In this blog post from the Wonderful World of Rae Stonehouse, Rae shares his recent annual summer vacation's trials & tribulations.

1. R & R … Really?
It’s that time of year again when I accompany my wife on
our annual trip to the west coast to take in some so-
called R & R. What some might refer to as rest &
relaxation. I’m not one of them though.
The whole concept of R&R seems a little confusing to
me, when you consider the amount of work and
preparation that goes into getting ready to spend quality
time … relaxing.
For the past decade or so we have been travelling to the Sunshine Coast on the West coast of
British Columbia for our annual R&R retreat. We have been renting ocean front cottages for
anywhere from 4 to 6 nights.
When I say cottages, I don't mean a rustic log cabin the smells moldy and dusty. Most of these
cottages are fairly new, modern in their decorating and usually contain everything that you
would expect in a home away from home setting.
Preparation for these annual getaways usually starts about two weeks in advance. My wife
locates her master list of things to take with her. Then she starts collecting all the items on the
list.
We end up having one or two areas in the house set up as staging stations where we deposit
our stuff that we’re planning on taking with us. As we have a busy household this tends to get
in the way and we end up tripping over it for a few days.
Then there is meal planning. When you're going to be away from home for certain amount of
time you want to make sure that you are going to be eating some good food. Not necessarily
the same everyday food you do at home.
This necessitates going to various grocery stores around town to gather all the items on the
shopping list. And of course, when you are away you always realise that there's something that
you forgot to buy or something you left on the kitchen cupboard and had meant to pack.
My personal preparation for our journey isn’t as onerous as my wife’s. After all, how long does
it take to pack some underwear and socks? All I’ve really got to do is count the number days
that I'm going to be away, multiplied by one, with one of each thrown in for good measure.
Toss in a few pair of shorts, some shirts, sweat pants & sweat shirt, just in case the temperature
drops and I’m good to go.

2. Equally important for me in my preparation, is making sure that I've got enough books to read
while I’m away. I would hate to run out. So, one a day, for the duration of the trip should be
enough.
Then there are the requisite electronics. Satellite radio, cell phones, laptop computer, Amazon
Fire Stick [can’t have R&R without Netflix!] Fire tablet and of course a camera.
It’s a good thing I have a small pickup truck to haul all of our gear and three coolers for the
food. Yes, the beer is packed, with one on ice to motivate me to haul everything out at the
other end.
From where we live in the interior of British Columbia it's about a four and a half to five-hour
drive to catch a ferry to get to the Sunshine Coast.
The Okanagan Connector takes you to the Coquihalla Highway that goes from Merritt to Hope.
This time of the year it is a panoramic vista hosted by Mother Nature. Road signs advising
caution in times of low visibility, areas of poor visibility, high cross-winds, are all warnings about
how crazy the road conditions can and will be when the temperature drops and the beautiful
highway becomes known as the “Highway to Hell.”
As I am the designated driver on this trip to the coast, I find it quite tiresome. Good thing for
cruise control! My wife doesn't travel very well. She is nervous from start to finish. She doesn't
like it when I pass the big trucks, sometimes going around a curve.
She gets this feeling that her life is going to end at that moment and she is going to die right
there on the spot, which makes it more stressful for me.
Entering and going through all the cities in the outskirts of Vancouver is stressful at the best of
times. Especially when you read the directional sign for the ferries, only to find that wasn’t the
one you were headed for, necessitating a u-turn to get back where we started. Even more so
when you realize you have made the same mistake a few too many times in previous year’s
trips.
After winding our way through the outskirts of Vancouver, West Vancouver and North
Vancouver, the Ferry Terminal is within reach.
If you're fortunate you might be able to drive right onto the ferry, with little or no waiting, if
you get there at the right time. And we have been very fortunate in the past with being able to
drive right on.
A short forty-five minute cruise takes you though breath-taking scenery that makes up the
coast line.
Departure at Lansdale Ferry Terminal and another hour or so drive to our destination. All those
supplies in the truck for our R&R had to be unloaded and hauled into our cottage.

3. We learned that ‘carriage house’ means that there are stairs involved. Carrying our food cooler
up the stairs almost killed us. Once you start your ascent, there is no stopping or turning
around.
At last, we are at our destination and ready for the R&R. The first day was a day of recovery.
After travelling for nine hours, we needed the time to rest. I’m not so sure about the relaxation
though.
On Day two, three and four, we went for some walks and a couple of strenuous hikes on
wilderness trails.
Enjoyable … yes, relaxing, I wouldn’t say so.
The time went by quickly. Once again, packing everything up and hauling it down the stairs to
our waiting pick-up truck. How in the world did the food cooler get even heaver on the way
down? That should be an impossibility.
Back in the truck for another road trip for the way home.
This time however, we weren't so lucky and missed our ferry by mere minutes. Two and a
quarter hours later, we were once again on our journey.
The weather was beautiful and the trip home was uneventful, other than my wife’s frequent
screams of “Oh my God, we’re going to die!”
A nine-hour journey, followed by another hour of unloading the truck and trying to find places
to put everything that we had hauled with us. The next day, more of the same, unpacking
everything and doing the laundry.
Maybe I’m not hard-wired for R&R. I don’t see myself as one to kick back and do nothing for
several days.
My vacation is over in a few days and I go back to work. Hopefully I can get some R&R there…
~~~
Rae Stonehouse
Author Bio:
Rae A. Stonehouse is a Canadian born author & speaker. His
professional career as a Registered Nurse working predominantly in
psychiatry/mental health, has spanned four decades.
Rae has embraced the principal of CANI (Constant and Never-ending Improvement) as
promoted by thought leaders such as Tony Robbins and brings that philosophy to each
of his publications and presentations.

4. Rae has dedicated the latter segment of his journey through life to overcoming his
personal inhibitions. As a 20+ year member of Toastmasters International he has
systematically built his self-confidence and communicating ability. He is passionate
about sharing his lessons with his readers and listeners. His publications thus far are of
the self-help, self-improvement genre and systematically offer valuable sage advice on
a specific topic.
His writing style can be described as being conversational. As an author Rae strives to
have a one-to-one conversation with each of his readers, very much like having your
own personal self-development coach. Rae is known for having a wry sense of humour
that features in his publications.
Author of Self-Help Downloadable E-Books:
Power Networking for Shy People : Tips & Techniques for Moving from Shy
to Sly!
PROtect Yourself! Empowering Tips & Techniques for Personal Safety: A
Practical Violence Prevention Manual for Healthcare Workers.
E=Emcee Squared : Tips & Techniques to Becoming a Dynamic Master of
Ceremonies.
Power of Promotion : On-line Marketing for Toastmasters Club Growth
You're Hired! Job Search Strategies That Work: Available as an easily
downloadable e-book or as an on-line e-course.
Phone Rae 250-451-6564 or info@raestonehouse.com
Rae’s social … are you?
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RaeStonehouse
Linkedin? Rae is http://www.linkedin.com/in/raestonehouse
Copyright 2018 Rae Stonehouse. The above document may be freely copied and
distributed as long as the author’s name and contact info remain attached.
To learn more about Rae A. Stonehouse, visit the Wonderful World of Rae Stonehouse
at http://raestonehouse.com.