It is too early for jokes

While driving my grandson, Corbyn, to his childminder on Friday, I asked him to tell me a joke. I have done this for years now, and considering he was only 3 on Monday, you might wonder what sort of jokes Corbyn tells.  For awhile, he never responded to this - mainly because he could not talk! So I would say "Tell me a joke" and he would look at me.  One day, however, I asked Corbyn to tell me a joke and he responded by saying "Joke".  Not bad for a little kid!  So I am used to Corbyn saying Joke whenever I ask him to tell me a joke.  But on Friday, after I asked him to tell me a joke he said "It is too early for jokes, I will tell jokes tomorrow!"   Quite a leap from "joke".

I didn't actually see Corybn "tomorrow" since we were busy with other things - mainly helping Whitney get ready for his birthday party on Sunday.  Corbyn stays with his daddy Friday night and Saturday day, so it was easier to do this with him not around!  We got fabulous helium balloons at Jac's Balloons in Ayr, one number 3 and one big Buzz Lightyear!  Whitney also requested the Ranch tortilla roll ups I discovered on the Pillsbury website. These are absolutely delicious and I never remember them - Whitney does though!  In addition to this, I made 73 tiny cupcakes and put a little arrangement together on a tray, this was fun and a real hit at the party. In fact, Corbyn hand-picked a cupcake and presented it to each individual guest! 

But before that, Jim and Jennifer came over Saturday night for a quick pizza and maybe to book some hotels for our trip.  Now I remember why I pulled the plug on us going to New England for the Fall, too expensive. I know I have said that before!  We literally spent hours looking at our laptops and maps and could  not even find one hotel or little apartment we could either afford, or agree on, or both.  It was a bit depressing and I think we were all wishing we had looked at the cost of hotels before committing ourselves to this trip.  We have even made the painful decision to only stay 2 nights in New York, instead of the 3 we had originally planned.

Eventually, we gave up on New York, our first stop and went on to Niagara Falls. We were luckier here.  Alan and I discovered Michael's Inn the first time we were there and knew it was affordable and a good location. And we got a booking there for about £35 a night, each!  Phew!  So we are staying there for 4 nights!  Will do day trips to Toronto, Niagara on the Lake and what ever else tickles our fancy.  It felt good to at least have this under our belts.http://www.michaelsinn.com/

Our mission has been to locate other hotels, etc, on our own and possibly discuss over the phone.  Plus, Alan's cousin in Washington suggested contacting runs Largs Travel.  Alan has done this and it might be very helpful for us.  At least a bit of guidance, and more knowledge about what is good and what to avoid, will help us have a better vacation!  http://www.largstravel.com/

My friend, Gina, is also very familiar with Boston, because she often goes there to visit her daughter.  She has given good advice too.  Every little bit helps when you do not have a clue about somewhere. 

Alex also very kindly invited us to stay with them when we are in Washington DC! So that will not only help with the pocket book, but will be fun too! Alan and I have stayed with Alex and Mindy before and they are wonderful hosts!  So we are really looking forward to seeing them again and meeting their daughter! (actually, I think we met their daughter when she was really, really small. But she is 16 now, so it will be a very different person we meet!)

The trip seems to be shaping up a bit and is beginning to seem like a good idea!  Let us hope that continues!

Let your dreams outgrow the shoes of your expectations. - Ryunosuke Satoro

Here we go again!

Well there is no time like the present to start a new travel blog!  So what if the trip is not planned to begin until May 18.  We have booked the tickets and the clock is now ticking! 

If you have read my blogs in the past, you must be familiar with the painful and painstaking way we plan a trip when we go with Jim and Jennifer!  And it honestly is worth the pain (and time). 

I have resurrected the travelling obstacle course title for two reasons:  1.  I haven't exhausted all four seasons yet!  2.  I personally, have been the obstacle course for 2012 trip planning this year and am very grateful to Jim, Jennifer and Alan for not wringing my little neck! 

2012 was the year we were going to Alaska!  This has been on the cards for a few years, we have done two cruises to the Caribbean but Alaska was always in the radar.  We even got my niece's family onboard (no pun intended) to go with us.  Fantastic!   (ultimately that didn't work either!)                            

 Jim and Jennifer came over a few weeks ago armed with laptops and maps and ready to push the send button to book the cruise and flight.  However, I got all sentimental about missing Whitney's birthday and stopped them from going ahead.  They left a bit confused and confounded, but not angry in any way.  I was sobbing because Whitney had made me feel awful. 

But then she and I talked about it, and she would have been out with her friends anyway since it is a Friday night and her son, Corbyn, stays with his Daddy on Fridays.  Who felt awful for a different reason?  Yes, me, again. 

In the meantime, Jim and Jennifer are ready and willing to go somewhere and they are good travelling companions.  But Alaska had lost its allure for me, not too sure about Alan.  I know he is desperate to go, especially after watching the David Attenborough tv program about it.  After my experiences of breezing by islands in the Caribbean, I am too afraid to commit myself to what might be a mediocre experience in Alaska.  I want to LIVE and FEEL Alaska and I can't see that happening with a cruise. 

We had discussed doing a "circle" of New England last year, and it was me again that stopped that.  I felt it would be too expensive to go during the Fall season.  We don't know the area and that would be the height of tourist season.  But this trip came up again and we decided to go for it and it sounds like it will be a wonderful experience, although probably as expensive as Alaska would have been.....

Last night, Jim and Jennifer came over again, armed with laptops and maps....again.  We found reasonable flights and I sort of zoned out.  I am not a very detail oriented person and once the major decision has been made, I start looking at other "fun" stuff, like New York Yankees baseball schedules!! 

This morning as I woke up, I realized we were flying home on June 4th, a Monday.  This is the beginning of 2 days off in the UK, for the Golden Jubilee celebrations.  and we were flying back on Monday morning, to arrive home at about midnight.  Why?  I know Jennifer thinks it will help with jet lag, but I think it might be the same or worse. Plus we would have been worried about getting up early enough, like 3am, to get to the airport, not had a quality evening, when we could have been on the plane already, and so on.

I leaped out of bed, sent emails all around, phoned Alan and Jennifer, and at this very moment, she is at our house, once again armed with her laptop so that they can change flights within the 24 hour grace period and get us on the plane home on Sunday. 

I need to make a resolution to pay more attention to all details, voice my feelings sooner rather than when it might be too late and be extremely grateful that those 3 people are blessed with a multitude of patience when it comes to me!

How beautiful a day can be? When kindness touches it! - George Elliston