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Destinations Detours and Dreams October 2016

What's Been Happening

In Canada, September marks the start of a new school year and the beginning of the end of summer. Days become cooler, there is a crispness in the night air, and leaves start to change colour and fall. Many programs and activities begin afresh after the summer break. People settle back into routines. Although I have returned to tai chi classes after a many month absence and signed up for yoga at the local community centre, I haven’t yet settled into any kind of routine.

Mid-September, I spent five days in Victoria, British Columbia. Walking in the inner harbour area, I was reminded what a beautiful city it is. I have visited the city many times but have not written any blog posts about it. I think that is about to change soon. Although the purpose of my trip was to visit with my sister and attend her combination house warming/birthday party, we did much more than that. My sister took some time off work and we went sight-seeing. We visited Cowichan Bay, a beautiful historic waterfront town 55 kilometres north of Victoria, with stops at Cherry Point Winery and Merridale Cider on the way to and from. We went to Emily Carr house and Abkhazi Garden. We toured Craigdarroch Castle, a historic home built by the wealthy Dunsmuir family in the late 1800s, and had lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf. I visited with my nephews in Victoria and managed a long enough stopover in Vancouver to have brunch with my daughter. It was a great trip.

Thin Air, Winnipeg’s International Writers Festival (although I think of it as more of a readers festival), took place the last week of September. I attended some writing workshops and afternoon book chats. I picked up some good writing tips and added a few more authors/books to my "to-read" list.

What's On The Horizon

I have no travel plans for October. Perhaps October will be the month I settle into a routine. This would be a good thing as I have a lot of writing on my plate. I will also have to clean up my flower beds and prepare them for winter. And the calendar already has a number of social events with friends.This is one of the pleasures of being home and in one place for a bit.

As to what's ahead on the blog, look for stories about Miami, California, Vancouver Island and maybe even Manitoba.

Monday, October 10 is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, a chance to consciously remember all I have to grateful for.

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough. ∼Meister Eckhart

Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day. ∼Robert Caspar Lintner

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and turn ordinary opportunities into blessings. ∼William Arthur Ward

Is Fathom Travel Making an Impact

In the blog post Fathom Travel: Making an Impact in Dominican Republic, I wrote about my June cruise with Fathom. We sailed from Miami to the Dominican Republic, where we participated in activities designed to improve the lives of Dominicans. There were other bloggers on board. The experience moved and touched us in different ways. The different perspectives came through in what we wrote. One of the bloggers, Howard Blunt, has only recently published his article. He said it has taken him several months to process the experience well enough to write about it. At the end of his article, he has included links to articles written by other bloggers. If you are interested in Howard's and other bloggers' perspectives on this trip, read Do Fathom Impact Activities Have a Lasting Value?

Note that Fathom sails to the Dominican Republic every second week. The alternate week it sails to Cuba. The nature of the Cuba trip is one of education and cultural exchange, not one of community service like the Dominican Republic trip. Cuba is a popular destination as Americans now have more freedom to travel there. However, Americans can still not travel to Cuba purely for vacation. They cannot do the winter beach escape popular with Canadians. Their visit must fall into one of 12 categories, categories which include things like family visits and educational and journalistic purposes.

September Stories You Might Have Missed

Manitoba Mennonite Street Village

A tour of buildings and history in the village of Neuberthal, Manitoba, a National Historic Site

Underground Seattle: City Beneath a City

Exploring the history of the original Seattle, Washington, one to two stories below current ground level

Failure or Opportunity

Park Güell, a beautiful garden in Barcelona originally designed as a real estate venture, inspires reflection about failure

Seattle's Original Neighbourhood

Seattle’s history in Pioneer Square

Mass Appeal: Concerts for the Public by the Public

A unique series of concerts organized by the Winnipeg Arts Council

Walk and Drive Through Towering Redwoods

Experiencing California's giant redwood trees two ways: walking in Hendy Woods State Park and driving through the Avenue of the Giants

From The Archives

Last year at this time I was in the United Kingdom. It was an absolutely brilliant three-week trip filled with one great day after another. One of my favourite days was when a friend took us on his own designed tour of the City of London, focusing on its rich financial history. I wrote about it at Bankers and Brokers Tour of London's City History

Donna Janke is the author of Destinations Detours and Dreams, where you can find travel stories from near and far, the familiar and the obscure, the beautiful and the bizarre, with a focus on history, gardens, nature, art, architecture, culture and the snowbird life. She tells her stories through a combination of narrative, photos and personal reflection. Sign up for the monthly newsletter here.

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