Let’s Talk with James M Jackson
Winter Vacations
by James M Jackson
There are (at least) three schools of thought regarding winter vacations. One, especially attractive to those in higher latitudes, is a vacation to someplace warm. The opposite is preferred by those who enjoy winters sports, specifically seeking out a cold location, usually with plentiful snow. The third is a destination vacation that may or may not include one of the previously-mentioned aspects.
Since I live in lowcountry Georgia in the winter, escaping cold is no longer an issue for me. I can embrace cold for limited durations when I know I can escape it by returning home. Last year about this time we traveled to Churchill, Manitoba to view the northern lights—a destination vacation that some thought marked me as loony. Temps dropped well below zero Fahrenheit, but we had a great time and accomplished our mission of witnessing the aurora borealis.
My characters take vacations as well. Seamus McCree, his mother and six-year-old granddaughter are vacating in the novella “Low Tide at Tybee,” which was just released as a single and as part of the anthology Lowcountry Crime: Four Novellas.
This year, we’re using the excuse of Left Coast Crime’s meeting in Hawaii to spend nearly a month exploring the islands. We leave mid-March and return in April. We’ll spend time on Oahu, the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai and Kauai.
Toss up questions for our readers. Feel free to answer one or both. Do you seek warmth, snow, or a destination for your actual or hypothetical winter vacation? Given we’re unlikely to visit Hawaii again, what should we be sure to see or do?
Posted in Let's Talk, with James M. Jackson, zed: Former Authors • Tags: BLB Discussion, James M. Jackson, Left Coast Crime, Let's Talk, Winter Vacations | 9 Comments
Looking forward to seeing you at Left Coast Crime. Most of our ‘vacations’ happened when one of us (usually Hubster) had a conference or another reason to be there, so we rarely took actual ‘vacations’ other than summer visits to my parents in Los Angeles who wanted to see the grands so they paid. LCC will be my 3rd visit to Hawaii — you should have fun no matter what you do. The best Hawaiian spot for us was on Molokai because it’s NOT a typical tourist destination. Off season, secluded, and a great way to wind down after my job assignment on Maui.
Terry — it will be great to see you at LCC. I’m particularly looking forward to Molokai for their less developed culture.
My vacation time is generally to recover (from deadlines at the day job). I live in the Midwest, so we get the change of season (although not so much this year!). I’m a fan of the Southwest, myself, prefer warmer weather, although the Aurora is on my bucket list!
I enjoy the Southwest as well, but my better half prefers to have green in the landscape pallet and so we winter in the Southeast rather than the Southwest (where I would have gone, I think).
We like Caribbean cruises for our winter vacations…or any time of year, really. As for Hawaii, it’s been so many years since I went there that I can’t recommend specifics. So much to see and do. Enjoy the cuisine and the tropical foliage.
The only cruise I took was Alaska’s inland passage because other than the ferries is about the only way to see that part of the country.
Boy, do I love snow. I live in the Lowcountry too, where that is rare, which just makes me crave it even more. Of course, if I lived in snow, I might think of it differently.
And do you and yours travel north to enjoy some of that coveted snow?
Snow: been there, done that. Warm, balmy weather: bring it on! Spring and fall are my fav seasons, and my vacations these days revolve around grandchildren.