New Years' Resolutions

Although Sunshine Travel is a travel agency dedicated primarily to cruise planning, I can't always be on a cruise or traveling somewhere "new and exciting". I've lived in Florida since I was 2 years old, thanks to New Jersey snow that my parents didn't want to deal with anymore. As pretty as snow Is (to look at), I'm happy to be a year-round flip-flop wearer, and be able to sink my toes in the sand whenever I want!

I plan to use this blog in 2022, along with my new Instagram, as a little digression from major vacation planning. 2020 turned the travel world upside down; 2021 was supposed to get better (and it did...a little bit). Now 2022 is starting out with uncertainty again. I decided to share some travel photos and experiences here, just for fun. Some are throwbacks to previous times; some will be current from local explorations. 

One of my resolutions (not just for the New Year, but for life) is to do the things I've been talking about for a long time. I don't necessarily mean big bucket-list items (one trip to New Zealand, thank you), but smaller things that are easy to accomplish but that I somehow never get around to.

Here's an example: in 2012, Sunshine Travel did a spotlight on a different part of Florida each month. One month, I picked Clearwater Beach. As a travel consultant, I've also planned numerous trips for clients to the Clearwater Beach area. It's a great destination here in Florida! But somehow, I never managed to squeeze it in for a personal visit.

In 2019, I finally decided that enough time had passed us by, and I took my kids to Clearwater Beach for a few days! We enjoyed not only Clearwater Beach, but Caladesi Island State Park, Honeymoon Island, Indian Rocks Beach, a sunset dolphin watching boat tour (with ice cream!), and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It didn't actually take a lot of effort, and it was more than worth it. A few months ago when Winter the Dolphin (from Clearwater Marine Aquarium) passed away, we were even more glad that we made that trip and had the chance to see Winter in real life!
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The big bucket list trips may be on hold for a little while longer, but in the meantime, enjoy your local area (safely!) and do what you can now, instead of saving it for some other time (which often never manages to present itself).

Follow Sunshine Travel on Instagram this year!