Category: Wanderlust

Cool Dwellings: Airstream Trailers

I have a strange fascination with RVs and trailers.  When I was a kid, I took a road trip with my sister, mother, and grandmother in a Volkswagen Westfalia camper-van.   I loved it.  I think it has something to do with the small space and efficiency – there’s a place for everything, and everything is in its place.  Oh, and the fact that your dwelling can move?  Super cool.

I saw this photo slideshow on the Dwell Magazine website – this guy lives in a vintage 1950’s Airstream Trailer.  He keeps it parked in one spot most of the time, but also takes it on-site when he’s working on a landscape design (he’s a landscape architect).  The accompanying article is here.

Now I really want to go on a road trip…

Photo Inspiration: Roth & Ramburg

I was just catching up on my design blog reading, and came across this post featuring Applied Arts Photography Award winners Roth & Ramburg.  The Calgary-based photographers won seven awards for their Newfoundland road trip self-promo calendar and postcard.  They blogged their trip, and turned the whole thing into a promotional piece.  While that sounds like a whole lot of work to me (traveling is for fun and vacationing, not for work), it obviously worked for them.

Aren’t these images gorgeous?  They make me want to go to Newfoundland.

Summer Road Trips

All this hot weather we’ve been enjoying lately has me thinking about our summer plans.  While Ian and I don’t like to take big trips in the summer (we prefer to travel in the off-season to avoid crowds), we do like to fill our summer weekends with fun activities.  A friend put this up on Facebook yesterday:  the Top 10 One-Day Road Trips from Toronto.

How cool are some of these?  Despite the obvious choices (Collingwood, Muskoka), there are some other, closer alternatives.  I went to Belfountain when I was a teenager – I remember getting an ice cream and playing in a stream.  And I’ve always wanted to go to Picton – I hear it’s foodie heaven out there in Prince Edward County.  The only thing I see missing from this list is Creemore – it’s a great day’s drive from the city, and you can visit the brewery and poke around in the small town.  The Mad River Tea House isn’t there anymore though – they moved to Collingwood.

Above photo of the suspension bridge at Belfountain Conservation Area by Flickr user Snuffy

Travel dreaming: Scotland

After last night’s Frightened Rabbit concert, I’ve been dreaming of all-things Scottish lately.  Aw heck, who am I kidding… I’m almost always dreaming of all-things Scottish.

Ian and I went to Scotland for our honeymoon, and we both fell in love with the place.  It’s moody and rainy and windy and kind of mystical and wonderful.  We loved the old buildings and history of Edinburgh, and the slightly gritty, urban, art-filled Glasgow.  But our hands-down favourite part of Scotland was the Highlands.  The “big” towns of Oban, Fort William, and Inverness are lovely, and the tiny little towns like Inveraray and Mallaig are so charming.  Kind of like living inside Hamish Macbeth.

I like to travel to new places, and not repeat the same trip twice.  But I really want to go back to Scotland.  And if we did, we’d try and rent a cottage like this or maybe like these.  Can’t you imagine cozying up in front of the fire while the Scottish countryside sprawls outside?  Gorgeous.

Photo of Loch Shiel taken from the Glenfinnan Monument by yours truly.  Wanna see more photos from our trip to Scotland?  Click here for the Flickr set.

Discount Travel Emails

Every Wednesday, I get three special emails in my inbox, listing the best travel deals that week: TravelAlerts (specific to Toronto), TravelZoo Top 20 Deals (the Canadian edition), and TravelZoo Top 20 Deals (the US edition).  Sometimes the deals from the US TravelZoo are so good, it’s worth the drive to Buffalo.

I’ve never actually booked a trip from one of these emails, but it’s nice to know what’s on sale.  And it’s a lovely 5-minute break to read the deals, and dream about traveling…

You can sign up for the emails by clicking on the links below:

TravelAlerts

TravelZoo (Canada)

TravelZoo (US)

Outer Banks’ Storms

I’m always dreaming of travel.  Trips I want to take, trips I hope to take, far-off places I want to experience…

Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time looking up information on The Outer Banks, in North Carolina.  I’ve never been, and always wanted to, and that’s the best reason to go anywhere, if you ask me.  And, they’re within driving distance.  We’re thinking of packing up the car, bringing the dog, and renting a beach house for a week or two in September.  I’ve been dreaming of fresh seafood, sitting in the sun, and storms.  Yup, storms.  I was born in Florida after all, and I think it’s in my blood… sitting on the beach, watching a storm roll in.  Sounds like a Bob Seger song or something, but I’m serious.  Just look at this gorgeous photo taken by Flickr user Harold Stiver.  See what I mean?