Travel bug

My relationship with traveling has gone from "meh, whatever" to "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" And the changeover from one to the other happened quite fast!

Growing up, my family and I didn't really do much traveling or vacationing. When I was 4, we and a couple other families from my town went on a 10-day vacation to Prince Edward Island. For years, the memories I had retained from that stayed in my mind as if it was THE vacation that might never be topped. Memories of swimming pools, parks, museums, rides and a particularly awesome dry lightning storm.

Ten years later, my sister and parents went to Toronto to visit a few of my aunts who lived nearby or slightly north in much less rural areas. That wasn't so much a "vacation" for vacation's sake as it was visiting relatives who didn't live within driving distance. It was my first time on a plane. We went to a few touristy spots including a water park, Casaloma, the top of the CN tower and a few days at my aunts VERY nice, fairly large house in Brampton. It was a fun time for a 14 year old.

Other than that, we would go camping for a night or two, spend a day at a park, a weekend at a relative's house an hour's drive away. Nothing big but at the time it was something to look forward to.

Up until last year, I remember saying that I don't think I could ever really care about traveling. Sure, I'd like to see certain places but it was never a necessity. I always figured going somewhere temporary wasn't worth the money put into it and I'd rather focus on more permanent things such as rent, the potential for moving somewhere else and other living costs.
It's so weird how things can change in the blink of an eye.

Last June, my parents took me on a 2-week trip to Germany and Holland. It's been over half a year and I still remember vivid details from specific events and things I did while there as if it happened today. At times, I get overwhelmed by memories from Europe and I actually feel a little homesick. It makes me somewhat depressed that there's a chance I might never go back over there again. I want to experience other countries but I also really want to go back to where I was.
A month later, I went to Toronto for the first time on my own for nearly a week. Again, it was a trip I thoroughly enjoyed because I got to experience the city on my own terms and I did fall in love. I know some people that actually hate Toronto but I really enjoyed it.

Since then, I've joined Adam on a few road-trips to Boston, which were also enjoyable. They were only weekend visits so I haven't been able to experience much but still enough to ease my newfound itch to travel.

Tomorrow, we leave for New York City for a week. My first time there and I'm excited! I'm not really sure what to expect in the way of everyday life in New York but I've got my mind set on different areas and things I want to see and photograph and simply experience. Will NYC have a bigger effect on me than Toronto? Will I want to scrap my plan to move to Toronto and make it a move to New York?

I never thought I'd like traveling but just the idea of seeing different places and meeting different people makes it so appealing. I like going to places and not so much doing touristy things. I don't care much for museums but I like exploring on my own, finding odd shops, walking through streets and parks and looking at architecture, record stores, coffee shops, landscapes, etc. Imagining as if I live where I'm visiting for the short time I'm there. It's a getaway in more ways than one.

Over the next week or so, I'll be updating with photos and stuff from my trip. Also be sure to check out the travels section as well. I'll likely include more photos in there by the end of it.