How I Plan to Spend More Summer Vacation

The traditional school year for many has come to an end, or is in the process of winding down over the next few weeks. I’m a bit jealous of my colleagues who are already on vacation, recovering from the roller coaster that is teaching. As for me, I’m counting down the last few days and preparing for the journey home to the USA for a round of summer school fun. That’s right, I’m one of those gluttons who can’t get enough of school, or simply want a change of scenery, and summer school affords me that opportunity. Let’s just say it’s a bit of both in that regard.

To that end, I don’t know what will come from this summer experience. Last summer, I spent three and a half weeks in Europe, visiting numerous towns and cities in Poland, holidaying in Albania, and concluding my trip on the Irish Sea. That was a whirlwind experience, filled with many fun moments and a lot of filming. Reflecting, I should have said from mid-June to early August, I was off and about until I hopped my plane to Morocco. I forgot about exploring old haunts in Maryland and Virginia, and then going to Arizona for several days as well. 

This summer will be different, but I hope to get some travel in, even if it’s an afternoon trip here and there in western New Hampshire. There will be no trips into Canada, or long drives to Eastport, Lubec, or Pittsburg, but I plan to find a few places worth showing you off the beaten path if time permits. Vlogging will be hit or miss, but it should be a marked improvement with more content, assuming the internet connection at school is fast enough to upload ten to twenty-minute-long videos in a timely manner.

Even now, as I type this, I am supposed to be in Toulouse filming. Still, a stupid broken rib and the fallout, pun intended, from that untimely rollerblading accident have hampered any last-minute trips I had planned. I believe my camera is in mourning at present from a lack of attention. We should take a moment of silence as the travel channel awaits new content, but alas, it will come eventually. 

As for my writing, I’m around 53,000 words into the Polish memoir. My goal is to complete my latest chapter on Opole, and then we will call it a day for the summer months. This doesn’t mean I couldn’t write during the warmer months, but aside from Going Home and My Shenandoah Love, it’s been rare over these last twenty years for me to write anything new during this season. 
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Instead, we will shift back to Brindisi and Me, and that release. Stay tuned, as I hope to release the book before my birthday, if time permits. In the meantime, enjoy this summer season, and if you have any good dad jokes you want to share, please send them my way for inspiration.

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