My favourite time to vacation is during my least favourite time of the year: winter. I hate winter with a burning passion. It drives me up the wall. I can deal with it in December, around holiday time, since it’s cheerful and festive. I love the way Christmas lights look against snow. But honestly, once December and the New Year have passed, I’m done with winter. I despise it and complain about it constantly. During the months of January and February there’s not THAT much time to vacation, since the winter break was just over, and we know that March Break is around the corner (sort of). This year, we decided that we are going to do more winter-type vacations that are short and close to home (in an attempt to make me like winter more—my entire family loves it). My sisters and I decided to purchase a cottage up north in Barrie. Some weekends we share it and all go up, and on others we will rotate who gets it. There are many downhill and cross-country ski facilities near Barrie, and as well we can go Tobogganing and snow-shoeing. Since Barrie is only a couple hours away from Toronto, it’s a great weekend getaway, and our trips there have definitely improved my attitude towards winter! At least the weekends are enjoyable!
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m winter’s number one fan. Definitely not. This past Family Day and Valentine’s Day weekend, my husband surprised the kids and I with a trip to somewhere warm and sunny… Florida! Our flights left Friday morning so we took the kids out of school and headed on over to the airport. We were pretty worried, because winter travelling is not always the easiest. With the weather being as bad as it is, there is ALWAYS the chance of flight delay or cancellation. And even if you get out okay, coming back is worrisome.
Thankfully, everything went pretty smoothly. I had a great time in Florida. It gave me a break from the cold, and now I’m a little bit happier about the winter weather. But I know that the next time we hit the ski slopes I’ll feel a little better about winter! That’s what Winter Vacationing can do to you!