Tag: travel

Dream Journal 3/31/16

[Since I’ve been so busy being glued to the couch with my sick, clingy toddler lately, I haven’t had any time to type out the dreams from my dream journal. I finally have a few minutes today, so here is dream 3 of 3.]

Kyle, Liam, and I were driving to Canopy Lake Park in Maine, and we were lost. I was telling Kyle to ask for directions, because the GPS on his phone was acting up, but we ended up finding our exit and following a bunch of signs to get to the park. The parking lot was completely empty, and I asked Kyle if they were even open, but he assured me that they were.

There was no one stationed at the gate, so we just walked right in, and headed for the first ride we saw, which was a teacup ride. There were no people in the park, but we didn’t seem to notice or care. Kyle kept complaining about how sunny it was. The gate to the teacup ride was locked, and Liam started to cry. We decided that we would spend some time at the large wave pool instead, but when we got there, there was no water in the pool. We found a large hose, and put it in the pool, and filled it up ourselves, even though we couldn’t get the waves to work. The water was crystal clear, and it looked like a tropical beach, with the bottom of the pool covered in white sand.

A woman showed up at the pool and waved at us enthusiastically. She was the only other person in the park besides us. She took off all of her clothes and jumped into the pool completely naked. Just then, a group of 6 or 7 little kids, which I assumed were with her, came running out of the locker room, and jumped into the pool after her. There were now several beach balls being thrown around, and we kept getting splashed, so we got out of the pool. Kyle was angry, and was cussing up a storm, complaining about the woman. We did a lap around the park, but there were still only a few other people there, and none of them were employees.

After walking for a long time, we came across a large archway, with a “Zoo” sign, and Liam starting jumping up and down and cheering. We walked down the path to the zoo, which descended into a thick, green rain forest. There were brightly colored birds, terrifyingly large bugs, and pterodactyls everywhere. I had a large camera around my neck, and was taking pictures of everything that we passed.

There was another group up ahead of us with several children, and they were all screaming about something that was going to get them…

And then I woke up.

Advertisement

Daily Prompt 2/21/2016 | The Road Less Traveled

The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt 2/21/2016 | The Road Less Traveled

“Pinpoint a moment in your past where you had to make a big decision. Write about that other alternate life that could have unfolded.”

In June of 2008, I graduated high school. In the months prior to my graduation, I struggled with deciding where I wanted to go to college. My mom was the only person who ever went to college in my family, and she only went to the local community college, and I felt like that just wasn’t an option for me (no offense at all to anyone who went to community college, I was an ignorant child who thought community college was below me, but now I would be thrilled to be able to attend classes as our local community college). I had had four years of extra help, tutoring, advanced classes, and college tours, thanks to the Upward Bound program, but I still struggled. I think, deep down, I felt like I didn’t belong in the area that I grew up in. I had applied to many good schools in the area, and had gotten accepted into all of them, but I wanted something more.

During this time, I was dating a great guy named Matt, who I wrote about a bit here. Matt lived in Missouri, I lived in Maine, and we had met online. Matt was determined to go to school in Canada, so we applied to the same schools, and I ended up getting accepted to the Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Grenfell Campus. After springing this information on my mother, and packing my life up, I left for Canada, leaving everything behind, and changing my life entirely.

But what if I hadn’t?

What if Matt and I had stayed in a long distance relationship, or even went our separate ways, and I attended one of the several universities in Maine that I had been accepted into? Let’s talk about The University of Maine Farmington, for example. This is an excellent school, as well as my top choice school that I applied to, for local schools. Many of my friends from Upward Bound applied, and ended up attending this school. If I had chose to go to UMF, I would have qualified for so much more in financial aide, as well as scholarships, and probably would have been able to stay in school. I would have had more opportunity to make more friends, and become closer to the friends that I knew who went there. I have two good friends that I met in Upward Bound, Barbara and Kat, who both attended UMF, and who I have grown closer to in the last couple years, despite our distance. I would have loved to go to school with them. I would love to have friends that know me, and know where I came from, who I can talk to, face-to-face, and have a good time with. In the 8 years since I left home, I haven’t had that. At all. And it is so lonely.

I love my fiance, and I love my son, and I love our life that we have built… but all of these What If? questions tug at me daily. What if I had stayed in Maine, went to UMF, and had gotten my degree? Would I be married to someone else? Would I be single? Would I have any kids? Would I have a cat or a dog? Would I have started my career? Would I have a house? I don’t know. I have no way of knowing.

Heck, maybe on the day I would have left to go to UMF, I would have crashed, and died, and none of those questions would even matter. Who knows? What I do know, is that I love my life currently, despite financial difficulties, or family drama. I love my life, and I wouldn’t want it to be any different.

This prompt has inspired me to reach out to my old university, to see how much I owe them for tuition, and what my payment options are. I can’t afford to pay anything now, but it will be nice to have a number in my head to work toward.

Thank you for reading, friends.

Jan

Poll: Where Would You Go?

Hello, friends! Not long ago, I referenced in a post (or two?) about how one of the biggest things that I want to do with my life is to travel the world with my family. If I had the opportunity to go anywhere, I honestly don’t know where I would go! Anywhere in Europe would be amazing, but there is just so much out there! I’m interested in knowing where you would like to go if you could travel to a location, and spend 6 months there, without any cost to you. Feel free to specify more if you don’t see your country of choice on the list!

Have you traveled anywhere amazing already that you would recommend? I want to hear about it!

Thanks for reading and participating!

Jan

Dream Journal 2/3/16

Present day.

Kyle and I were living in Maine, in my grandparents’ old house. We had won a trip to some tropical location, and we were supposed to leave that morning. We were running around like crazy, trying to shove all of our suitcases and bags into the back of the car. The phone rang, and it was the travel agency, telling us that our flight was delayed half an hour.

Kyle and I went back inside, and proceeded to verbally make a list of all of the things that we could accomplish in the 30 extra minutes that we now had. I got online and started looking up maps of the area we were going to, and making plans on what destinations to visit. Kyle started opening all the suitcases, and packing extra things in them. After 30 minutes, we started moving everything back into the car, and then my phone rang again, and it was the travel agency, telling us our flight was delayed another 30 minutes. We went back inside, and repeated the process.

After another 3o minutes, we would outside, and there was an elderly man standing by our car. He asked us where we were going with his car, and we told him he was mistaken, because it was our car, and we were in a hurry. He slammed his hands on the hood, and told us he wasn’t going to let us leave. We put the car in reverse and drove away, with him screaming in our driveway.

As we were driving, the travel agency kept calling my phone, and I let it go to voicemail each time. Once we got to the airport, we found out that our flight had left almost 2 hours prior, and that there was nothing we could do. We called the travel agency, but the line had been disconnected. We asked the people at the airport if there was anyway we could get a different flight, and tried to explain that our agent was mistaken and we couldn’t get a hold of her. They told us they would look into it, and that we should stick around.

We started walking around the massive airport, and decided to stop and get food at McDonald’s. They called our name over the speakers, and we went back to the desk. They told us there was another plane leaving in 10 minutes, but it was a longer flight, but we could go on it if we wanted. We agreed and got on the plane, where we were seated in first class.

The other passengers were boarding the plane, and all of them glared at us as they got on. We tried to ignore them, but one woman “dropped” her water bottle on me, while it was still open, and I stood up and pushed her. Then we starting throwing punches. No one stepped in to help, and everyone just stood there.

And then I woke up (but I was totally winning).

Random Prompt | Travel the World

“What are some places around the world you’d like to visit, but haven’t made it to yet?” – @mageic via Twitter

There are quite a few places that I want to visit, and a handful of them are located right in this country! One of the top ones on my list is located in my home state. I was born and raised in Maine, yet never visited Acadia National Park. That has always been a huge item on my bucket list, and I someday hope to bring my husband and son back east with me to see the ocean, as neither of them have, and to see Acadia National Park. The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, and The Redwood Forests are also places I would love to travel to for the first time.

Outside of the U.S., the places I’d love to visit are much more broad. India, France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, England, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Australia (if I’m wearing a full-body bug net)… you get the idea. There are a few specific, foreign gems that I would love to see, like the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, the Roman Colosseum, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu… the list goes on and on for a few hundred more pages.

There is so much beauty in the world, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience even a small percentage of what this planet has to offer. I’ve seen the ocean, climbed (small) mountains, been to New York, Boston, and Chicago, and experienced some of what they have to offer. I’ve been to science museums, art museums, famous zoos and aquariums, taken tours, hiked trails… But the United States is a newborn baby compared to some of the countries out there. There is so much to explore, and so much to learn, and I can only wish that some day I can afford to take my family to see even a tiny fraction of it.

What is the most exotic place you have ever visited? Would you recommend it? Where do you want to travel some day?

Thanks for reading, friends.

Jan

Daily Prompt 1/13/2016 | Invisibility

The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt 1/13/2016 | Now You See Me

“You have a secret superpower: the ability to appear and disappear at will. When and where will you use this new superpower? Tell us a story.”

Are we talking a bad ass cloak, or an actual power? I want a cloak!

I’d like to think that I’m mature enough to only use the power of invisibility for good, but I know myself too well. Sure, I’ll stop all of the random robberies on the street that I see, and scare the crap out of mean kids that I see bullying others… but knowing me, I’ll also track down people who bullied me and my friends in school, maybe pull their pants down in public or something…

I probably wouldn’t commit any crimes for myself, like robbing a bank, or stealing priceless artifacts from museums, because I feel like having this power wouldn’t change who I am as a person, and that I would still have all of my morals. With that being said, I might take jobs doing related things for wealthy people, where I don’t ask any questions, do as I’m told, remain ignorant, and make enough money to live well. I’d make one hell of a super spy, that’s for sure.

And just think about how amazing you would be as a journalist, or a reporter of some sort, if you could go anywhere, at any time, and get recordings and photographs of anything you wanted. That would be amazing. Think of all of the horrible, corrupt people that you could take down, all of the truths and lies that you could reveal. You could do amazing things for the world, and right so many wrongs!

I think what I would love the most, is sneaking onto planes, trains, boats, etc., and traveling the world. I could visit countless countries, taking incredible, footage and close-ups of animals that don’t normally interact well with humans, without fear of being mauled or eaten. What an experience.

In my scenario, of course, that anyone I’m touching would also turn invisible, as long as we are touching, so that I could bring my son and fiance around the world with me. That would be amazing, albeit a bit tricky.

The possibilities to do good and explore are endless, but the possibilities do go not-so-good and make a bit of profit are tempting as well. Maybe dabble in a bit of both? Hmm.

Thanks for reading, friends. What would you do?

Jan

Daily Prompt 1/8/2016 | Luxury

Daily Prompt 1/8/2016 | Keeping up with the Jones’

“Tell us about the one luxury item you wish you could afford, in as much detail as you can. Paint a picture for us.”

An item? No. I want experiences.

Growing up, my family never took many vacations. I have photos in a photo album of my mom, grandfather, and I in Florida, but I was just a baby. I have no memory of the trip, aside from a few photographs, and some old VHS footage.

Each year, until I was around 14 or 15 years old, my mom and I would drive to Hartford, Connecticut to visit with our cousins and a few days, but I never considered those trips to be much of a vacation. We went to the water park a few times, but most of my memories consist of sleeping on a creaky pull-out couch in their basement, and playing kickball with the neighborhood kids in the street, which is something I could have done at home, only afterwards, I could retreat to my own bed.

No, we never went on vacations when I got older. Our neighboring town had several fun parks and water parks, where all the high school kids would get jobs, and we would go there a few times each summer (we were too poor for season passes), and that was always great, but it was a 15 minute drive from home. Not a vacation.

We never stayed in hotels with overly chlorinated pools, or even really left the state at all. We never traveled to sunny, sandy locations to escape the Maine winters, or even up north a bit more to try our hands at skiing. I never got to hold a koala, or smell a vibrant, exotic flower. Nope. We just stayed home.

It isn’t my mom’s fault, I’m sure she would have loved to get away. But we were poor. I understand that now, especially since I have my own child to think about. Kids are expensive! If you’re living just at your means, then an exotic cruise or vacation probably isn’t in the books for you either. And it sucks.

I want my son to fly in an airplane. Or even take a train. I want him to visit ancient cities, tour museums, and sit on sandy beaches. I want him to try exotic foods, and see beautiful flowers that you can’t find here in the US. I want him to have these experiences that I never had, so that he will have a better understanding of the beauty that the whole world possess, not just what lies in his hometown.

That is the one luxury I wish for more than anything. Travel. Experience.

Thanks for reading, friends.

Jan

Dream Journal 12/5/15

Most of the animals were roaming free, with only the most dangerous animals residing behind low, wooden fences. Tigers, rhinos, hyenas… sitting behind wooden fences, which could easily be climbed or jumped over. Either no one noticed, or they just didn’t care.

Present day.

Kyle and I took Liam to the zoo, but there weren’t really any cages or exhibits. Most of the animals were roaming free, with only the most dangerous animals residing behind low, wooden fences. Tigers, rhinos, hyenas… sitting behind wooden fences, which could easily be climbed or jumped over. Either no one noticed, or they just didn’t care.

We noticed. We cared.

Instead of leaving the zoo, we walked around trying to convince everyone that we came across that the zoo was extremely dangerous, and that we all needed to leave. No one listened. They all went about their business, with creepy smiles plastered to their ignorant faces.

I put Liam on my shoulders, and we ran around frantically, trying to find help. The more time that passed, the scarier the zoo became. The more docile animals suddenly started becoming aggressive, lunging at unsuspecting zoo visitors, violently attacking them. The more dangerous animals crept closer and closer to their shoddy fencing, growling and being terrifyingly menacing.

The scary animals were moving in slow motion, like an awful horror film. Each time I turned to look, the were closer to their freedom. And they were all eyeing us.

The color slowly started to fade from my surroundings, and I lost Kyle. I was at the far edge of the zoo, with Liam still on my shoulders, and we were walking out into a field. There were cherry blossom trees and a sparkling stream spread out in front of us. It was beautiful. I could hear the screams and the growling coming from behind us, but I felt oddly at ease.

Until I turned around, and walked back into the chaos of the zoo.

There was blood everywhere. Blood and dead bodies (all female, I believe). All the animals were gone, at least from the area that we were in. I found Kyle, who was sitting at a picnic table, eating cotton candy. He handed me my cell phone, which I had apparently dropped, and we started walking, stepping over dozens of dead bodies. Liam was still on my shoulders, pulling my hair, laughing happily.

The buildings and enclosures started to fade away (literally, they just started fading), and there were giraffes roaming around. I didn’t see any other animals.

We were in Africa now, in full color, or some other savanna-esque locale, but there was a large city in the distance, lcoated at the base of a mountain chain. There were prides of lions scattered around, but they left us alone. There was also a huge bird flying over our heads, but I have no idea what kind of bird it was. It cast a huge shadow.

I also vaguely remember something about being in an Asian country, in a marketplace, but nothing else.

And then I woke up.