Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I love this picture of my mom. For one thing, it is just so her, in her big floppy hats and practical sandals. Also, it was taken at Butchart Gardens, and if you know my mom, she kind of seems like she belongs in one all the time. She is just so gentle and sweet and patient. And then there are SUNBEAMS visible in the photo, which just completes it for me. She HATES having her picture taken. I think I sucked all the attention-seeking away from her. She gifted it to me when I was born, so she hates to be the centre of attention, hates to be photographed, hates to be noticed...sounds like the opposite of me, right?

Anyway, I helped her book a little trip for her spring break a couple of weeks ago, which was majorly momentous because she never takes vacations. And she is going with a friend, not a family member, so I am so proud of her. Girl gonna have some fun! But now she has caught the vacation bug. The woman who needed me to look up flights for her a mere few weeks ago, is now hopping around on all the travel web sites, looking for "deals" and just reported to me that Vegas is on sale for $99. She is making grandiose plans for roadtrips down the California coastline, with maybe a stop in Louisiana, followed by a quick jaunt to Stockholm to see where the Olsons originated.

I get it. Planning vacations is completely addictive for me. In fact, I think I like planning the trip more than taking it. I love pouring over web sites looking for that ideal combination of beautiful beach, delicious food, and most importantly "bargains". I love reading tripadvisor comments and assessing, based on the person's demographic, whether I want to trust their opinion or not (like, why do all of you Americans expect Mexico to be like Los Angeles?). My favorite challenge now are non-package combinations, where I have to search for flights, hotels, cars, all seperately, because the destination is not package-friendly.

It's a problem. Yet another addiction to overcome. Well, I got over Bread Addiction, I can get over this. Because of course, the moment I hit PURCHASE, the rush ends, the trip is booked, and I have to look for another way to get my travel-booking hit. That is why planning trips for other people is so great. You can have all the fun of careful planning, but then they have to fork out the money and take the trip. Perfect.