to travel around several Canadian provinces, as well as a few American states, the United Kingdom (every part except Scotland so far), France, and Ireland. It is never lost on me what a gift that is and I approach travelling with a deep respect and gratitude.
I took a geography course as one of my options in uni and it blew my mind! It was a brief introduction to almost every country in the world and man did I realize how little I know. I want to go everywhere. I want to go to every continent. I want to walk through strange streets and meet new people and try the food. I want to learn.
So today I am missing the fact that I can't travel because of COVID. I don't know when I will feel comfortable getting on a plane again. It might take me a long time to feel okay with that. I might only want to travel within Canada for a few years and put my travel dollars back into our local economy.
I don't know what travel will look like, but I do know that I am pining for a trip, a new place, my feet in the sand somewhere. And when I get to travel again I will have another layer of appreciation that I get to be there.
-Amanda.
