Meaghan Elizabeth

10 Novels that Feature Camping

Published on July 2, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

When I set out to put together this list of books that feature camping, I was confident that it wouldn’t be all that difficult. Though putting together these types of lists is typically time consuming, I normally have a good basis of posts and lists to start from. Both Google and Goodreads have always been good friends in helping me sift through books to come up with a list. It turns out that this was not the case when it came to books that feature camping.

I soon discovered that there are not many existing lists to peruse. Though I am certain that there are many books that include some form of camping, they don’t seem to be grouped together or easily identifiable. Camping doesn’t seem to be a common keyword tag for novels. There are at least 2 books on this list that I only found because I spent time scrolling through my Goodreads “Read” and “Want to Read” lists, and I remembered enough about them to click through to the description.

Many of the lists that do exist are short and contain the same small handful of books, or they list books that contain some wilderness aspects and/or hiking but not camping. There are lists of books set at summer camp, but that was not what I wanted. It turned out to be very difficult to find fictional books that include camping. But I have succeed in putting together a list!

The books listed here feature camping to different extents, but I think they all feature it in some way or another. I have not read them all, but I have read a number of them and hope to add the others to my TBR for the future.

1. Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries by Tonya Kappes
This was the book that inspired me to write this list, and somehow made me believe that it would be easy to put together. If there’s one book, there must be more, right? This is the first in the Camper & Criminals cozy mystery series that is set in a campground in Kentucky. With campground politics to traverse and a murder to solve, this is a fun entry into the series and I look forward to reading the later books.

2. The Wild Inside by Christine Carbo
This is the first in the Glacier Park Mystery series. From the description, this might not be one to take along on your next camping trip unless you are okay with being scared of every thing that goes bump in the night. This mystery deals with grizzly bear attacks that appear to be instigated by a very human killer. As intriguing as this one sounds, I don’t think I’ll be too keen on sleeping in a tent too soon after reading it.

3. Hatchet by Gary Paulson
I read this book years ago while in elementary school. This is again the first in a series, though I think I only ever read the first book. The series follows a boy who is forced to survive in the Canadian wilderness after the plane he was in crash lands in a lake. All he has is the clothing on his back and a small hatchet.

4. Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
I came across this one multiple times before I added it to the list, because I was convinced that it was a non-fiction/memoir/self-help type book. But I was wrong. This is a contemporary novel about a recently divorced woman who lets her younger brother convince her to sign up for a wilderness survival course where she will spend three weeks in a remote area of Wyoming.

5. The Happy Camper by Melody Carlson
This book has quite possibly one of the cutest covers ever, but it might be stretching the topic a tad, because I’m not sure how much camping it includes. This is a contemporary romance novel that follows a woman who moves back home to help out her grieving and aging grandfather only to find that her mother has already taken over her old room. Things start to turn around when her grandfather gifts her an old run-down vintage camper that she resolves to restore with the help of a certain handsome gentleman from town.

6. Flamingo Fatale by Jimmie Ruth Evans
This is the first in the Trailer Park Mystery series, and from the description, it probably falls right on the edge of the camping category. When Wanda’s husband is found murdered with her favourite pink flamingo yard ornament, she quickly becomes not only the prime suspect but a target for the real killers. Wanda and her best friend need to catch the real killers before they get her.

7. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
This is the first book in the fantasy series The Queen’s Thief. While camping isn’t a main feature point in the book, and certainly not the rest of the series to my knowledge, the characters do spend a fair amount of time camping and hiking through the woods as they set out on a quest in search of a treasure. There are even stories at night by the campfire! This is a series that I quickly fell in love with, and I would highly recommend checking out.

8. Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
This is a young adult contemporary romance that features a group camping trip that goes south leaving the two main characters – best friends turned enemies – alone in the wilderness. Can the two stop fighting long enough to get out of the woods in one piece? And what will happen as their hidden feelings start to surface? This is one that I have had on my list for a while after reading, and loving, another book by the same author.

9. The Distance Between Lost & Found by Kathryn Holmes
I read this book quite sometime ago, and from my Goodreads review it seems that I had mixed feelings about it at the time, despite giving it 3 stars. I don’t remember it enough to say why I felt this way, so it might be worth a re-read. This story features a group of characters with a complicated history, that set out on a youth group camping trip. The three main characters become separated from the group and they need to overcome their history to survive and escape the wilderness.

10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Okay… so this one is really stretching it, but I didn’t love some of my other options so I decided to just go with it. This is a book that features the type of camping you might enjoy if you like your vacations with a touch of danger. And of course, by a touch of danger, I mean that chances are you won’t survive. This book gives new meaning to the theme of escaping the wilderness alive. Beware of changing landscapes and unpredictable killer creatures. “May the odds be ever in your favour.”

There you have it. 10 books that I was able to find that feature camping to some degree or another. I am certain that there are more books that I have read or heard about that include camping, but they were playing hard to get. Hopefully going forward, this topic will be something that I can keep in mind while reading, and maybe somewhere in the future I’ll be able to write an updated list with more titles.

Have you read any books that feature or include a type of camping that I have missed? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

Camping while Travelling

Published on June 30, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

In my post about Catching the Travel Bug, I wrote a bit about my relationship with camping. I love camping for it’s own sake, and I also love being able to incorporate it into other trips. Our trip to Nova Scotia included camping and, whenever we get to take our trip to Newfoundland, it will include a form of camping as well.

We include camping not only because we enjoy it, but also because it can help to bring down accommodation costs. Of course, the accommodation savings probably won’t draw you if you dislike camping, but there may be different types of camping, or camping type accommodations that you can consider.

Incorporating camping into a trip creates an experience different than you get staying in hotel type accommodations. And, though I would encourage everyone to consider it, I know that camping on trips is not going to be for everyone. For those of you who are interested in working camping into your trips, here are some of my thoughts on the benefits of camping as part of travel and some general things to consider when you’re planning this type of trip.

5 Benefits of Camping while Travelling

1. Reduced Accommodation Costs

It costs less to camp than it does to stay in a hotel. Especially if you’re staying in a tent. There are more up front costs, that can vary depending on your budget, and how you want to spend, but the per night cost is lower to camp. In some cases camping can significantly lower your accommodation costs on a trip. Even if you choose to stay in a park accommodation or cabin, which cost more than a typical site, they still generally cost less than a hotel type room.

For many of our trips, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in particular, we plan a mix of accommodations. Sometimes we stay in hotels, but the option to camp at least some of the time does wonders for a budget. I wish we were going to be able to take our camping gear with us to Newfoundland!

2. Reduced Food Costs

There is not much better than a camping breakfast.

This benefit depends a lot on what gear you own, but when you can prepare some of your own means you can significantly reduce your food costs. This is something you can sometimes do when staying in hotels type accomodations, but it’s more difficult to find hotels with meal preparation capabilities. Especially if you want more than microwaveable dishes. We love to plan fun places to eat into our trips. Eating out at new places is part of the fun of travel for us. But we try to lower our food budget by only eating out for some meals. You can reduce your budget significantly if you grab food at a grocery store for a few meals and prepare it yourself.

3. Increased Social Distancing

This isn’t something I would have included in this list before this year, even though I’ve always appreciated the way camping can let you retreat a bit from being around too many people. But this year, social distancing has become something to consider in trip planning. Not only are you able to keep distance from others on your own campsite, when you’re camping, most of the things you touch are only being touched by you and your family. You also know exactly when things were last cleaned.

Depending on whether you camp in a tent or trailer, and what type of trailer you have, you can increase your social distancing even more. Camping also has the added bonus of being outdoors (I know, I know, shocker). And being outdoors brings it’s own benefits along with reducing potential spread of illnesses.

4. A Variety of Accommodation Types

So, you hate sleeping a tent or don’t want to spend the money on equipment for something you’ll only do occasionally? That doesn’t mean that camping is off the table for you if you are wanting to try it out, or dip your toes in. There are many different types of camping accommodations available in many parks across Canada. And I believe that is the case in other areas as well, though I haven’t done much research into this.

Some parks have Yurts or oTentiks (exclusive to Canadian national parks), which are a cross between tents and cabins. Some camp grounds offer small trailers or cabins that you can stay in. These types of accommodations are more expensive than regular campsites, but they are often still less expensive than hotels, and they bring all the other benefits of camping. There are even places where, for an extra cost, you can rent camping equipment. This is especially good if you’re testing out camping and not sure you want to commit.

5. The Experience Itself

In my opinion, camping is its own benefit. There is something special about waking up while camping and enjoying a coffee while fully immersed in the beauty of the park or campground. You also can’t enjoy a campfire in a hotel. I know that not everyone will agree with me, and many just don’t enjoy the experience of camping, but I think it’s definitely something to try at least once. And that doesn’t mean you need to sleep in a tent.

I have also found that staying at a park allows you the opportunity to explore it more, or in a different way. You may be able to spend more time exploring the park if you’re not needing to leave to get to your accommodations. I love adding camping into my travels, it has always added something to the experience for us.

5 Considerations when Adding Camping into your Trips

1. What type of trip are you planning

Though I would like to say that camping can or should be worked into any trip, that’s not actually the case. Some trips aren’t ideal to add camping into. Obviously, camping doesn’t go fit into a resort based tropical vacation – but there are also other trips where it doesn’t work, or at least doesn’t work as well.

If your trip is going to be focused on big cities, camping may not be the best fit. You can make it work by staying on the outskirts of town and driving in, but there are times when staying within the city brings it’s own advantages, which make it more than worth it to spend a bit more to stay in a hotel type accommodation.

2. How are you travelling?

Depending on how you’re travelling on your trip, or travelling to get there, camping may be more or less feasible. When we drove out to Nova Scotia, we were able to plan for tent camping because we had the space to pack all our necessary camping gear. Road trips lend themselves well to camping for this very reason.

Because we are flying into Newfoundland, and then renting a car, our camping options are more limited. We aren’t taking our camping gear with us on the flight. Though it is theoretically possible, it was not something we wanted to do. We are still planning park accommodation type camping, however, which requires much less equipment. The feasibility of camping with your travel method is an important consideration.

3. Are you camping the whole trip?

The type of trip you’re taking, and how often you will be moving from one place to another, will help you decide how much of your trip can be camping. Sometimes it makes sense to spend the night in a hotel type accommodation. Maybe you are just stopping to sleep after a long day of driving or travelling, and setting up camp, especially with a tent, will be too much added effort. Or perhaps you’re spending a day or two exploring a city and it makes sense to stay within the city as your home base. There’s nothing to stay you need to camp the whole time, and there’s nothing to say you can’t camp the whole time either. We’ve certainly done both types of trips. Figure out what works best for you trip.

4. Where are you going to camp?

Sometimes camping can be part of the experience – take these adorable camping caravans I stayed in just outside of Amsterdam. Camping Zeeburg was the perfect spot for exploring Amsterdam and the experience was one I will never forget!

This consideration may seem obvious, but there are many parts to this question. What are you looking for from the campground? Some campgrounds are best for short stays or certain types of camping but don’t offer much in terms of sightseeing. Others are good for the hikes and the sites as well as the camping. Both types serve a purpose on a trip. If you were already planning on visiting provincial or national parks as part of your trip, it might be worth it considering camping there for a night or two (or more depending on your trip). This would give you so much more opportunity to explore the park and soak up the experience.

5. What Type of Camping are you going to do?

This point ties in with what I talked about in the ‘how are you travelling’ consideration. You need to decide whether you want to camp in a tent, a trailer, or in park accommodations. Now, some of this will depend on what equipment you own and your budget. You can rent a trailer or RV, but this will add expenses that you need to consider. Not to mention, most trailers and RV’s come with a learning curve that you should be aware of.

Each of these types of camping have different advantages and disadvantages. And some will work better for some people more than others. I know plenty of people who strongly dislike tent camping but they love trailers or other park accommodations. I’ve done plenty of tent camping, because it can be easier than a tent trailer depending on your trip. But I’m looking forward to when we get our new trailer, because the easy set up will be great for road trip stops.

These are just some of the benefits and considerations for working camping into your travels and trips. Camping is great as a trip in and of itself, but it’s also great as part of other travels. Since camping is such a big part of my adventure and travel experience, I am probably going to write quite a lot about camping. Let me know if there’s anything you would be interested to hear about!

What about you? Do you enjoy camping either on it’s own or part of other trips? Is there anything you would add to this list of benefits and considerations?

Until next time,

10 Fictional Destinations I’m Dreaming About Right Now

Published on June 25, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

Do you ever read a really great book and wish that you could visit the world contained within it’s pages? Do you ever wish that you could take a road trip to the fictional town in your favourite television show or movie? Because I do.

I spend more time than I should probably admit, dreaming about and imagining scenarios where I am immersed in a fictional world. Sometimes, in the case of a long series, I spend so much time in the world that I can almost believe I’ve actually been there – especially when the author or creator is skilled at detailed world building.

Last post I talked about the 10 Trips that I am dreaming about right now. Since there’s not much travel happening this year, dreaming and planning is almost all that can be done in the real world. Luckily, there are no travel restrictions in place when it comes to fictional destinations, so I’ve spent some time thinking about the fictional destinations I would most like to visit.

This list isn’t exhaustive. Some locations were left off because I wanted to include some “off the beaten path” locations. There are also some worlds that are very well written and detailed that I didn’t include because I’m not sure they would make great tourist destinations – I’m looking at you, Panem. That’s not to say that the below locations would be completely safe for tourists. But after much deliberation, these are the 10 fictional places that I would most like to visit right now.

1. Narnia

This might be an obvious destination to include on a list such as this, but I just couldn’t pass it by. Because of it’s very nature, it’s a world that lends itself well to travel dreams. You can almost believe that you might be able to stumble upon it someday. When a world can be accessed through a wardrobe or a work of art, it feels almost within reach.

It might not always be the safest of travel destinations, but it is the one that I most wish to visit. I would love to see the lantern in the woods and the home of the Beavers. I would also really love to sail the seas on a ship with Prince Caspian. But I’d want to make sure to not get involved in any quests or dangerous journeys.

2. Middle Earth

Hobbit Houses in the hills. Image by Nel Botha from Pixabay

Speaking of dangerous journeys… I would love to visit Middle Earth, as long as there are no potentially world ending wars going on at the time. You would need to set aside a good length of time for a trip to Middle Earth. I don’t think you could fit all the big locations in a two week trip, so plan for at least a month.

I wonder if Rivendell would allow tourists. That is definitely one location that I think would be the most difficult to arrange. I imagine a limited number of very expensive accommodations. I also wouldn’t want to miss having a drink at the Prancing Pony in Bree and taking a guided tour of the Lonely Mountain… so many locations, so little time!

3. Discworld

This destination is less well known than the previous two. This is the world in Terry Pratchett’s series of the same name. This is another world that could be dangerous, even for tourists, but I think with a good guide you could possibly manage to avoid some of the dangers. There would be a lot of research required beforehand though, even just to make sure that you had paid any of the necessary guild fees associated with a visit to the city of Ankh Morpork.

My top priority for this trip would be Ankh Morpork and the surrounding cities. I would also like to visit Uberwald, though I acknowledge that there are additional risks involved in visiting that area – such as vampires and werewolves to name a few.

4. The Lost Cities

These are the cities of the Elves and other magical creatures from Shannon Messenger’s series “Keeper of the Lost Cities.” Since I have only read the first 3 books, I have a lot to learn about what it would be like to visit this destination. I would definitely schedule in time to visit the magical creatures reserve, and Atlantis would be high on my list of priorities as well. I’m sure there are many other activities and locations that will be added to my travel itinerary as I read more of this series.

5. Space, The Final Frontier

The Earth from space. Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

This is space a la Star Trek. In real life I’m not sure whether I would actually want to go into space. If road trips and air travel can give me anxiety, I can’t imagine what space travel would do to me… But this list isn’t about real world, it’s about fantasy. And one of the first destinations I can remember wanting to visit was space.

I don’t want to get involved in any dangerous missions, but since the Enterprise’s primary objective was to explore new worlds… hopefully we could avoid any dangerous missions. I would be fine with exploring the known worlds, or even just going on a sightseeing jaunt around space. “Now, if you’ll look out the window to your left, you’ll see the planet Vulcan…”

6. The Book World

If you haven’t read the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, then you should definitely check it out for so many reasons. The Book World is the world of all stories, where book characters live and the books are played out. I’m not sure how best to explain this, but essentially the book characters “live out” the book they’re from on repeat as people read it. Characters from popular books are busier than those from less read books.

In this world you can visit pretty much any novel. Some of the later books in this series even describe tourist groups to this world, though they are somewhat problematic, and not seen as entirely positive. I am fully of the opinion that the Book World should be protected and not be filled with high numbers of tourists, but I would still love to visit. This type of trip brings with it so many possibilities! I would also be amenable to visiting the world where Thursday lives.

7. Storybrooke and The Enchanted Forest

This is the world from the TV show Once Upon a Time. I suspect that this could be a bit of a dangerous place to visit (I’m sensing a theme here) but maybe it wouldn’t be too bad for tourists? I would love to eat in the Diner, pop into Mr. Gold’s shop, and visit all the key locations in both worlds.

I can imagine a walking tour that goes through the “history” of the town and it’s residents. There would be so much to hear and see on this type of tour with a good guide. I would like to take a similar trip to the Enchanted Forest, though I suspect this would need to be more of a bus (carriage?) tour. I would also like to visit Hook’s ship… especially if it’s Hook giving the tours.

8. Camp Half Blood/Camp Jupiter (by Rick Riordan)

I couldn’t figure out how best to include this destination on this list, since much of the enjoyment of the series is following the main characters on their quests. And while a quest could qualify as adventure tourism, I’m not sure I would like to sign the waiver form for a trip like that… so I settled on a visit to the camps. I think that you could get some of the experience, with less of the danger… at least in theory.

If anyone is wondering, I would like to stay in the Poseidon cabin during my stay at Camp Half Blood and I think Leo’s workshop at Camp Jupiter.

9. Red London

This is one of the London’s from V.E. Schwab’s “Shades of Magic” trilogy. This is a fantasy series that features 4 different parallel London’s. There’s Grey London, which is a version of London most closely related to the one that we would know. Then there’s Black London, which is located in a dead world, and White London that is located in a dying world. The London that I would like to visit is Red London.

This is a London where magic exists. It’s not perfect and, like many destinations on this list, it would have it’s share of dangers and places to avoid, but I think that it would be such a fun city to explore. I’m not sure if I would like to visit more places in the Red London world, or if I would confine myself to the city, but either way it would be a memorable trip.

10. Asgard (Marvel)

Once again, I feel the need to add the disclaimer that this might not be the safest of locations to visit. I also acknowledge that there are some spoilery things that would greatly affect a trip to Asgard. But let’s just pretend that we would be able to visit the world prior to those events.

I think that this would be such a unique location to visit, and getting there would be half the fun with the rainbow road! I would love to explore everything about this world and would probably take way too many pictures of the buildings and architecture. I’m not going to lie, I would also spend a great deal of time attempting to get a glimpse of a certain god of mischief… even if running into him would be one of those dangers I mentioned earlier!

These are the top fictional places that I would love to be able to travel to right now. In writing this post, I’ve actually become so nostalgic for each location that I think I’m going to need to add them to my summer read and watch lists in order to be able to satisfy that travel bug a little bit.

What about you, are any of these locations on your fictional travel list? Are there any places that you would add, or that I should check out? I would love to hear in the comments – I am always looking for great new fictional worlds!

Until next time,

10 Trips I’m Dreaming of Right Now

Published on June 23, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

Hello Friends! Today we are dreaming about travel!

Since I don’t have infinite time or money for travel, I spend a great deal more time dreaming about trips than I do actually travelling. I also know that many of the trips that I would like to take will never happen. Because of that, I try to keep a balance in my dreaming between trips that I might reasonably be able to take at some point, and the ones that are mostly, or all, fantasy.

The list below contains a mixture of both types of trips. Some of them are currently in the “short term” dreaming stage – meaning that I consider these trips as not only possible, but probable. One of them may even become my next “big” trip, after Newfoundland. The first part of the list is comprised of these types of trips. The second part of the list is comprised of trips that are more long term or less likely to actually happen.

1. Fall and/or Winter Camping in our Trailer

Next June, if all goes as planned, we are getting a new travel trailer. There are many things that I am looking forward to with this new trailer, and one of the things is the possibility for an extended camping season. The trailer we are getting has a heater, and because it is fully enclosed with a hard top, it can easily be used in Fall and even Winter. I am hoping next fall to be able to take advantage of that for at least a weekend trip.

2. VIA Rail Train trip from Toronto to Vancouver

While I was procrastinating researching our Newfoundland trip, I stumbled upon the idea of taking a train trip across the country. This is something I have thought about for years, but I only recently started thinking about more seriously. I discovered that VIA rail has a route that is specifically designed for this type of trip – a trip where it’s more about the journey and less about the destination. It’s not inexpensive to take a train across the country, but based on what is included in the cost, it’s also not as costly as I was expecting it to be. This is the trip that I am currently considering as our next “big” trip.

3. Road Trip out west – Toronto to Vancouver

This trip is another that has been on my list for years, but we decided to focus on out East first. I have always intended that camping would be a big part of this trip, and now that we are getting a trailer with minimal setup, it will be that much easier to incorporate. I’ll get into it more in an upcoming post, but one of the big changes we were looking for in a new trailer was the ease of setup to assist on those nights where the only reason you’re stopping for the night is to sleep, so you don’t want to spend all your time setting up camp.

4. Lake Superior and Camping in Northern Ontario

This is a trip that will probably be done on a year when we’re not planning a big trip. The trip is big in terms of distance, but we will mostly camp in a couple locations, so we can do it on a much smaller budget than many of the other trips. We have done a lot of camping and travel more in southern Ontario, or North towards Ottawa/Quebec, and less towards Thunder Bay and the North West, so this is definitely an area that we would like to explore more. I think this would be a good trip to test out long distance driving with the trailer prior to committing to go out West.

5. Long Weekend in a tiny Cabin

This is another trip that will hopefully be possible in the relatively short term – if not this year, then maybe the next. I discovered Cabinscape through instagram and have wanted to stay in one of their cabins ever since. They are all relatively remote, off grid tiny cabins located in the general direction of Ottawa for the most part. They are beautiful cabins with beautiful views and locations for exploring in the woods. If this sounds intriguing to you, you should definitely check out their website and instagram feed.

6. A Resort Beach Vacation – Unknown Location

Sandy Beach with bright water
Image by かねのり三浦 from Pixabay

I have never been on a winter vacation to a warm destination, other than a trip to Florida one year with a friend when I was young. I typically like to plan other types of trips for the summer, so it’s just something that has never made the short list. I still don’t know when it might happen, but as I get older, this type of vacation at the beach gains more and more appeal. I just want to see some beautiful bright blue oceans and sandy beaches, is that too much to ask?

7. Hawaii

Hawaii has been a dream destination for me for years. But this is one of those trips where I don’t know if it will ever actually happen. I haven’t gone deep enough yet to work out the details or draw up a potential budget, but I know that this is a more expensive trip and would be at the far outreaches of our budget. Especially since while there, I would want to make sure to see as much a possible, knowing that it would probably be a one time trip. This is one of those trips that will always fall into the “maybe someday” category.

8. Back to the UK (England and Scotland)

This is one of those trips that I don’t know when it will happen, but I also can’t drop it from the list. There are so many new places that I want to visit that, that it can be hard to justify planning to go back somewhere I’ve already been. But I love London, and I often find myself missing it, and wishing to go back. I also didn’t get to spend nearly enough time in Scotland while I was living in London. So I will keep on dreaming of a time when I can go back and visit the UK. Someday… Someday maybe.

9. Return to Nova Scotia – Kejimkujik National Park

A view from one of the trails in Keji National Park

This is another that falls into the category of, “returning to a place we’ve already been” trips. When we went to Nova Scotia a few years ago, we spent one night in Kejimkujik, or Keji as it is more commonly called. And it was not nearly enough time there. I would love to drive our trailer out to spend a week just in Keji. The only problems are that a) it’s a pretty long drive to go camping for a week, and b) there is one part of the drive that I know I would not love to do with a trailer behind me.

Maybe one day, when I am more comfortable driving with the trailer, we’ll be able to consider it. But I know that I will find myself dreaming of Keji frequently between now and then. If you are planning a trip to Nova Scotia, and you have not checked this park out, then you definitely should.

10. Russia

This is my big trip dream that is probably never going to happen. There are so many barriers to a trip to Russia, and cost is only one of them. But I have dreamt of visiting Russia for years, and I will keep on dreaming of it, no matter how improbable it might be.

So that is my list of trips that I am currently dreaming of. Don’t be fooled by how short it is, as this list is in no way exhaustive. There are many, many other places on my travel dream list. I had a hard time limiting this list to just 10. But if I were to list every place that I might want to visit someday, this post would be much longer than anyone wants to read. And certainly longer than I want to write. These are the trips that float around in my mind the most often – even if some of them may never happen.

What about you? Do you have a list of trips that you are either actively planning or dreaming about? Does your list include trips that you know are unrealistic, but you just can’t stop yourself from dreaming about? Have you been to any of the destinations or taken any of the trips on this list? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

Travelling Pages: Books set in Newfoundland

Published on June 18, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

As I mentioned earlier this week, I had planned to travel to Newfoundland and Labrador this summer. As Newfoundland is currently off limits unless you already live there full time, that trip has now, sadly, been postponed until 2021. Since I can’t visit Newfoundland in person this year, I thought that the next best thing would be to travel through reading! With that in mind, I have put together this list of 15 books set in Newfoundland.

Ideally, as I write more in this series of books from around the world, I would like to be able to put together lists of books that I have read, so that I can provide reviews and recommendations. Unfortunately, I have discovered that I have not yet read any books set in Newfoundland. At least not any that I can remember.

This list is as much a reading list for me as it is a list that I have put together for others. Some of the books on this list aren’t in genres that I typically read, and will stretch my reading if I pick them up. But there are many that sound right up my alley, and I am excited to add them to my TBR. Hopefully by the end of the summer I’ll have read at least a couple from this list and will be able to provide you with some personal recommendations.

Because I have not read these books, I have kept my descriptions below to a couple of lines of what I gathered to be the most pertinent information.

Books Set in Newfoundland Covers — A selection of some of the books in this post

1. The Agony of Bun O’Keefe by Heather Smith
This is a young adult young adult novel set in Newfoundland in the 1980s. The story focuses on Bun O’Keefe – a 14 year old girl who runs away to St. John’s after her mother tells her to leave one day, and is taken in by a street musician. This is one that has been on my list for awhile, and I am hoping to pick it up this summer.

2. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
This historical fiction centres on Joe Smallwood, the first premier of Newfoundland. The book follows him from the time he’s a schoolboy up until adulthood when he takes his place in history. At almost 600 pages in length, this book is no small undertaking, but it is highly recommended everywhere I looked.

3. Last Lullaby by Alice Walsh
This book, the author’s debut mystery novel, follows a lawyer as she investigates the death of her friend’s small child. Set in the fictional town of Paddy’s Arm, Newfoundland, this mystery is described in the blurb as “equal parts police procedural and diner gossip.”

4. Sweetland by Michael Crummey
I don’t tend to read a lot of books in the literature genre, but this one sounds so intriguing that I really want to pick it up. It follows an old man who finds himself struggling to survive on a remote island, amidst the ghosts of the former islanders, after he has faked his own death to avoid leaving during a mandatory relocation project.

5. February by Lisa Moore
This literary fiction was the winner of Canada Reads in 2013. It follows a woman who lost her husband when the oil rig Ocean Ranger sank off the coast of Newfoundland in 1982. It is a dual timeline narrative about grief, community, and memory, that moves between present day and February 1982.

6. Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper
This is a literary fiction that looks at a family that is on the verge of extinction as they struggle to stay together in a small fishing village after all the fish have disappeared. Every blurb I read was slightly different, but the reviews are good and many say that it is beautifully written. The cover is also really lovely.

7. A Roll of the Bones by Trudy J. Morgan-Cole
Speaking of covers… based solely on the cover, I don’t think I would ever pick this book up. Not even to read the description. But it appears on almost every list that I looked at, and it sounds like it might be good. This is a historical fiction set in the early 1600s and it’s the first in a trilogy that looks at Newfoundland in the time of colonization.

8. One for the Rock by Kevin Major
Not only is this a mystery, which I love, but the story centres on a murder in a tour group in St. John’s, so it combines both mystery and travel. It has mixed reviews on Goodreads, but I am definitely intrigued by the premise. It is also quite short at just under 200 pages, so I think it would make for a good vacation read.

9. As Near to Heaven by the Sea by Kevin Major
If you think this author name sounds familiar, you would be correct, as this is the same author as the previous book. Where that was a mystery, this is a non-fiction history of Newfoundland. If non-fiction is more your style, this might be one to pick up.

10. Son of a Critch by Mark Critch
I don’t read a lot of memoirs, and I’m not even overly familiar with Mark Critch. But this one has pretty good reviews on Goodreads and sounds like it could be a fun read, as it is supposedly quite funny. Critch focuses mostly on his experience growing up in Newfoundland in the 1980s.

11. Flannery by Lisa Moore
Flannery is a young adult contemporary, by the same author as February. It features love, friendship and the ups and downs of high school, mixed with a dash of fantasy as the main character creates a love potion that is rumoured to actually work. This one sounds like a lot of fun, and I am hoping to pick it up this summer.

12. Grey Islands by John Steffler
I am forever trying to encourage myself to pick up more poetry. And this is one that I have now added to that list. This book is described as a novel in the form of poems and features the interplay between nature and human society.

13. Random Passage by Bernice Morgan
This is the first book in a historical fiction duology that has been adapted into a CBC miniseries. Described as a history of daily life, this book follows a family that is forced to flee England as they look to start a new life facing the harsh realities of their new home.

14. Come, Though Tortoise by Jessica Grant
I think this book would fit into either the contemporary or literature genre. The story follows a young woman who moves back to Newfoundland when she learns that her father is in a coma. It also features an opinionated tortoise… Need I say more? I am looking forward to picking this one up.

15. Against her Rules by Victoria Barbour
Seeing as how we’re going to summer and the season of beach reads, I would be remiss not to include a romance pick. This sounds like a fairly standard, fun, romance with a main character that runs a Bed & Breakfast in Newfoundland. It sounds like it includes some steamy times, so if that’s not your thing, pass this one by.

Have you read any of the books on this list? If so, which do you recommend? Do you know of any books set in Newfoundland that I should add to this list, or that you particularly enjoyed?

Until next time,

The 5 Stages of Trip Planning

Published on June 16, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

This summer I was supposed to be taking a two week trip to Newfoundland and Labrador. Unfortunately, it has become clear that our trip is not going to happen. Newfoundland is not currently accepting visitors from outside the province, and it doesn’t look like that is gong to change any time soon. Even if it were to change by mid-summer, chances are that not everything will be open, and it wouldn’t be the trip we want. Because of this, we have decided that it is time to accept the inevitable and cancel. Our much anticipated Newfoundland trip will now be postponed until summer 2021.

As we’ve started thinking about cancelling everything that’s already been booked, I thought it would be a good time to write about the planning process. This may seem odd, especially as there’s not a lot of travel happening right now, but I suspect that though people aren’t travelling, many are dreaming of future travel or thinking about planning future trips. If we can’t travel, we can still think about and dream about planning travel.

I’ve mentioned before that I love planning trips. I love everything about the process of researching, building the itinerary, and picking out accommodations. But trip planning doesn’t start with the research and itinerary planning. The trip planning starts long before you get to that stage. So today I am going to look at the stages of planning a trip in general, using my Newfoundland trip as the example. In future posts I will hopefully dive into some of these stages in more detail.

Phase #1: Inspiration and that Initial Spark

In my experience, trip planning begins with that initial spark of inspiration. It’s the thing that makes you think, “I’d love to go there someday.” This spark might come from a book you read, a show or movie you watched, or hearing someone else talk, or write, about the destination. Whatever it is, there’s always something that makes you start thinking about how you might like to visit that location someday.

There’s nothing concrete in this stage. There’s not even much day dreaming – that comes later. Most trips and destinations never move beyond this stage. Many of our travels sparks fade away without much further thought. Maybe we know that the location would be much too expensive, or impractical, or not feasible for one reason or another. Or maybe the location just doesn’t hold our imagination as much as some other location or as much as we thought initially. For whatever reason, many ideas never move beyond a spark.

I have wanted to go to Newfoundland for so long that I can’t remember the initial spark. I can remember one of the things that fanned that spark into a flame and moved me into the next stage, though. It was the Newfoundland tourism commercials. Every single time I see one of these commercials, it makes me want to go to Newfoundland even more. Their tourism department definitely knows how to do it’s job.

Stage 2: Dreaming and Moving Towards a Plan

Stage 2 is the dreaming phase. This stage is reserved for those trips that have captured our imagination enough to stick around. They are the trips that never really seem to leave our minds as “some days.” If ever anyone were to ask us places we’d like to travel to, these are the trips that immediately spring to mind.

In this stage you possibly talk to others who have been to your dream destination and you learn more about the things they recommend doing and seeing while there. Maybe you start visiting tourism websites, or seeking out blog posts from those who have travelled there. Maybe you start reading books about the destination. Whatever dreaming looks like for you, you find yourself returning to the idea of planning a trip to that location more and more often.

I have long wanted to travel to all the provinces in Canada. I love exploring this country, so Newfoundland has been a spark in my mind for years. The idea of visiting Newfoundland got a hold of my mind and heart, and I found myself revisiting it over and over again. Eventually it was the “next trip” that we were planning if anyone asked. The idea worked it’s way from a dream to a plan, and before we knew it, we had moved into stage 3 of the trip planning process.

Stage #3: From a Dream to a Plan

Eventually some trips take up so much place in our minds that we move from dreaming to planning. At this stage, you are still technically in the idea phase, but you are starting to figure out if you could turn the idea into a concrete plan. Unfortunately, this is where some trips are forced to fade away or move into the background when we start to figure out whether we will be able to come up with enough time and budget to make the trip happen.

In this stage you start to look more seriously into how much the trip would cost and the length of the trip you would like to take. You might also start to figure out the questions of transportation. Would the trip involve air travel? Or is it a road trip? These, and more, are the things you start to seriously consider in this stage. These decisions will help you develop a timeline and an idea for when, and if, this trip might actually happen.

For our Newfoundland trip, some of the primary considerations for this stage were budget, length of trip, and type of transportation. We decided fairly early that we would be flying from Ontario to Newfoundland. While it’s possible to drive out and take a ferry, the travel time for that option is considerable. Since vacation time is not infinite, and we knew we would have at most two weeks, we decided it would be more than worth it to fly.

Another transportation consideration was whether we would take a bus tour or rent a car. Bus tours are a popular option for Newfoundland, and we gave them serious consideration, but ultimately ended up deciding to put together our own trip. Not only did this give us more flexibility over our budget, but also over our itinerary. I wasn’t sure that a bus trip would let us do and see everything we wanted (and I have travel planning control issues).

Making these decisions helped us put in place a timeline for when we were going to take the trip. We had a general idea of the type of budget we would be looking at and how long we would need to save. It was roughly two years ago that we decided we would aim for 2020 for our trip. This gave us the time we needed to save, as well as an idea for when we would need to start seriously planning and booking. Knowing these things prepared us to move into the next stage.

Cat looking at a map — Trip planning. I was going to find a stock photo But couldn’t resist using this.

Stage #4: Research and Itinerary Building

By this stage, you’ve moved well beyond the vague dreams and into concrete planning. This is no longer a trip you might take someday, it’s now a trip you are going to take in x amount of time, even if you don’t know the exact dates yet. Now it’s the time to get down to the business of planning.

Don’t get me wrong, you are still dreaming in this phase, but now it’s paired with research and the reality of logistics. You need to dream about the things you might like to do, but also figure out what you can realistically fit into the time you have. You need to think about things such as whether your trip will be spent mostly in one city or resort, or many different places. Will your schedule be relaxed and filled with a lot of downtime or will your itinerary be tightly scheduled and filled with activity?

As you research and figure out all these things, you can start to build your itinerary. The one downside of this stage for me always seems to be the gradual realization that there is no way we can possibly fit in everything that we want to do in the time that we have. This happened to me in spades while planning our Newfoundland trip.

Newfoundland is a big place with so much to see and do – especially when you know that you won’t soon be returning. Trying to fit everything into a roughly two-week period begins to feel like trying to cram a bear into a breadbox… an impossible task. It doesn’t help when so much of the advice on visiting Newfoundland is to slow down and enjoy the scenery. How do you take it slow when you want to see and do absolutely everything?

It took me a long time to research and plan and build what I hope is a functional itinerary for our trip. I eventually decided that our trip was going to involve a lot of driving and be quite a bit busier than might work for others. We want to see as much of Newfoundland as possible in our short time, which requires a busier trip. Maybe someday I can travel to Newfoundland and enjoy that relaxed pace of life, but this trip is not going to be that.

Different trips will require different amounts of time and effort in this stage, but eventually you will get the trip details and itinerary worked out and be able to move into the next – and final – stage of trip planning.

Stage #5 – Booking, and Fine Tuning, and Other tasks.

Some elements of this stage may also occur in the previous stages. You might need to book flights, for instance, before you’ve fully worked out the itinerary. But generally, by this stage, all the big planning is done and it’s time to book your accommodations and book/buy tickets for any events or attractions you are planning on attending. This stage may take place over a number of months depending on your timeline. Some things need to be booked early, and some need to be booked closer to the travel dates or even while travelling.

For me, this stage generally involves fine tuning and completing the itinerary. For our Newfoundland trip, for instance, there are a number of days that even now require fine tuning and filling out. I know the general shape of the days, but the details still need to be finalized. We still need to determine where we want to eat, for instance, and which walking tours and hikes might we want to take. This the level of detailed planning that happens during this stage.

This stage may also include figuring out a packing list. I hadn’t got anywhere close to planning out a packing list for Newfoundland yet. I probably would have been starting that list around now, actually. The packing list step involves figuring out what the weather might be like, and what types of things you might need for specific activities. Some of our accommodations for Newfoundland, for instance, required us to bring blankets and sheets. These are the types of things you migh consider in this stage.

This stage can continue right up until just before the trip depending on how you plan and prepare, and it ends once you transition into the prep stage when you’re starting to pack and get ready to go. I didn’t include that stage here, because I consider it more part of the travel stage and less a part of the planning stage.

Each trip brings with it unique planning approaches even when you work within the same general framework. These are the typical stages of planning that I have noticed in all the trips I have planned and taken. What about you? Do you agree with these stages? Have I missed any? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

“Stalking Jack the Ripper” Series Wrap Up

Published on June 11, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

As I mentioned in my May Reading Wrap Up, I recently finished reading the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco. I started this series around the time when the first book came out in 2016, and then I was paused on it for a bit and read the last two books this year. I thoroughly enjoyed the series, and it is one that I am already thinking about re-reading, so I thought that I would do a series wrap up with my overall thoughts.

The Stalking Jack the Ripper series is a Young Adult mystery/thriller/historical fiction series set in the late 1800’s. The first book is set in London during the Ripper murders (as the names implies), but the series does not stay in London and later books explore other historical events and figures such as Vlad the Impaler, Houdini, and the White City Devil.

For this wrap up, I’m going to give a brief synopsis of each book and then I will sum up my thoughts on the series in a few points. I am going to keep this wrap up spoiler free. There are a few things (such as mention of a romance), that could be considered spoilers, but they are mentioned on the backs of the later books, or in the Goodreads descriptions, so I’m going to consider them not spoilers… And I promise I won’t go into detail about those “border line” topics.

I want to note that I listened to all 4 books on audiobook, and thoroughly enjoyed them in that format. If you enjoy listening to audiobooks, these are ones that I would highly recommend checking out.

Book #1 – Stalking Jack the Ripper

Throughout the series we follow our main character Audrey Rose Wadsworth, and we see the events through her eyes. She would much rather spend her time in her Uncles’ laboratory learning about forensics and investigating murders than in engaging in the typical societal pursuits. In this first instalment, Audrey Rose, her Uncle, and her new, often aggravating acquaintance, Thomas Cresswell, are right in the middle of the Jack the Ripper investigations. The investigation quickly becomes personal as Audrey Rose and her companions rush to discover the identity of Jack the Ripper and put an end to his reign of terror.

Book #2 – Hunting Prince Dracula

In this story, we leave London and follow Audrey Rose and Thomas to a school of forensic medicine in the heart of Romania. The school is located in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler – also known as Vlad Dracula – making the setting dark, creepy, and atmospheric. Our main characters are once again faced with a series of murders to investigate, these ones bearing a terrifying resemblance to those of the Impaler. The lines between myth and reality become blurred as Thomas and Audrey Rose, along with a number of new characters, rush to identify and stop the killer.

Book #3 – Escaping From Houdini

In this book, we once again follow Audrey Rose, Thomas and her Uncle, this time as they embark on a week long voyage across the Atlantic travelling from London to New York. They are to be entertained nightly on their voyage by a troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers and a daring young escape artist (three guesses who…) The voyage is not destined to be one of pleasure only, however, as young women begin to go missing and then people begin to die in brutal and shocking ways. Thomas and Audrey Rose must rush to figure out who the murderer is before they arrive at their destination, and before someone close to Audrey Rose comes to harm.

Book #4 – Capturing the Devil

In this finale, Audrey Rose, Thomas and her Uncle are on the hunt for the elusive killer known as the White City Devil. In this instalment our main characters travel from New York to Chicago in the hopes of capturing the killer who has not only been hunting in New York, but who they suspect to be connected to the murders on their voyage across the Atlantic, Thomas and Audrey Rose find themselves in the middle of an investigation that threatens to turn deadly at every turn.

My Thoughts

1) History with a twist

One of the things I loved the most about this series was the way Maniscalco took historical events and people as inspiration but then expanded on the well know stories to create new and exciting plot lines. Knowing the true stories, especially in the case of Books 1 and 2 for me, didn’t take away from the plot of these books in anyway because Maniscalco came up with ways to make the stories fresh and unpredictable. The world the books are set in is clearly our own, and yet not quite ours all at once.

2) The Second Book Slump?

I have long enjoyed books that combine the history of Vlad the Impaler with a touch (or more) of the mythical and fantastical. And this book was no exception. The mix of legend and reality in the story was well executed and throughly enjoyable, but for some reason, looking back, something about this one fell just a bit flat. I can’t put my finger on why – maybe second book syndrome? – but this book was probably my least favourite of the series.

3) Thomas and Audrey Rose’s Relationship

I loved this aspect of the series. It may not be for everyone, and I read a couple reviews from people who thought the romance/friendship was given too much space and time as the series went along, but I really enjoyed it. I especially liked the way their friendship and relationship grew and developed over the course of the series. Both Thomas and Audrey Rose made mistakes and they hav disagreements to work through, but they also grew in their relationship and learned how to compromise, respect each other and communicate. And I really liked that aspect of the story.

4) Character Development and Growth

Along the same lines as my previous point, I enjoyed how both Audrey Rose and Thomas changed over the course of the series. Neither are exactly the same people in book 4 as they were in book 1. They both grow and change and are impacted by the events that they face in each book. I was impressed with how Maniscalco had her characters grow and develop as individuals along with growing in their relationship.

5) The Connecting Plots

Each book in the series centres around a different mystery and investigation. Despite this, you really shouldn’t read the books out of order. There is a story line, outside of the character development and relationships, that connects the entire series. Jumping in out of order would leave you missing references and feeling quite confused. Sometimes with thriller and mystery series’ it can be difficult to have a balance between a new, gripping mystery and series development and growth in each book, and I thought Maniscalco did a good job finding this balance.

6) A few miscellaneous “cons”

Very few books or series get everything right all the time, and this series is no exception. Though I would say that the pros for this series definitely outweigh the cons. One thing that took me out of the story frequently was Maniscalco’s tendency to overstate some of the themes or points she was trying to get across. While I almost always agreed with the points, and understand that we were supposed to be seeing the themes through Audrey Rose’s perspective, it felt a tad heavy handed at times. This improved as the series went on and these points were less clunky by book 4

My only other complaint would be the loose ends. I think it’s good when a series doesn’t tie up all loose ends or storylines. I like to be left feeling like the characters are going to continue living and having adventures after the last cover closes. But there were a few things in this series, in particular with relation to certain side characters, that I would have liked answers to, or a little bit more information about.

One other thing I would like to mention before we wrap up is that something a bit odd happens as part of the conclusion to Book 1. I thought it was an interesting twist, but I can see it being the type of thing that turns some off from the series. I would say, though, that if you didn’t love that part but enjoyed the characters and the rest of the story, it might be worth checking out the rest of the series.

In Conclusion

I highly enjoyed this series, and would give it an overall rating of 4 stars. This isn’t an average, I gave a couple of the books 3 star ratings, but since the last two books have made me want to re-read the series, and pick up something else by Maniscalco, I think that 4 is what I am going to settle on for overall rating. Consider it a “whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts” type of situation.

If you enjoy mysteries and thrillers with a touch of fantasy and a solid side of friendship and romance, then you should definitely pick this series up. The characters are fun and exciting and I enjoy that the author is exploring forensic medicine and investigation against a Jack the Ripper time period and back drop.

Have you read any books in this series? If so, what did you think of them? Can you recommend to me any other mystery/thrillers similar to this series?

Until Next Time,

Planning to Travel Pt 2 – Being Intentional About Saving

Published on June 9, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

Last week I talked about how travel doesn’t just happen. It takes planning, and intentionality. I shared a bit about how I learned about the importance of being intentional in planning and saving for travel if it is something that you are interested in doing. If you missed that post, I would recommend checking it out here before you continue.

Today I want to look at 6 steps I’ve used to make regular travel saving a part of my budget. I’m not a financial expert in anyway, and these steps are in no way exhaustive, or the only way to go about creating a plan. But I hope that these steps might help you to find the time and money to include travel in your life.

Books on a Map — Books on a map. Image by Dariusz Sankowski from Pixabay

Step #1: Do you actually want to Travel?

I can already hear you saying “Of course I want to travel, I’m here aren’t I?” But before you skip past this step, I want you to take a few minutes to really think about it. Do you really want to make the time and save the funds required for travel? Or do you just think that you want to travel, or that you should want to travel?

These days it can seem like travel is something that everyone does, or wishes they were doing. But it is okay for travel to not be one of your priorities. It is okay to read travel blogs, and follow travel pages on instagram or Pinterest, and not want to travel yourself. Maybe there are other things you would prefer to spend your resources on, and that is okay.

We don’t have unlimited resources. And this means we need to prioritize and make decisions about where we want to spend the resources we have. And this applies just as much to non-monetary resources such as time and energy. If travel isn’t something you want to prioritize, then you won’t follow through on the changes you would need to make to save and plan for travel. So take the time to truly think about this step. And keep reading, because you can use the following tips to save for and explore your preferred activities.

Step #2 – Take a look at your Time

It’s important to recognize that time is as much, or more, of a limited resource as money. Think about how much time you could set aside for travel or exploration, as well has how much time you want to set aside for travel. You might be lucky enough to have 5 weeks of vacation time, but that doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily want to spend all that time on travel. Consider also how you may be able to make use of long weekends for travel and exploring.

While you’re looking at your potential vacation time and long weekends, you’ll also need to consider other activities or obligations already slotted into those times. Christmas, for instance, might be a time of year where you have time off, but it may not be time that is free to dedicate to travel.

Also keep in mind that you’re going to need to consider your time and money alongside each other to determine how much you can travel. Quitting your job might give you seemingly infinite time to travel, but it’s going to seriously reduce the budget you have for travel.

Step #3: Take a look at your Budget

I will admit, this is typically the least exciting part of the process, but it is also one of the most necessary steps. And it’s important that you take the time to do it with care. You need to have a complete understanding of your budget before you can decide whether some of it can be put aside for travel savings. I’m not going to go into detail here about setting up a general budget, but if you have not done this before, there are many good articles and tips only a Google search away.

For our purposes you will be looking at the money you have in miscellaneous, or more discretionary fund categories. Your landlord isn’t going to like it if you decide to slash your rent budget by $100 a month, for instance. I want you to figure out how much money you have in these categories and then write down exactly where that money goes every month. You need to be precise. This won’t work if you just write down $200 for miscellaneous spending.

Write down everything from clothes shopping, to Netflix, to your morning coffee purchases. If your miscellaneous category varies, then maybe track it for a couple months. Write down exactly how you spend the money that’s not going directly into non-negotiable bills or long-term savings and emergency funds. This step is tedious, but it’s what will allow you to figure out where you can save in the next step.

Step # 4: Find places where you can save

Okay, so you’ve analyzed your budget and figured out exactly where your money is going, now you can start to figure out where you can cut expenses to start to save for your future travels. How much you can save regularly will determine what types of trips you can take and how often, along with how long it will take you to save for each trip.

What if you made your coffee at home everyday? How much could you save? Write it down. How much would you save if you only buy one coffee out a week? You might be surprised at how much you can save just making this one change. Maybe you spend $50 on dining out each week. If you were to cut that back to every other week, you could save $100 a month. That’s $1200 a year! Think of the travel you could put that towards.

Continue going through your list until you’ve written down all the possible places you could save. Is this number higher or lower than you expected? If this number is more than you want to save for travel, then go ahead and add some of those things you cut back into your budget. If it’s lower than you would like, then you can try to go back in and cut more things, but make sure you’re realistic here. It’s better to save at a slower pace than to make cuts that aren’t going to work for you.

It’s one thing to say that you’re going to cut out all dining, but if that’s something you love, you aren’t going to be happy cutting it out completely. The goal here is not to make saving for travel painful. You have to figure out what saving plan is going to work for you. If you can’t imagine cutting out your daily coffee, then don’t cut out your coffee budget! I’m not kidding. Find the things to cut back that work for you.

Pennies out of a jar. Image by Olya Adamovich from Pixabay

Step #5: Set up your Travel Savings Bucket

Once you have a monthly figure, break it down into the frequency of your pay schedule. In general, it’s easier to save consistently if you put aside the amount immediately off your pay. Personally, I work within a looser budget, and my spending categories aren’t always strictly regulated. But I took the time to figure out how to make this work for me, and how much I could save per pay. And I make sure to put that money into my travel savings as soon as I get paid.

You need to have somewhere to put this money you’re saving. My bank has a savings account type that’s free to setup and free of expenses and I have two of them – one of which is dedicated to travel. Maybe for you this means envelopes of cash, or a travel jar. My only suggestion would be that this should be separate from your regular, daily banking account. Because if it stays in your main account, you’re going to spend it.

If, after a couple months, you find that your new budget cuts aren’t working, then reduce your savings amount. It’s better to find something you can stick with consistently then to constantly dip into it because you’re putting aside more than you can handle. And if something comes up one month and you really can’t afford to save for travel, that’s okay too. It makes no sense to go into debt to “save” for travel.

Step #5(b): Alternative Option

If putting aside a set amount of money from each pay doesn’t work for you, that doesn’t mean you can’t save for travel. Another option might be to have a monthly budget category for your discretionary expenses and roll any leftover money at the end of the month into your travel savings. Or maybe you use a “loose change” method, where you dump all loose change into a jar each week.

Neither of these methods have worked that well for me, but the point is to find the money to travel in a way that works for you. The key is to be intentional. If you’re intentional about your approach, then you’ll see your travel budget start to grow over time.

Step #6: Start to Dream

You might think that this step should be higher on the list, but hear me out. In my experience, dreaming about a big trip and then seeing the price tag for it before you’ve established your travel savings plan, is just as likely to make you overwhelmed as it is to encourage you to save. You’ll see the price tag and your immediate reaction will be that there’s no way you’ll be able to come up with that kind of money in this lifetime.

But, if you’ve gone through all the previous steps, you now have a realistic idea of how much you can save in a month, a year, or 5 years. You can now look at that big ticket trip with a better understanding of how long it would take to save for it. You might still decide it’s too expensive, but you’ll be making an informed decision. And maybe you’ll discover that your dream trip is actually possible. Saving for 3, or even 5 years, might not seem like that long if you thought it would never be possible.

That’s why, in my opinion, it is better to have a full understanding of your potential for saving before you start to dream of the trips you want to take. Remember, you can always go back and increase or decrease your savings goals as you figure out your travel dreams. Maybe the trips that you want to take cost less than you imagined, and you can take more trips on your budget than you thought, or lower your monthly savings. Or maybe you decide that your dream trip is worth packed lunches for a year.

(Side Note: I am a big fan of dreaming and planning trips that I know I probably won’t ever be able to take. So I am 100% not saying to stop thinking about dream trips… but you don’t need a budget when you’re fantasy travelling.)

Step #7 (Bonus Step) – Brainstorm new ways to find money

I hesitated to include this step, because I want this to be a post about finding the resources to travel with in the budget that you already have. I don’t know about you, but I’m inclined to believe that I’m already busy enough without needing to find an additional stream of income to be able to travel.

But I decided to put it out there as something to consider.

Perhaps you have found that what you can save is not going to get you on the trips you want to go on in the time period that you want. If this is the case, you might consider brainstorming an additional income stream. Perhaps you can pick up a part time job. I had a colleague once who picked up shifts at a movie theatre so that he and his wife could afford to go on a cruise. Or maybe you’re crafty and can start to sell some of your creations. There are many ways that you could pad out your travel budget if you so choose.

Final Thoughts

If you have ever been frustrated with thoughts that travel isn’t possible for you, I hope that what you take away from this post is that budgeting and planning to travel doesn’t just happen. It takes planning, and intentionality. It might take time and patience, but if it’s something you really want to do, it is may be more possible than you initially thought.

And if travel saving isn’t possible for you right now, I hope you’ll still stick around. You can enjoy reading travel posts, and dreaming about travel, even if you never plan to travel. And, as I mentioned in my travel story, travel and exploring isn’t just about the “big” trips. Sometimes it’s about a tank of gas and a bit of research into free, or low cost destinations close to home. I’m just as interested in exploring that type of travel here.

How do you budget for travel? How do you fit travel and exploring into your life?

Until next time,

May 2020 Reading Wrap Up

Published on June 4, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

If you’ve been around the book blog or Booktube world, for any length of time, then you will be familiar with wrap ups. They’re generally monthly, but they can be other frequencies as well – quarterly tends to be popular, as are end of year wrap ups. I’m not sure yet if I want to continue to post monthly wrap ups, or if I want to post them less frequently, but we shall see how it goes.

After having a very successful reading month in April with the Magical Readathon, May was borderline a reading slump. I’ve still been watching/listening to a fair amount of YouTube, so I haven’t listened to as many audiobooks as normal, and right up until the last week of the month, I could not bring myself to pick up an e-book or a physical book. I didn’t know what I wanted to read, and I had zero motivation. I still managed to have a not bad reading month, and I finally read a book at the end of the month that seems to have snapped me out of my slump… so here’s to hoping for an even better June!

The Books I Finished in May

Audiobooks = 3
E-books = 2

1. On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle (2 Stars, Audiobook)

I was so disappointed with this book. Years ago I read a later book in this series and I can remember enjoying it, but never pursued reading more of the series. So, when I found the first book available as an audiobook at my library, I was excited to give it a try. I don’t know if it’s a matter of the series getting better as it progresses, or if this is a series that doesn’t hold up across the years or the way that I have changed and grown as a reader, but there was too much that bothered me and not enough enjoyable about the story to balance it out.

The book is dated in its language and some of its themes, and there was a lot that made me cringe. I am generally willing to provide a certain amount of leeway to account for the time in which a novel was written, but I had a hard time doing that in this case. And quite frankly, other than the information about coffee included throughout, the story itself was not engaging enough for me to overlook the many things that I didn’t like. I doubt that I will read more in this series.

2. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (4 Stars, Audiobook)

I originally gave this book 3 Stars on Goodreads, but on looking back, I think it’s closer to a 3.5 or a 4. This is the second book in The Dresden Files series, and I am really enjoying the series so far. The series focuses on Harry Dresden – a wizard living in Chicago, who specializes in paranormal investigations and consultation. He also consults for the police department… or at least he did.The start of this book finds Harry dealing with some of the consequences of his actions in the first book, and on top of all that, it seems like Chicago might have a werewolf problem.

Harry is a man of many flaws, many of which he is starting to become more aware of over the course of this book. I can only hope his personal development will continue. The mystery in this instalment was solid, and well written – even more so than that of the first book – and I really enjoyed it. And I am thoroughly enjoying the mixture of mystery and fantasy. So far, this series is shaping up to be everything I hoped it would be.

3. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (4 Stars, E-book)

The blurb describes this book as “Steel Magnolias meets Dracula,” and though I’m not overly familiar with Steel Magnolias, I would say that’s not a bad description. This is the book that pulled me out of my reading slump. Instead of needing to force myself to pick it up, I absolutely couldn’t put it down. I was hooked from the first page to the last – even if it made me somewhat worried about a vampire crawling into my bedroom window.

I don’t read a lot of horror because I don’t like a lot of gore or gruesomeness, and I often find that the topics in horror novels make me uncomfortable outside of the creepiness. I don’t often like to read those types of topics, so I have a hard time finding horror that I want to read. Because of that, I want to make it very clear that this book dealt with some very uncomfortable and terrible topics, and it will not be for everyone. The bad things are condemned by the book and the characters within it, but it is still uncomfortable, and at times upsetting, to read.

This book was creepy, and uncomfortable, and infuriating, and it was supposed to be. But I enjoyed the story and the women who were the main characters, even if they also drove me nuts at times. And don’t even get me started on the husbands. Overall, this was a hit for me, and I absolutely loved how the author pitted his monster against a group of Southern housewives.

4. Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco (4 Stars, Audiobook)

This is the fourth and final book in the “Stalking the Jack the Ripper” series, and I loved it! I’m not going to go into too much detail, since it’s the 4th book in the series, and I don’t want to include any spoilers here. I am also planning on doing a spoiler free wrap up of the series next week. What I will say is that I think this was my favourite book of the series, and I am going to miss the characters very much. I will definitely be picking up whatever the author writes next.

This book takes us on a thrilling chase from New York to Chicago in search of a serial killer stalking the White City. Based on the true story of the White City Devil, which I did not know much about prior to now, this book has moved Erik Larson’s non-fiction Devil in the White City higher up on my TBR for sure. Set against the background of the World’s fair, and with the main characters facing just about as much drama in their personal lives as in their search for th killer, this book was definitely a wild ride. Stay tuned for my series wrap up coming soon.

5. Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale (3 Stars, E-book)

This was a nice, light, summery read. Set in a small, coastal town in Maine, this story feels like summer through and through. The main character, Babe, is in that last summer between High School and the rest of her life. And her summer is not going to go anything like what she had planned. Between having a major fall out with her best friends at the start of summer, and breaking her one rule of “never dating a summer boy,” her summer will be one to remember, even if she’s not sure she’ll enjoy the memories.

While not joining the ranks of my favourite YA contemporary romances, this was enjoyable and fun. I had a hard time getting used to the main character’s name being “Babe”, which is a silly complaint, but it took me at least the first half to get used to it, and before that it was very distracting. I also wish that there had been a bit more depth to the characters. I always felt they were holding me at arms length, and I didn’t get as drawn into their lives as I would have liked. But overall, it was an enjoyable and fun read. I think this would be the perfect beach read.

Those are all the books that I have in May. Though there was one book that I really didn’t enjoy, overall I think that I had success with the books that I ended up reading. I think my favourite book from this month would have to be Capturing the Devil.

What about you? What was your favourite book that you read in May? Do you enjoy reading wrap ups? Or do you prefer to read individual book reviews? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

I Would Love to Travel But… Being intentional about Travelling

Published on June 3, 2020November 16, 2020 by Meaghan Elizabeth

You work a full time job, have family obligations, and participate in community events, how do you find the time to travel? And then, if you do find the time, how do you afford it? Between rent, food and bills, you really don’t have any extra money for travel. So when someone talks about their trip you sigh and say, “I wish I could travel, but…”

I used to think that there was no way I could afford any type of travel. And, at a certain point of my life, that was probably true. But I have learned that sometimes the reasons we come up with for why we can’t travel – money, time – aren’t as big of hurdles as we make them to be in our minds. Yes, both money and time are required for travel, and they can be hurdles to overcome, but I have learned that they can often be overcome with a little bit (or a lot) of planning and intentionality.

I know that travel is not possible for everyone. Both money and time, not to mention life circumstances, can be very real barriers, and I don’t want to discount or ignore that. Those of us that are able to fit travel into our lives, even if it is through careful budgeting and planning like I am going to talk about here, are in a privileged position. I am not going to say that everyone can afford to travel, because I know that’s not true. Being able to fit travel into our lives is a blessing and a privilege that I am thankful for and don’t ever want to take forgranted.

In this series, I want to suggest that there are times when the things that we think of as hurdles to our travel can be overcome with planning and intentional saving. Sometimes, if we want to travel, we have to become a bit more creative in our approach to our travel budgets. Because one of the things that I have learned over the past years is that travel rarely “just happens.” You have to plan for it, and that means planning to save. Even supposed “last minute” or “spontaneous” trips more often than not include intentional saving before hand to make them possible.

Woman sitting in road looking at map — Image by Lorri Lang from Pixabay

Overcoming my Own Hurdles

Prior to moving to England I had the idea, whether conscious or unconscious, that I probably wouldn’t be able to afford any travel other than camping until I had a “good” job that was making me “good” money. I certainly couldn’t afford to do much while working part time – or even full time – retail. Because that was in the back of my mind, I didn’t think too much about the possibility of planning trips.

And then I got the idea that I wanted to move to England, and I became very determined to save and make it possible. When I finished grad school, I went back to working retail and in the year of saving, I worked a mixture of full time and part time. I lived at home to save on rent, and put away as much as I could to save for my trip. I had to pay careful attention to my budget that year in order to make it possible, but I was determined.

And I did it. I saved enough for the Visa application fee, the plane ticket, the first few weeks of accommodation and I think just over the minimum amount I needed to demonstrate in order to enter the country – approximately £1,900 or I think it was around $3,000 CAD at the time. There were also all the miscellaneous things I needed to buy for the trip.

And then I moved to London, England (a not inexpensive city) with give or take £2,000 in my bank account. Now, if could go back and give myself one piece of advice, I would highly recommend saving more than that, because it would have made life much easier in those first few months. But then I probably wouldn’t have learned as much about myself as I did.

It wasn’t perfect, and I will admit that in the first couple months I used my credit card to pay for some of it (partially because I was afraid of running out of money), but it worked out. And once I got a job, I was able to pay it all off. Were there were things I could have done differently? Probably. But I’m not sure I would have changed it.

I found a job that paid well, and was so much more flexible for travel and exploring than I ever could have imagined or hoped for, and I was able to live in a very central part of London that I loved. My dorm style room was small, but it was private. I had my own bathroom and a shared kitchen, and I loved it. And I managed to fit in a lot of travel and exploring in that year. Not as much as I would have liked, of course, but more than I have ever managed in a single year since.

Learning to Budget Time and Money

The job I had in London was very flexible, and I essentially had the ability to dictate how much work I took on. It was a bit more complicated than that, but I had a lot of flexibility to fit in travel when I wanted. But I still had to balance work and travel. After all, I still had to pay bills and living expenses. I mentioned that living in London isn’t cheap right? And I loved being close to central London so much that I just couldn’t imagine living further out.

So I learned how to balance living expenses and saving for travel, along with balancing time for both work and travel. I took advantage of weeks where there was a lot of work available to pick up extra work, and school holiday weeks when work was slower to travel and explore. If there were specific dates I wanted to travel, I was able to take that time off easily and, in some cases I took extra long weekends. I was also able to take advantage of unplanned days off to explore London. It’s difficult to explain how my job was set up, but it wasn’t a typical 9-5, Monday – Friday.

Though my situation in London was unique, I brought a lot of what I learned back home with me. It’s more difficult to find the time to travel when we’re restricted to a certain number of vacation weeks and long weekends throughout the year. It’s hard when we know that we don’t have the time to travel the amount we would like. While I can’t turn your two weeks vacation into 5, I have learned that it’s possible to fit travel and exploring into long weekends. Not all travel has to be long distance or longer in length.

When you’re close enough to take a long weekend trip to Paris, or Scotland, you learn that a trip doesn’t have to be long to be impactful. Sure, I would have loved to spend more time in Paris, but that didn’t take away from the time I was there – and short trips can spark interest to save and plan for a longer, return visit. Or perhaps you’ll learn that a short trip was exactly the right length for the destination you chose.

Not all places are as easy to travel from as London, England. In many places, Canada in particular, distances are so much greater and a bigger factor in travel. It can make it difficult to imagine being able to take meaningful long weekend trips. But it’s not impossible. It just takes more creativity and out of the box thinking. And it takes the willingness to accept that a larger portion of your trip will be spent travelling to get there.

In the years since I’ve been home, I’ve found that the Family Day long weekend in February has been one of my favourites for travel and exploring. I started adding on an extra day to make it a 4 day weekend, but it works with 3 days as well. We’ve done 2 trips to Ottawa for Winterlude and two trips to Point Pelee National Park – which has fast become one of my favourite places – to stay in the oTentiks. (I promise to post one day about the oTentiks and winter camping in them at Pelee.) Both of these are travel I may never have done if not for being willing to travel on a long weekend.

I don’t get to travel as much as I would like. I’m not sure if I would want to travel full time, even if I could, but I would definitely travel more than I currently do if it was possible. And I would almost certainly spend more time camping in the summer months! But I have learned that I can fit more travel in than I once thought possible. And I can afford more travel as well by carefully planning, saving and balancing smaller, less expensive travel and exploration with less frequent, bigger trips.

There are lots of ways to plan to work more travel into your life, and to plan to save for travel. Today I talked mostly about my story, and the time aspect of fitting in travel. Next week, I’m going to tell you a bit about my approach to being intentional in working travel into your life through budgeting in particular, and the steps and considerations that I have found useful.

How do you work travel into your life? Do you have any tips and tricks that have worked for you? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,