January 26, 2022
I’m usually upbeat and optimistic but today, I’m going to be honest…the start to 2022 has not gone exactly as I planned.
Personally, recovering from COVID and the dismal, gray skies of an Indiana winter have worn on me and I am feeling rather ‘blah’. I have friends and family members battling cancer that I would love nothing more than to visit in-person with, however, we keep delaying and hoping for a time when they won’t be as exposed. COVID feels like it is everywhere right now and it is taking a toll.
Professionally, I hear it daily from my clients: “When can we travel again?”, “When will travel restrictions start easing up?” or “When will things go back to normal?”.
The weight of the world feels heavy right now and we are, yet again, sitting here just waiting for things to get better. I’m attempting to control what I can control and have been trying to workout regularly, eat healthy & read more books (I’ve read more in the past month than I have in the past 10 years).
While I don’t have a crystal ball…I can tell you that in the past week, I have seen some encouraging signs of recovery:
-The United Kingdom has lifted mask and COVID pass requirements
-Mexico has eliminated their Health Questionnaire Form
-Ireland just announced that they are bringing back St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations
So, while we all have our tough times, I choose to focus on the good and this quote always helps keep things in perspective for me:
“If ‘Plan A’ didn’t work, keep your cool; the Alphabet has 25 more letters” – Claire Cook
Stay well friends and since reading has become a new passion of mine, I thought you might enjoy the below book-themed river cruises!
ONCE UPON A RIVER…
Who doesn’t love a good theme?
Well, AVALON WATERWAYS just announced their NEW Storyteller Series and we are loving the creative and inspiring itineraries for our River Cruise clients.
These celebrity-hosted cruises invite travel enthusiasts, like you, to meet legends in legendary landscapes. To sail past cliffside castles while uncovering cliff-hangers in the company of award-winning artists. And capture insider narratives outside the pages of novels, scripts and song lyrics.
⚓Sail the Storied Seine River with Candace Bushnell – Calling all Carries, Samanthas, Charlottes and Mirandas … You’re invited to sail the Seine River from Paris to Le Havre with stylish storyteller Candace Bushnell.
⚓WILD & WHIMSY ON THE WATER – Dear Sugars … you’re invited to pin, plot and plan a sweet, Suite Ship sailing from Budapest to Deggendorf with lyrical legend, Cheryl Strayed.
⚓GONE GIRL! – Gillian Flynn is inviting you to run away to the Danube River to hear about her twisted narratives while you wind and bend your way through craggy cliffs, terraced vineyards and culture-rich villages from Budapest to Vienna and beyond, discovering the Old World in new ways.
⚓STORYBOOK SCENERY, SARCASM & SATIRE – The Rhine isn’t just a river for poets, princes and painters … when you’re with Avalon Waterways, it’s a river for satirical scribes. If you’re looking for more Christopher Moore in your life (the writer who imagined Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff), look no further! This is no Fluke! You’re invited on a once-upon-a-river chance to meander through storied scenery – from Basel to Amsterdam – with comic spin and your favorite novelist.
Well done, Avalon, well done!
