Finding the “Wow!” Moments - episode 117
Camille Dernis is our Le Voyage en France guest today. She’s a cruise director with Amawaterways and we were fortunate to have her on our recent cruise down the Rhone from Lyon to Avignon. She is a delightful individual! Camille pays attention to detail and is very personable. You feel like you are taking a trip with a good friend. Her love for travel is contagious and it is clear she enjoys her job.
All the moving Camille’s done in her life, began her love for new places, new faces and to look for the “Wow!” moments in life. Then to take those and share them with others. Isn’t that the ultimate? To take in the landscape, the history, the beauty, have the adventure, all the while connecting with other people along the way. Sounds like a good chapter to me! And it doesn’t have to be far. Visiting a town nearby, one you don’t go to often, can make for a worthwhile outing. Where’s your next trip going to be?
Outdoorsy. Thorough. Good at Mario-Kart.
— Camille Dernis
Ron, Wailea and Pain au Chocolat
Thoughts from Finding the “Wow!” Moments
When I look at the title of this week’s episode, I think about the wow moments in my own life. Some are pretty easy to conjure up. If you’re married, then the day of your wedding. If you have kids, then the day they were born. What about the less obvious times? When you take a bite of a delicious, scrumptious food and you can’t help but moan. Or when you see something in a movie/TV show and you shutter. Or when you hear a song and you get goosebumps. These moments are the best stuff of life. See if you can think of a few of yours.
Here are a few of mine.
My first date with Ron - Our paths crossed occasionally for over ten years and when we were both finally available to see what might be, he asked me out. I don’t remember any sparks between us, we were both in relationships. I hadn’t seem him in years. Would we find each other attractive all this time later? When he showed up at the front door he had on jeans, a button down shirt, a navy blue blazer and cowboy boots. He smelled soooo good and yes, he was indeed handsome to my eyes.. At that moment when he walked through the door, I learned what to “swoon” is. It’s an old fashioned word for sure, and technically it means to faint. I will tell you my knees buckled a bit and I did all I could to keep my composure. That moment is seared in my mind.
Wailea beach - Anytime we are fortunate enough to go to Hawaii we visit our favorite beach on Maui at Wailea. We’ve been there several times and if I have it my way we will keep going. The first time I saw it, and every time I go back, I almost want to weep for how happy I am. Joyous? Peaceful? Beautiful? Check, check and check again. The smells of Hawaii are legendary and I definitely go into instant relax-mode when our plane lands and I take a deep breath. I’m a beach girl, born and raised, so I lavish in time on the sand. I like coarse, big-grained sand, not dirt-sand. And water? Well, I prefer it in the 70’s, clear with small waves if at all. (I have been known to boogie board.) There I drink in the moment, enjoying the feel of the water all over my body, romping around as the mood strikes me. We go back and forth. Under the shade of our umbrella, read a good book, get too hot, go soak, come back, repeat. Take a walk, go for a swim. Repeat. Later a nap and some good food.
My first pain au chocolat - The hairstylist I go to has been a longtime family friend. As we tend to do when we have our hair done, ladies, we chat about life, right? Lance knew I was going to France. Since he’d been a couple of times, he wanted to share a few tips. He went on and on about pain au chocolat which is a chocolate croissant. Ok, I’ve had croissants and I never really got the appeal. They seemed chewy, too buttery (and I like butter). Well guess what? I had never had a croissant in France. Apparently it makes all the difference in the world! Our first day in Paris we had some time and we went to lunch. I don’t typically order sweets for lunch, I save that for dessert. But when I saw it on the menu I knew I had to try. At least I would have a story for Lance. Imagine my surprise when I bit into it and moaned? It was flaky, full of flavor with that bit of sweet chocolate in the middle. I get it now. Every morning that we could find one, I had one with breakfast. They came in smallish, couple bite pieces, and on occasion, nice and big, like the first one I bit into.
There are so many other wow moments but these are the first few that came to mind. We’d love to hear yours. If you’re up for it, email us and we’ll put it on the show!
My happy place.
— Wailea, Maui
