It's been years since our last summer holiday. So long that the details are not quite clear in my head. I had decided to take my family to the Ottawa area (the capital of Canada, for those who don't know); an area where I had lived for some time during the '70s. I had fond memories of the city, and the surrounding area. During our visit to the nation's capital, I was able to do things as a tourist that I had never done as a resident; such as visiting the parliament buildings, and taking a guided tour through the Rideau Canal.

And I was able to relive the experiences of going white water rafting, nearly 20 years after my last experience, and nearly 10 years since I had put on enough extra pounds to make such thoughts quite foolish. Besides having video proof that I look like a walrus in a wet suit, I also have perpetual memories of a great trip down the river. Soon after our return from that trip, we decided to put a swimming pool into our own yard. At the time, we had performed a cost analysis that indicated a pool would save us between $2- and $3000 per year in vacation expenses, so it was a good investment. That pool is a great investment, as it gives us many months of continuous enjoyment every season. Still, five years later, my wife and I are getting wanderlust, and without the children and school schedules to worry about, we're much more mobile and less restricted as to our timetable.

We've spent a bit of time talking about where we might want to go. One suggestion was Toronto, where we could spend a romantic weekend taking in a broadway show, and going back to a place called Medieval Times to enjoy an evening of food and entertainment. Another suggestion was a return to Orlando's Universal Studios. The last time we were in Orlando, I was there for a convention and had brought my wife along for sight-seeing. On the day she was to take a tour of the studio, she was called back due to a medical emergency - I had contracted food poisoning at the hotel and needed to be hospitalized. She's never really forgiven me the timing of that unfortunate incident.

We've also given some thoughts to a quaint weekend at a bed & breakfast. If anyone knows of any good B&B places in the Kitchener/Waterloo or Toronto areas, feel free to leave a comment.