Chasing Spring

I love spring! It's been my favorite season ever since we moved to Illinois. I was surprised when my granddaughter told me a couple of years ago that her favorite season is winter. She loves the snow which means she can go skiing. 

Once our kids were grown Art wanted to really see more of the world. It's his passion to visit all the places he's heard about. We generally traveled during the winter because that's when I had my 2 week holiday break from school. The year 2000 was the only time we traveled during spring break. Barcelona and Madrid was just beginning to leave winter behind.

Generally speaking, I didn't want to travel during spring because I liked seeing it burst forth at home.

I loved my sour cherry tree with its beautiful white blossoms that then turned into wonderful fruit that you could make cherry cobblers with.

Then there were my two lilac bushes along with forsythia and honeysuckle that welcomed spring every year.

In 2007, just before our final move back to Hawaii, Art wanted to do a bike trip in the Netherlands.

The tulip gardens of Keukenhof, Netherlands was breathtaking!

Now that we were back in Hawaii where you don't even notice the change of seasons very much, I was on the hunt for spring.

Art wanted mom to see more of the world so he insisted we take her to Butchart Garden in Vancouver Island, Canada. Our daughter had been there and told us that we would love it. Mom loves gardens so it was a no brainer.

On the way there, we bumped into Skagit Valley and were absolutely blown away. Totally blown away! There were ribbons of tulips as far as the eye could see.

Mom was totally astonished at the cherry blossoms in Stanley Park. 

She'd read of hanafubuki (flower blizzard) in books and poetry where the falling cherry blossom petals would create a floral blizzard.

As we walked along the Stanley Park cherry trees with petals fluttering about us, I remember her saying, "I can now die in peace for I've seen everything."

But then there was Butchart Garden and she never tired of walking along all the spring displays. She even asked to go back again the following day.

In 2010 we took mom and my Auntie Grace to Japan to visit with their family and explore the country they love in the season they dream about.

We traveled south and worked our way north. Mom and Auntie Grace felt their parents were looking out for them because we managed to follow the blooming of cherry blossoms all the way back to Tokyo.

The following month, Art and I traveled to Illinois to babysit our granddaughter to give her parents a chance to go on a cruise together.

And we managed to welcome spring again.

The chestnut tree had fallen during a freak wind storm a few years back so we planted a weeping cherry tree in its spot like we saw in Japan.

Our daughter sent a photo of the tree a week ago. 

It's glorious!

In 2013, we looked for spring in China.

Our tour guide made a point of telling us that these beautiful trees were not Japanese cherry trees, but Chinese cherry trees.

We asked mom where she would want to travel if she could travel anywhere in the world.

Blew us away when she told us Butchart Gardens and Skagit Valley.

Plane tickets were already bought for late April so we'd be there the same time as 2009.

Bloggers DJan and Linda told me that flowers were blooming earlier this year and we should change our travel date.

Art was reluctant at first because there was that $200 change fee per ticket.

However, he did it and we were really, really glad and grateful to Linda and DJan because indeed, the flowers were at their peak. We would have missed it if we went later.

Mom had fun seeing that bloggers are real people.

Art and I went on a Viking River Cruise in 2018 and saw spring in several countries.

Mom was 90 years old in 2019 and said she would be willing to take one final trip.

We were lucky in so many ways.

Mom got to see all of her relatives and spent precious time with them. They all knew it would be her last trip to see them.

We then boarded the Diamond Princess in Yokohama. One of the stops was Niigata where the cherry blossoms took your breath away. Mom was in heaven!

We returned to Yokohama, went by bus to Narita and boarded our flight back to Hawaii. It was truly a fabulous last trip for mom.

And yes, that was the same Diamond Princess where the following year would find it quarantined in port due to COVID-19.

Mom still thinks her parents were looking out for her.

I have enjoyed looking at everyone's posts about spring and had to look back at our spring adventures.

We shall look forward to seeing spring again with our own eyes some day. 

What is your favorite season?