Not too long ago I was hanging out in Hong Kong with my son and new daughter-in-law, meeting her extended family and celebrating their marriage.  At one point in the week, Justin asked me, “Well, Mom, how do you like Hong Kong? Is this a place you’d like to come back to repeatedly?”

Hard for me to answer.  I mostly enjoy going to new places.  In fact, the tag line on my email quotes photographer Diane Arbus, who said, “My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been before.”

If you’ve read my blog “Traveling with a two-year old” you might recall the reference to “The bear went over the mountain….to see what he could see.”

That song nails the way I feel.

Justin’s question got me to thinking about the places I do like to return to again and again–Chicago, New York and Paris.  And the British Virgin Islands.

 WooHoo!  They are the best.  I’ve made five trips there and am already looking at the calendar to schedule another.

The BVI’s are truly a vacation,  a sailor’s paradise, a place to relax, unwind, enjoy and savor really memorable moments. For me, it’s not a place to explore or delve into culture and history unless you are interested in the finer points of Pusser’s Rum or where Painkiller got its name.

Chatting with sailing friends, nurturing relationships and creating memories are what it is all about. Laughing and singing and loving the Happy Arrrgghh with one-man band–Pirate Michael Beans who performed at Leverick Bay Resort.    It’s a place to spend hours basically going in circles on the beautiful blue/green Caribbean water, eating fish caught that day and napping with a book.

I’m always reminded of a favorite Kurt Vonnegut quote, “The wrinkles are smoothed out of the brain at the edge of a body of water.”

For more about the BVI’s, click on this link.  Or simply enjoy the sampling of scenes–photos I took on a recent trip.  For a visual, water loving person like me, it’s the BEST.