Small Trips Matter

Hello every one and welcome back. For the past few months I have been planning my overseas travel and that has taken up all my free time, head space and yes…..money. You often see memes shared around social media platforms saying things such as “all you need is courage to travel” or “money will return, time will not”. While those are both true, lets be honest here, to travel the world requires money. It isn’t cheap to cross locations off ones bucket list, especially when that list seems to grow in time, not dwindle. Can travel be done on a budget? Of course it can. Is it worth it? Absolutely! I have worked a lot of extra hours in the past 5 months to fund my addiction and I believe I am the better for it. You can’t have the sweet without the sour and trust me, when you’ve worked hard for something, no matter what it is, you will enjoy it all that much more. That being said, the overseas adventure isn’t the only thing up my sleeve. I do have some local (within Canada) trips planned as well. As always, I will be spending a few weeks back home on Fogo Island towards the end of July. I go the same time every year. With local festivals, activities and a window of great weather, most people seem to go home in that time frame therefore you get to see, visit and cross paths with a lot of people. The most bang for your buck per say. Other than posting pictures on Facebook, I have never really documented my many trips to Newfoundland. It is home to me and has rarely crossed my mind to write about it. That has definitely been a mistake on my part. I know a lot of people who have never been to Newfoundland or in part, Fogo Island, and they would most likely enjoy hearing about it. Afterall, you can’t even sit in a Dr’s office or thumb through a magazine on a plane now without seeing tourism ads for Newfoundland. That being said, going forward I will share my journey home with you all as well as other locations.

With the rest of the year almost all mapped out (see what I did there), I had some regular days off in June that I have been wanting to fill. A quick little adventure to keep me occupied. I have been grappling with a few different locations. I was leaning towards, and almost had booked, a few days in San Francisco. A place I have wanted to visit for years and still have yet to go. I was also tossing around Florida and even up to the Yukon. Any one of those would have been great but there is a place, just one province over that I have wanted to see for many years. It is so close but I have just never made the time. That place is Tofino BC. It is a little beach town on Vancouver Island as well as the most westerly point of Canada. I have seen so many pictures and tv travel documentaries about that area in past years and it has always maintained my interest. Not to mention that I have been to the most easterly point in Canada, Cape Spear Newfoundland many times. It is only natural that I visit it’s counterpart. After doing a little reading, pricing out airline tickets, car rentals and lodging, I found the deals and times that worked and booked it all. It is just a 4 day get away but jam packed with adventures. I will fly into Victoria, pick up my rental car and head north to Nanaimo and then west to the coast and into Tofino. That drive alone has been described as one of Canada’s best drives, with many things to see and do along the way. With such a little time frame, I am researching and trying to pick and choose what garners my attention and what will be sacrificed. Not an easy task. The whole area looks beautiful. Given I live very close to one of the most beautiful drives in Canada, the Banff to Jasper corridor, I know it takes many trips to experience it all so I won’t allow myself to be disappointed if I don’t see everything with this first trip. My main goal is to hike a couple of Tofino’s many trails, site see in nearby Uclulet and take in anything else I can in my time there. My last night I am spending back in Victoria to site see a little there and walk it’s infamous waterfront. A busy few days so fingers crossed the weather cooperates and all goes as planned. I look forward to posting from there and sharing my experience with you. It’s not always the big travel adventures that leave lasting memories, local travel is just as meaningful. Always explore your own country. For those of you who have me on Facebook, there will be pics…….lots of them hopefully. I will post a few on here as well and on my travelingnewf Instagram. Thank you for spending a little time with me today and hope to see you all back here soon.