I’m woefully behind yet again with the blog, but I’m getting better in some ways; I used to forget about things I wanted to write about; now I have drafts of topics that just aren’t written. But they’ll get there. One topic awaiting a write-up, but relates to a recent trip, is seeing things through the filter of memories, and of childhood, vs. today.

Two years ago my family took a 4th of July trip to Nantucket, which was the first time I’d ever been there.  The choice was made because of that; as a child I had been to Martha’s Vineyard, and I recall the trip being pretty amazing, especially since we biked around the Vineyard for most of the day.  Nantucket was walkable, and I had a blast exploring the area near where the ferry came in.

Last year we changed up plans and went to Virginia instead, but this year we went back to the Cape, and this time opted for the Vineyard.  For various reasons, we didn’t bike this year, and while beautiful, I found the trip less than satisfying.  We explored the shopping areas within an hour, had a nice lunch, but then found not enough to do so we went back earlier than scheduled. Frustratingly, it now colors my childhood experience somewhat with a less positive feel, even though I can still think back on the first trip fondly.

That seems to happen a lot.  I hated Connecticut growing up; I found it unfriendly to children relative to Hampton Roads, where I lived first, and which had a high density of activities relative to the size of the area. Clearly I’ve become much more comfortable with the area as an adult, but it took awhile, and now I’ve come to love the state, and New England for that matter. New York, a city of awe when I was a kid, seems more normal now that it’s my workplace and I spend so much time there. I’ve found I’ve changed a bit as a result of working in the city, too.

There’s areas I haven’t been to since I was younger that I’ve often thought about returning, but I find myself hesitating, because I worry it’ll change what I think of it. Trips to Denver, Italy and Florida are things I haven’t done in more than a decade, but there’s some very vivid and distinct memories I’d hate to have ruined.  Yet it’d be great to re-explore areas I enjoyed so much; there’d be the chance to create new memories. I sometimes find it tough to reconcile the two, but I know I’ll eventually revisit places I loved so much when I was younger, in the hopes of recapturing some magic.