I am getting very excited now as the countdown is on for my trip to Norfolk Island. I have not been before but always wanted to go. I think the tales we read when at school fired up the imagination as it seems to be one place that many people have on the 'bucket list' or the list of places they went. I leave here (Cairns) Monday, overnight in Brisbane and fly in there on Tuesday. I can hardly wait to see what I think of it, as the reaction from people I have told has ranged from "Eleven days - what on earth are you going to do for 11 days as you can see it all in an afternoon?" to "Only 11 days, you will not have time to see it all let alone appreciate it properly", with some conceeding that "Eleven days will be about right to see it all in a leisurely fashion and fully appreciate the beauty and history of the place."
I manage the condition of CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) , so I travel at a leisurely pace, with rest slotted in most days, and a 'day off' to re-invigorate myself as needed. I don't qualify for a "Nanna nap" so I have a "SCAN" (Senior Citizens Afternoon Nap) most days - though I must confess I do not always confine them to the afternoon! I think that is also why I have so enjoyed writing about my trips - it gives me a legitimate excuse to have a quiet day at least once a week to "catch up on the writing".
I often do quite a bit of research on each place I go to, so I can better inform my readers, and that means I usually learn more about many of them, so therefor appreciate more aspects, than I may have done otherwise. I also think that when you have a background as diverse as mine, it gives you wider 'interests' in the different aspects of each place. Having had some time "working on boats" I am always interested in what type of boats (and ships) service the area or are used for recreation. Having worked on farms and station properties I am interested in agricultural practices - and after 30 years in Real Estate that always holds a fascination for me. My family has a business background - both sides actually - with not only both sets of grandparents having been in business in North Queensland, but all of the generation before that as well - and how many can say their Great Grandmother had a business of her own - separate from her husbands, and that their Great Great Grandmother continued to run the grocery business long after her husband died? So business is in my blood. I have run my own, and others, so am always interested in that aspect as well.
But if I sit around writing I will never get everything finished and on that plane...