July 25, 2015 - Tanya continues her Summer Travels!

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: NEW HAMPSHIRE

Family Fun in the Sun!

Howdy Folks how y'all doing?

Today we are coming at ya from Bedford, New Hampshire!

We are here visiting cousins...who else?! 

Arriving here yesterday, which happened to also be National Cousins Day! 
And we have been chillin' out and catchin' up with family members that we only get to see about once a year.

We started our day out yesterday in Laconia, New Hampshire and made our way around 
Lake Winnipesaukee, which is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region. 
At approximately 21 miles long and between 1 to 9 miles wide (NE-SW), covering a total of 69 square miles. 
The beautiful lake contains at least 258 islands!!! Half of which are less than a quarter-acre in size, and is indented by several peninsulas, yielding a total shoreline of approximately 288 miles (the driving distance around the lake is 63 miles).

We were heading to Wolfeboro which is the Oldest Summer Resort in America & The Jewel of Lake Winnipesaukee™.

Nestled on the eastern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee and surrounded by the pristine beauty of forests and mountains, Wolfeboro is a quintessential New England community with a rich heritage.
In the summer the town bustles with sight-seeing, concerts, summer theater and craft fairs. Sports enthusiasts enjoy boating, fishing and swimming. Shoppers delight in the many locally-owned shops and boutiques.
In the fall, spectacular foliage creates photo opportunities at every turn. Nearby country fairs abound with a cornucopia of produce, farm animals, and crafts. The crisp weather invites long country walks and evenings by the fire.
Under a blanket of glistening snow, Wolfeboro becomes a winter wonderland for skiing, snowmobiling,
skating, ice fishing and more.
“Ice Out” on Lake Winnipesaukee heralds the onset of spring, syrup flows from the maple trees and a
delicate green mist decorates the forest, the harbinger of the summer to come.
(Courtesy of Wolfeboro Chamber of Commerce)

After some lunch and a lovely stroll through town we caravanned with my dad and Grandma onward to Bedford, NH.

Although the weather was mild (which I LOVED) the kids were eager to throw on their swimwear and hit the pool! 

More cousins came over to visit and more fun was to be had...

Dominic hitting a wiffle ball for Oakley to fetch!

Dinner was out of the deck and then most of us had come inside for reprieve from the hungry mosquitos that came out for a nibble.

We then just vegged in front of the TV to watch the sad, but good movie 'The Fault in our Stars'.

As for today... 
The men went fishing, Cosette went to a visit a farm and the rest of our day will be filled with some more visiting, more cousins coming over, more swimming, more laughs and a possible fun visit to 
Funway Park.

Hope that you have a Fantastic Day doing whatever makes YOU Happy!

See ya back here tomorrow,
-T 

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP IN SEPTEMBER

Time to Recharge the Battery

GREETINGS FROM WEST HAMPTON!!
After spending one night at home, I'm away again, this time at my summer house on the East end of Long Island!

Last night was a gorgeous evening!  It was dry and breezy and I enjoyed a delicious meal at one of my favorite restaurants in West Hampton Beach, Margarita Grill.  You may enjoy reading about this local eatery, featured in Foodie Friday last Summer. (CLICK HERE).

Me and Kelsey in West Hampton Beach last night

Dinner at Margarita Grill

I feel like today is a bit of a catch up day. Need to catch up with some friends, catch up on some much-needed writing, catch up on some sleep and downtime.

I never got a chance to tell you yesterday about my very difficult night Thursday after getting home... I have always been the type of person that does not do well with a lack of sleep.  

While I can deal with deprivation when it comes to food and even sitting still for hours at a time, if I go more than a few days with less than 6-8 hours of sleep, I really do become a bit loopy.

Our Niagara-Toronto road trip had us running around quite a bit - all amazing fun!!  The last three nights of the trip, I was up into the wee hours of the morning writing, getting up pretty early and running and doing.

When I returned home Thursday late afternoon, I decided to head over to Starbucks (after going through mail, putting away groceries, emptying suitcases and tending to my garden) to catch up on some articles for our blog.  Slowly, I started to fade, but I was also, ironically very revved from being overtired.

I returned home at around 9pm and at that point, I really just had a mini breakdown.  I felt very emotional.  I started crying.  Felt sad and angry all at the same time.  And this was all happening while I was sorting laundry.

It was a quite a sight to see. I managed to get a decent night sleep on Thursday night, but, again, I had to get up and go Friday with lots on my agenda.  So, once again, today, I'm still not 100%. 

I'm really going to take this weekend to rest.  I'm planning on taking advantage of the peace and quiet out here and veg out by the pool and in the hot tub (which should also be great for my neck, which got a little crinked from crashing into the tree on the platform when I came in from zip lining Thursday).

I guess my little vent is over.  I'm just so grateful, I have this weekend to relax.  

With all the emotions of the past two days, I decided to get up super early today and take a walk down to my boat dock (remember, we have a dock, but no boat lol) and just sit in a reflective way.

Travel is wonderful but sometimes I need to recharge the battery and get grounded with myself, take inventory of where I am and where I am going - physically  and emotionally.

So there I was this morning all reflective and philosophical heading down to the dock with my phone and my camera thinking about how travel and living life are so similar 

Both are journeys. 
Both require planning
Both require an open mind for what you never planned for and a willingness to readjust your plans for the unexpected. 

I guess that is why some people take trips and others travel.  Traveling is an adventure. Trips are just arriving someplace and saying you've been. Traveling is about the experience. Trips can be done sleepwalking. 

Isn't that the same as life?  So many people think that just existing with their eyes half open is "traveling " the journey of life. I never wanted to be one of those people. 

The problem is  "traveling" in both the true sense of the word and the esoteric sense as a metaphor for life can wind up being very lonely. Finding ready, willing and able traveling companions is not always easy.

And on the journey of life, many can not see the infinite possibilities of embracing chance and leaving it in Gods hands, but rather cling tenaciously to their pre-conceived ideas of what life should be. 

My feeling is that if God opens a door, it's no accident. When Tanya and I missed our train stop for Bratislava on our European Rail Trip (Day 10) it was no accident. There was a reason. Perhaps timing is often the big variable. Maybe we were meant to get off that train in Bratislava later; maybe there was a reason we were to be on the train we eventually boarded at the next stop in Kuty. 

My point is we rolled with it.  Not the itinerary and plan we laid out, but we were safe and in Gods care and life would be okay. And it was!!

We garnered laughs, quiet time waiting for the next train to "just be" and were stronger for readjusting and figuring out a new plan to get us to the same destination. 

Not everyone has that tenacity or faith. In the end, it's all about faith when we "travel."  Trusting that what we find will somehow make our lives richer, happier and fulfill the plan God and the universe has for us.
 

My dock with our "renter's" boat

Just taking it all in

Sunrise view of the marina

Afterall, even though we think we are in control, it's just an illusion. I know that life has thrown me some wild pitches and today sitting looking at the water flowing, the geese floating along the surface,  the sun appearing higher and higher in the east, I meditated on asking for strength to know how to hit those curve balls out of the park and be the person I was put on this earth to be.  

A friend once told me life is not black and white, it's gray. No words could have been more accurate. Makes me think about how so many of us only see our lives with black and white outcomes and don't look for the gray solutions. There always is one. It's just our limited capacity that keeps us stuck in either/or "what if's." 

So are you just taking a trip or are you on a travel adventure??

Enough philosophizing for one day. Lord knows I'm just a travelin' cousin, certainly not a priest with a pulpit!! Thanks for listening friends and indulging my rantings today.

Have an amazing day and don't forget to read all about Tanya's great time at the lake in New Hampshire!


-E
xoxo