Month: March 2022

I’m planning travel.

Yeah, I know. I just got back from a trip. But I do love to go places, and if the world keeps on turning properly, I’ll be going lots of places in the next 7 months. Oregon. Paris. Florence. Washington state. Canada? Lisbon. Zagreb? San Francisco. Virginia.

In the Time Before, this wasn’t an unusual number of trips for me. In 2019, for example, I had an overnight trip at least once a month. Not only does travel inspire a lot of my writing, but it’s important for my emotional health. It refreshes me and gives me new perspectives.

Now, of course, everything is weird. Not only has the pandemic messed everything up, but there’s so much political and economic instability. Planning travel feels uncertain and actually doing it feels risky. I also have some guilt feelings about enjoying gallivanting around while so many people are suffering.

I guess the best I can do is try to make positive contributions to the world, do a lot of Plan B and Plan C and Plan D preparation in case things fall through or disaster strikes, and cross my fingers. And when things work out well and I do get to go somewhere, I can enjoy and appreciate every damn minute.

And when I go, I’ll share photos.

My husband and I just returned from a week-long cruise in Mexico. Yes, I was sad to get off the ship, and yes, it still feels as if the ground is rocking beneath me.

Our first stop was in Cabo San Lucas. I’ve been there a few times before. The sunsets are beautiful.

Then we went to Mazatlan, where we did a walking tour. It’s a really charming place. I especially loved the bright buildings in the old town. And there are cliff divers!

After Mazatlan we went to Puerto Vallarta. Beautiful beach and lovely views. We walked up a lot of steps.

Maybe it’s the tile roofs and ocean views, but Puerto Vallarta reminds me a little of Dubrovnik, one of my favorite cities.

Of course, since it was a cruise, we ate well. And I wrote in perfect comfort.

And now it’s back to real life and all the work I didn’t do for a week. But I’m feeling infinitely more relaxed.