Summer Vacation

I've really been grateful to God to be blessed with time and money to go and visit my relatives in the US. Last year, I spent Thanksgiving with my aunts and uncle in Chicago, Papa's siblings.  Even if it wasn't really long, I was still glad that I was able to spend time with them as well as meet my cousins for the first time. I was also able to spend little Christmas time last December with my another Tita and her family (still Papa's sibling). They drove from Virginia to New York and fortunately, around that time I was in New Jersey. Indeed, places become more memorable when you spend it with family and friends. 


And again, just this past week, I had the chance to visit Virginia. Not only Virginia, but also Quebec. Tita Merlyn invited me to join her family for a vacation in Quebec. It's timely because it's summer and I have been saving my vacation leave credits. The perfect summer vacation, I thought! And indeed, it was!


My trip went as going to Virginia (well, 2 connecting flights in between from Vancouver), then after two days, went on a 14-hour long drive with Tita Lyn, Tito Elmer and Shaun going to Quebec. (Kudos to Shaun who was the driver ;>)Then, after five days in Quebec, went back to Virginia and did more sightseeing. It was a twelve-day vacation. Sweeeeet, right?! Hehe...


Some of the highlights were the old Quebec city which was very European, the Baker restaurant which really served delicious cuisine, the underground mall in the city of Montreal, the beautiful architecture of the different church buildings in Quebec, the house of Thomas Jefferson in Monticello, Virginia Beach and Busch Garden. What I also enjoyed in Quebec is the French language. Finally, I was able to use my 'Bonjour!' and 'Merci!'.  Haha!


Well, enough of the places. My vacation was not just purely sightseeing. It made me think more about life. Listening to Tita's stories about how her life had been and how their life(at the time of my grandparents) had been (same story Papa would also tell us), reminded me to be more grateful of what I have now. And somehow, encouraged me more to think of long term goals and to take them seriously. It also reminded me to think less of my self and put family always as first priority. These are the insights I took back with me to Canada.


And of course, travel tips based on experience! Tita was very prepared with unexpected happenings. Some few tips that I learned for long trips...


- always bring raincoats, especially when you go to a place with unpredictable weather (like Canada...hehe); we got stranded for some time in a gasoline station because of a strong wind and rain, and we have to get out from the vehicle because the wind was so strong that the van was already moving; thanks to the raincoat, we didn't get wet...


- always bring emergency light devices; may not sound true, but it is...hehe....the resort we stayed in had a power outage and there was no generator! Good thing, Tita brought flashlights and candles...we had candle lit dinner! Hehe...


- if you are doing a long drive, bring more food! It will really help you save money...that is why we had the crabs travelled from Virginia to Quebec with us...hehehe...


- summer clothes on summer! I had to change my pants when we arrived in Montreal to shorts because it was very hot...no to dark colored shirts, yes to shorts and light colored-tops... Hehe...


Whew! Hope you have a great summer time too! It is really the best time to have a break from school or work. Any activity, need not to be expensive, as long as it refreshes you and let you get your mind off from the stressful things, go do it! Enjoy summer with family or friends!