The Neverending Quest for Christmas

It's probably pretty apparent but our travel adventures started early on in our long distance dating. I was visiting my then "guy" in St. Louis for a post holiday celebration. For our first New Year's Eve we drove from St. Louis to New Orleans to ring in the new year in Jackson Square. Why there? I read an article about the best places to celebrate New Year's Eve. Mr. Goodin should have known then that it would only get more adventurous. 0ver 100,000 people there to see the fireworks with us. It was so exciting to be standing on a manhole cover surrounded by a few thousand of our closest strangers.

However, my quest for Christmas really started a few years ago....there were multiple factors involved. My birthday, which is inconveniently four days before Christmas and never to be combined with the big day and my wanderlust to find "winter" due to our sub tropic conditions in Florida which make for a horrible condition. This is a well known condition for those of us born in December known as "BirthMas." Somehow a birthday and a holiday a lumped into one. Unfair as it is, I could spend a whole blog on this but I digress. Instead of fighting this, I have decided to embrace it. Mr. Goodin has embraced it as well and we officially have created our tradition of seeking out Christmas. Thanks to the internet searching is easy.  I would look up "Christmas markets" "Winter festivals" "Best places to...." It was a never ending virtual journey. So combining my beloved December 21st birthday with the holidays has led us to some pretty fun places.

After the New Orleans trip, we trekked by truck up to St. Augustine to ride the Holly Jolly Holiday Trolley. A wonderful trolley ride in which we dawned 3D glasses through the historic streets of St. Augustine. The glasses turned regular lights into ice cycles. Magical and fun...but I just liked saying Holly Jolly Holiday Trolley. Fun, festive and fabulous is how I would describe this city at Christmas. Wrapped in a bundle of history, Florida's oldest city was like a visit to the past with a festive twist of holiday splendor.

 

*St. Augustine pictures taken from: www.trolleytours.com/st-augustine/holiday-tour.asp

From St. Augustine we travelled to Charleston, SC by train (on our way to visit family). Charleston at Christmas is a must do. Apparently, the very touristy and crowed city vacates right before the holidays. We stayed in a lovely B&B right off the famous broad street. Mr. Goodin had roses and chocolates delivered to our room. Que romantico! We took a carriage ride, walked through the markets, ate she crab soup, devoured a bucket of steamed oysters, inhaled the pickles at the famous Jestine's kitchen and wandered to the Marion Square at night to see all the Christmas lights. I think I busted into Santa's workshop....shhh...that'll be our little secret. Charleston should be on everyone's list.  I should mention this was the trip that Mr. Goodin actually proposed to me on my birthday. He will never be able to top that...though many trips have come close.

From Charleston we headed to Jamaica for our Christmas/New Years Eve Honeymoon.  Once in your lifetime I highly suggest a Caribbean holiday. I thought living in Florida, we would be the master of a hot holiday, but piña Coladas poolside for New Years is a winner. Not to mention steel drums and a fire eating performer. We splurged on a Sandals all inclusive vacation in Montego Bay, known as MoBay. It was a vacation full of fine dining, beach activities and swim up bars.

From Jamaica we zipped to Quebec, which to date has been the most memorable birthday. I had done a query on festivals only to read about the Festival of Lights in Quebec. Parts of the city were illuminated at night. Sounded perfect to me! It was also an old French city. This was a winner on all accounts. As a Francophile, I couldn't wait to visit the famous Chateau Frontenac. A castle (now hotel) in this port city.

We made all of our flights and arrived safely. Picked up the rental car and drove about an hour through the mountains to arrive at our bed and breakfast. It happened to be my birthday so with two hours left on the clock, we bundled up for a very cold walk through town. Not really knowing where we were, we ducked into the nearest pub for a celebratory cocktail. Happy birthday to me!

The next morning, with an anticipatory excitement, I open the curtains to discover a winter storm of magnitude like proportions had come in the night. We had about 2 feet of drift covering the city including our car. This was a little worrisome but with a determine attitude, we hit the streets. We shopped the local markets and had a warm breakfast in a quaint coffee shop

After, breakfast we had one goal, the Hotel Frontenac. Visible from our hotel, we thought this would be an easy walk.
                                           
However, the winds picked up and it was bitter bone shattering cold. Mr. Goodin's hair was turning into icicles. Time to buy a wool cap, which we learned later he was allergic to. We made it to the Hotel and we were happy to warm up and enjoy the Christmas splendor. We hiked back to our hotel and promptly stayed indoors for fear of hypothermia. We had seen several restaurants near our hotel, right around the corner. We scouted several potential birthday dinner spots. As we departed for dinner, we discovered all the restaurants were closed! Each one closed, closed, yup...closed. Except for one. Perfect. Dinner here with the rest of the tourists who braved the cold.

The next day, we headed back to the airport. All was fine until the flight from JFK was cancelled which caused a ripple effect on our flight. All of a sudden, we had no seats home on standby. Not only were we implementing a plan B..but a C as well. Mr. Goodin needed to get home so sadly, I told him to go and leave me. I ended up staying in a hotel until the next morning when I could get out. I always joke and tell everyone that he left me in foreign country on my birthday...to which he replies in jest "it was Canada for goodness sake!" Still I had to use my passport I remind him. Oh! As for the "festival"....not sure I ever really discovered one. There were some illuminations but nothing to write home about. I did say that I wanted to come back...but only in the summer.



Then there was the Viva LasVegas BirthMas celebration....and as the old adage goes, "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas". Let's just say it was fun! I will saw that I mastered the roulette wheel pretty quickly and felt like a Vegas native in no time. I was smart enough to walk away a winner. The lights, the shows, the va va va boom of the strip were mesmerizing. Vegas lived up to all the expectations that I had in my mind. It was bustling and bright. It is truly a city that never sleeps.

So my quest for Christmas continued with a special return trip to Charleston this year for a low country celebration. Let's just say we relieved our favorite moments from our first visit, however Mr. Goodin outdid himself.  Flowers delivered, dinner at Magnolia's for upscale low country cuisine and a trip to a botanical garden.We walked through the bustling city markets and enjoyed local foods that make Charleston special. The streets adorned with greenery and lots of red ribbon. At our bed and breakfast we enjoyed our afternoon sip of sherry while chatting it up with other guests. Quiet times and memories made that made this Birthday/Christmas magical.

My wish for all is that you never stop finding your Christmas magic. Whether at home or away, memories are there for the making and the taking. May your new year be the brightest and best one yet!