Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

Less than 2 days. At times it seemed these last hours would never get here. My camera has arrived, so all is ready to be packed. Just need the time to pass. Folks on Barbados drop in to say hi, and set up a day and time to get together once I am there. Margaret is joining Bobbi and me for souse as soon as I land. We will more than likely meet up with Sue and her group...I will be made to feel at home and comfortable. Heard from Brad, he has a several friends that want to meet me and visa versa. Absolutely amazing! Virtual will become reality!  Friends of friends are e-mailing greetings and phone numbers are piling up. Loving it all.


Serious packing underway. How many pairs of shoes do I need to take, should I bring dresses(yes)? This will be the last part of the plan other than getting myself to the airport on time. After that, the pilots take control and I go into vacation mode. The stressed out Woman of today will evaporate as we soar above the clouds.....Is 9 in the morning to early to get a Rum Punch? Hmm....Maybe...we'll see. No rules, no lists, no "have to do", no more City overstress, no more waiting for this day to arrive!

Now to a secret, that will no longer just be mine. Working hard everyday, and having a very set routine is not a really bad thing to me.I have good friends and enjoy my life in NYC. It was the Winter Blizzard that got me dreaming, and that dream took on a life of its own as I fashioned it in my mind. Started with a need to colorize my bleak white landscape with greens and blues....was nebulous...where, when, and how were all blank spaces. There was just the need...or even lack, in which the space in my Vessel was created. My Soul was open to suggestions from all. I just wanted ....more...plain and simple. Wasn't sure if reality would take the place of my imagination. It was what  got me through walking in waist high snow drifts, freezing temperatures, and long Winter nights. A dream. It was mostly my online friends that helped shape this dream to its present state...Reality!

My planing was aided, abetted, shared and encouraged by so many.  Can't say anyone was against my going to to Barbados. There are no words that can express how amazing, how beautiful, how reaffirming of life this journey has been. That is the name I gave this blog...Journey to Vacation.That is what it has been for me. Like a vacation from the City many evenings when the weather kept me bundled up inside. So many have shared this journey with me. Hope they enjoyed it as much as I did....I Do...

Going to turn this Journey to Vacation to the....Journey of  Vacation....Please come along with me and enjoy it either Virtually or in Reality...All are welcome...

2 in the shade, better than 1!

See you all in Barbados! My time in Bim is going to be wonderful. Have total Certainty of that!!

A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles................

Nothing is mine except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what I imagine of it 

Seems each day will never end....Minutes stretch and linger. Wonder if that moment vacation starts will ever arrive? "Yes, yes of course it will, have patience". I hear you. Seems so backwards... working all year to get these next weeks off....Bartered pieces of my life for for this....on the other hand have total trust deep in my soul that its going to be great maybe even trans-formative time. There is no doubt at all that however it unveils itself, spectacular, will be part of the description. Have to let it all evolve as is should. Just let go.  Good advice! Think I will take it.

This will not work!

Now on to packing...in my head for the moment the dialogue goes like this, ...1) Want to take...2)  Need to take....and, the most important of all...3)  Will fit into suitcase. If I were going almost anywhere else many things would be bought after I landed. Everyone has warned me Barbados is very expensive, and to bring as much of what will be needed for these weeks as possible. Therefore packing toiletries, sunscreen(lots of that!), moisturizer,mosquito repellent,  and things like coffee and tea.  Clothes...Barbados is not the US, so cut offs and flip flops and hats to protect from the Sun are fine for day, but evenings....something more is needed, and therefore  more clothes than what I would have usually packed.  Three weeks! Three weeks of clothes. Can't remember packing for so long a vacation. Swimsuits,....forgot I even owned the ones I found..(Didn't need to buy that new one. Darn!..It is cute though) How is this all going to fit in?

My flight is a non stop. Longing to be on the plane. It will be the best moment, my whole vacation in front of me....4 hours....Have been assured  that customs and immigration will be short and painless. That mine is the first flight in, and the rush from Europe and places beyond starts after I am through and out of the airport. Great news. Feel really happy about this.

Message on FB from Bobbi...."What time does your flight land? I'll come get you".  Thank you! On a previous post, I said no plans out of the airport. How fast  has that changed? Hurray! Going to meet Bobbi and think also get to try the non pork version of souse,( I am not a meat eater), maybe have an Banks Beer too. Nice way to start vacation don't you agree?

Having a chat with Adrian , "which flight are you on"(lol) Continued chatting about the various beaches and ocean, and Reggae. "Do you scuba?" " No, snorkel, would like to learn scuba." "I do, was raised in the Ocean. I"ll teach you". Wow! Yes! Thank you. Also now know where to go to have a lively evening and hear a great Reggae artist Buggy Nhakente Fully Loaded. Going to be great!!     http://youtu.be/qeMdrVX_Epk

Party Time

Veronica...drinks ...same with Laura Lin, and Brad, (Actually he's my first FB friend from Barbados)

Ownway should be back in Bim  shortly...

Also want to meet Dawn...Joy... Patrick...Andrew...Kaye..Margaret...the list goes on...(smile)

Going to have a FB and friends get together...

Pan Pun de Sand with Bobbi ....

There are other Crop Over things to learn about and perhaps participate in ... Grand Kadooment

Some friends from NYC may fly down after all...

Want to see Andromeda Gardens, Harrison's Caves, and sail around the Isle for a few hours...and.....and.....


Sue has all sorts of outings planned with her group. Know I will  join in for some of those....

Seems all is evolving organically. Not an "alone" vacation at all.  Just being open, making the space, has provided me with an amazing experience. Its, well, delicious to be welcomed so warmly. Friends...that is the best measure of a journey, a life, and certainly a vacation. Three weeks is a nice amount of time to see much and meet so many friends as well as those still to be known to me, and at the same time have freedom to wander around on my own.

Going to spend a good amount of hours in one of those chairs. Probably the one most in the shade. Hope a friend or two will join me in doing......nothing....except, maybe sip an iced drink,  read, daydream, or even  sleep.....I am really liking my no plan, plan so far!

The best things arrive on time- take 2

To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.

Time for the Journey to take off and climb

July has finally arrived, the 4ths festivities are gone and Summer is here in full blast, high temperatures and the same for humidity. Thunder and  lightening storms are spectacular and almost as loud as the fireworks of last week. The blizzards of the Winter are alive in photos, but are a distant memory.  I recently heard someone saying,  "Its so hot, I wish it would snow."  Not my sentiment... Still here in NY, but my mind is slowly focusing on a week from now....Looking out to the sky and feeling that airline seat under me.

After the dedicated detective work to find and book air travel and hotel arrangements I am strangely reluctant to make any "plans" for my visit. I get off the plane and..................,

That is as far as I get in my mind. No plans. Maybe 'cause the immigration and custom lines of the past as the total antithesis of the words, relaxed, fun and vacation. Can't seem to imagine  me out of the airport. Perhaps its a safety mechanism to chill me out and let me work all next week? Friends ask, "What are you going to do there"? Enjoy and have fun is the only answer.  This attitude for me is not a usual. More of a take charge and lead. Now sorta floating between....all work has been done, and soon will be the time for my reward.

The very strangest part of this is that even though I have not set foot on Barbados in this lifetime, because of all the wonderful input, help, warnings, lectures, laughter, fun and support that I have been privileged to get from so many wonderful Bajans, it feel like I am visiting old friends. Only my memories are not old, rather they are fresh and young.

 This journey is part of a path.  My adventure – self-determined, self-motivated,  it will allow me to have firsthand encounters with  Barbados and Bajans. The land  people the way it and they are, not as I  imagine.  My body and soul will collide with the earth and sand and sea and people. Learning, experiencing,  adjusting even experimenting all as a part of living my life. I want to be a  traveler and not a tourist, so will change me. Nothing will  be the same. It can't be if I am not.....Guess I am going to find out!

"When we get out of the glass bottle of our ego and when we escape like the squirrels in the cage of our personality and get into the forest again, we shall shiver with cold and fright. But things will happen to us so that we don’t know ourselves. Cool, unlying life will rush in.” – D. H. Lawrence

Perhaps.......... ?

"All I want is a room somewhere far away from the hot night air"

 "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover".
                                                Mark Twain



Now lets see.....Vacation time- Check
                          Plane Ticket - Check
                          Gibbs Bay Inn - Check
                          Hilton Barbados - Check
                          Last 12 nights.........Oh dear
   
That is correct...after months of planning and research....12 nights....without shelter. There is no doubt in my mind that I checked out most of the places to stay in Barbados. Looked at the web sites of the ones that cost $$$$$$$ through the ones that cost $. From 5 star to no star. Inland, mountain, garden and beach. Nothing, no connection.

I leave in less than 2 weeks. Time to get serious. Lots of people have suggestions.Check on most of them. Actually Bobbi, Rude, Own, and Patrick all recommended the same place.Hesitated..( It was before Gibbs Bay arrangements) and by the time action was taken it was totally booked. The same happened with some very small guest houses. My needs and wants for the next stage of my vacation have changed a little, but not too much. Thinking that  having a place to cook my own meals, chill out with a glass of wine, or a rum punch, see and hear the ocean from my terrace and be out of the Sun (sorta know I will get a sunburn at some point of this trip) are important now. My goals are the same as before. Enjoy my stay...no hassle.

Sightseeing easy, fun, and natural. Swim of course no issue. Boating, yes please love to. Walking to and from the Gap is important. Actually my days are not the issue. Walking around (almost) anywhere.To and from evening activities.Not saying I wouldn't take a bus or a  taxi, after all I'm a NYC woman and taxis are a way of life here.


Sue tries to help me again. She talks to someone at one of her hotels, and gets me a nice place to stay. Something in me says...no..not there.Laura offers a studio to stay in. No, not there either. Brad makes a suggestion. No. I just haven't "felt" any of these places. My senses are not tickled. Honestly feel bad saying no....but say no I do. Starting to see how silly I'm being about  this. What a huge fuss! "Audrey just pick a place and make a reservation"! "What is your problem?" Annoyed with myself .

Still looking , now, some hotels are saying will not take online booking less than 14 days in advance. Wow! Is my vacation so close? Seemed like just yesterday...but no...it is in less than 2 weeks! Okay then girl! Get yourself a place and a room. No more of this lallygagging. And...magically (or so it seemed) a place I don't remember seeing before pops up on the net...then another. A check of both ..one no rooms available...the other? Yes! A room that I instantly fall for with a view of the beautiful ocean.

Coral Sands Beach Resort:
On the beach, self catering, pool, AC, internet, not small, not big, nice room, kitchen, near shops,easy to walk to the Gap, Accra, just 10 minutes or so from Hilton...easy move.This property is talking to me. The vibe is there and it is a good one. I check with a friend and she says "Perfect". I feel the same. Reservation via net..Done....... Hurray!!!!!

 I will enjoy this view

Now to go, meet, see, do, visit, taste, and experience. The fun begins...


Goldie Locks found her something soft and cozy too is my guess....Happiness

P.S. -  On reading the above post the stress of trying for a stress free vacation was very evident. Its important for me to really thank all the people that helped me navigate through this. When I said I was a stressed out woman that was no joke. Its been a very difficult year for me thus far. Many issues and obstacles besides huge snow drifts. It is a year that has held little delight and much angst. Most of that has been dealt with. So thank you all...Actually to many of you to re-name...But...I'm hoping to have a chance to thank each of you in person while in Barbados. Your kindness and grace was and is much appreciated. See you soon!

Passport Saga

There is nothing more miserable in the world than to arrive in paradise and look like your passport photo...............

In the midst of making travel arrangements a small notation on the very bottom of a page caught my eye.
"After 9/11 Caribbean Nations will only allow holders of passports that have more than 6 months till expiration to enter"  Huh? Oh oh.......I got my passport and checked it out. It would expire 5 months and 27 days after my return....Did that mean I would be turned back at Barbadian Immigration? Is this a joke? Doesn't seem funny to me. It is now 3 weeks before my trip. Want to understand, why 6 months? Seems arbitrary to me. Especially if one has a return ticket for much sooner.


I check out US Passports on the net and learn that it usually takes 3-4 weeks at this time of year to get a renewal. Oh!.I can make an appointment to get one sooner, but on the web site it says that will take at least 2 weeks and a day of standing in line. Also read that if i get new photos and go to a designated Post Office at a designated time, I may get some help. Got a photo taken at a local shop. Have to let you in on something..My last passport photo was the worst photo of me in creation. So, even though now 10 years older this is a vast improvement. 

My local PO is a designated one and I am there on time. Short line..Thank You. I give my Passport, photos, and renewal application to the woman behind the counter. "When are you traveling?" "July" "Where" "Barbados"..."You are? I just came back". We proceeded to have a great conversation all about her trip and my upcoming one. "Don't worry, you will have a new one on time". Credit card swiped and all papers signed and sent on a Wednesday evening.

My new Passport arrived the following Tuesday!

A journey to me leads to a place where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is - full of surprises

 Early June

What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do – especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.  


My first 3 nights are secured and I am very happy with my choice of Gibbs Bay Inn. You may ask....why are you going leave it  for another place? Good question...the answer is...after 3 days and nights snorkeling, maybe diving, and of some peace and quiet....I will be ready to have some other kinds of fun, and would have gotten my bearings. Want to go sightseeing, shop, art galleries, experience other beaches, go to those caves I have read about, explore other parts of the Island eat new foods, and kick up some fun at night too. Now that my travel companions have bailed...I want to be able to join Sue and her crew for some of these activities . So where do I stay?

As I was looking for another accommodation Sue sent out a list of hotels that she had an  arrangement with for those traveling through her to choose from. One of them was the Hilton Barbados. Yeah, OK I hear you ...a Hilton?? Too expensive and too little Barbados. Must interject that I like Hilton's, stay at them  frequently and agree that the photos of the one in Barbados could be a Hilton anywhere. They are a brand and its easy to know what you are going to get as a room when you check in. They are mostly the same....anywhere....that is part of the charm and part of the lack of charm in a chain hotel. This Hilton is close to Bridgetown, the Capital of Barbados. It has many shops and galleries, as well as being a port. Walkable.
Oh yes don't know if I said this before, really don't want to spend my days(or nights) driving. Will rent for a day or 2 if I have to, but really want to rely on my feet, bus, or taxi for transportation.

It is also the most expensive one on Sue's list. Now as adventurous as I have claimed to be in previous posts, I am aware of the fact that as a woman traveling alone there are certain issues that have to be addressed. Safety being one of them, comfort in just being by myself at restaurants another,  just walking around the town, and the ability to have random conversation with fellow travelers without raising eyebrows. I check out the other sites on her list, to be honest, only one other seemed OK for me, and it was the second most expensive. All of the hotels would have been checked out by Sue...it was my needs and wants that were the issue. If only I had a roommate this would have been so much easier.


 During the time I was was going through my Summer clothes to see what I needed to get for the warm weather both in NY and Barbados. In one of my drawers....all the way in the back of the draw....almost hidden....I found a large red envelope. It looked kind of familiar, but what? Inside... nicely printed out was a very generous gift certificate for travel that I had received seven years ago. It had been totally forgotten.  Surprise! Was it still good? According to the date....yes...Hey! Now this could be great!!

It was from a specific brand name travel agency...Were they still in business? Yes! Made a phone call...first office said no they no longer would accept the certificate...grrrr....OK..another call to one across town, "Sure come in and bring it with you". and so I did. Yes it was good,  and yes  could use it for Barbados, but not for every or any hotel. But.....it was good at The Hilton! So...a reservation was made for 5 nights at the Hilton Barbados. The travel agency even got me a really good rate. Almost like Divine intervention a second time in the planning of my journey.

First plane ticket price drops, now this....

Have no complaint about this gift! The Sun setting on the water will be a lovely view for me to enjoy.

Now I am all set for 8 nights.....The Hilton is still too expensive for me to stay for the rest of my trip.....So...Now what do I do? Still feeling like Goldie Locks....Have too hard(Hilton) Just right( Gibbs Bay Inn) am I headed for too soft? Wonder what will the next phase of the planning of this journey? Wonder of the vacation itself will be as interesting and fun?

Searching for Paradise.....

Paradise is open to all kinds of hearts

Well, well, well....I have 3 weeks vacation and a plane ticket for Barbados for 21 days. Much time was taken looking for a perfect place to spend a few days and nights converting to vacation mode. Life in NYC is great and I love it, but it is also a pressure cooker. My time away and hopefully void of stress is longed for. I am looking for ideal, for Paradise....want the Garden without the snake..... the Ocean without the serpent.

There is definitely a budget for this vacation. I was originally going for 2 weeks, but at the last moment changed to 3. My reasoning, a girlfriend was able to join me if I extended one last week. That didn't work out for her, she can't go, and now here I am....planned budget shot full of holes. Have some serious rethinking to do.

Meanwhile, there is one place where I must spend some time:

Gibb Bay Inn:

www.gibbsbayinn.com

Its a converted old plantation house across from beautiful Gibbs Bay and close to Mullins Bay,in St Peters on  the West coast of Barbados. Owned and operated by a couple, it seems to me a wonderful place to land. Toby Syson and I exchange several email messages and he makes me feel welcome even holds a room while I go through my 2 week/3 week vacation inner debate. Finally my plan is set. I will go directly from the airport to Gibbs Bay Inn. They will even arrange for a car to pick me up if needed. My  stay: 3 nights. Seems a quiet and elegant  space for me to convert to vacation mode.The cost for all this seems very reasonable to me.  Also the Inn is not a huge place or a small guest house where my being lone stranger would leave me feeling odd. Like Goldie Locks and the 3 Bears....this one seems just right! No bears in sight, just a really nice couple to help me get my footing.Hmm...wonder if there is an option for porridge?

The accommodations are just what I want and need. Lovely room, AC, ceiling fan, and internet, full cooked to order breakfast, and traditional tea in the afternoon, shaded areas by a lovely pool which will be used to full advantage; know that a challenge for me throughout this vacation is not to burn up in the Sun. Perfect! There is also a kitchen I can access as well as someone else to cook a dinner for me if that is wanted. This is going to be a wonderful time for me, of that there is no doubt.
Coffee in the morning is a must and being able to make my own is a huge happiness!

I see me in the above photo. Do you? The antidote to stress and City life. Have plans to walk a lot on that shore....early morning and just before sunset. Want to swim and float, and dive through the Atlantic. Think and dream..Just writing this makes me smile. Toby assures me that snorkeling, diving, boating arrangements will be made, as well as some dinner options awaiting my arrival. I will update this post after I arrive and post  stay. There is no doubt that this will be a interlude.

If you notice, seems I am basically alone through all of this. Not really my plan to be that way. These are my list of what to do and hopefully how my being will feel. There is no desire not to share with others, just a space created for me and room for another(others?) to share.

After changing plans several times to make it easier for different friends to vacation with me, I now acknowledge that this time is for me. There are lots of people on the island that know I am coming to visit. All know this is my first time here, and all know where I am staying. It will be interesting to see who spends time and who doesn't.I have taken the attitude that all that is supposed to occur will....and so there is no need for me to "make" plans before I need to. Part of this vacation is for me opening  to letting  events and people in my world and allowing me into theirs.

In the meantime.....Now that my first 3 nights are taken care of....Where will I spend the remainder of my Barbados Vacation?