Summer, 2012 was sizzling; I have not had a better summer in years than I did this summer.  I have learnt to truly relax and get away from it all, including getting away from social media and technology – except for my camera and camcorder (could not be without those).  And best of all, I spent my time with my family.

Well, I visited various places this summer, other than San Diego, where I currently live (yes, I am always the eternal tourist here).  Here is a picture of my little girl, Chandi, enjoying the beach in Coronado – just near the Hotel Del.

Hotel Del – Coronado

In addition, I have visited a new place – South Lake Tahoe, which is in California, and on the border with Nevada.

South Lake Tahoe, CA

I visited San Francisco again for the second time (the last time I went there was at least 15 years ago):

San Francisco, CA

I also went back to my old home, Washington, DC, which is where I first lived when I moved to the USA from England quite a number of years ago.  I loved being back in Washington, DC.

White House, Washington, DC

Another place that was revisited this summer was Baltimore, Maryland – this place has changed quite a bit, and is becoming a very popular place:

Baltimore Harbor

I went to Baltimore to catch a cruise – The Enchantment Of The Seas – to Bermuda – and this time I cruised with my kids, which is my favorite way to cruise!

Enchantment Of The Seas, Baltimore to Bermuda

Bermuda is a brand new place that I visited, and this place is gorgeous, pink sands, and turquoise water – absolutely heavenly!

Warwick Long Bay/Jobson’s Cove Beach, Bermuda

However, my one biggest regret this summer is that I did not go back home to England (where I was born) and be in London to see the Olympics.  Alas, I had to watch it on television, and I tuned in this year, unlike other years, perhaps because it had something to do with my beloved city of London.  Even though I was born in northern England, I did live in London for over a year, and have been back several times for visits.  London is just one of those places that I can visit again and again – I never get bored with it – it is a terrific city (in fact my favorite city).  I was filled with such pride for how London did an outstanding job in how it hosted the Olympics.  The opening and closing ceremonies were absolutely terrific, and the best of British was definitely on display.  If I hadn’t booked my cruise which ended just days before the Olympics ended, I would definitely have been in London.  Oh, well…. London, you know I will visit you again very soon.

Even though I didn’t get to visit England this year, I had a lot of fun visiting places in the USA and seeing another country (Bermuda) that can now be added to my list of about thirty plus countries that I have visited.  I will be putting all these new places I visited into separate posts, with some pictures, and I hope you will take a look.  As I look at this post, and I’m sure you may see it too…..I count many places as my home, not just San Diego, or Washington, DC and London.  Home is where the heart is, and my heart has definitely been in all these three places.

Summer, 2012, was wonderful for me, and I treasured my time spent with my children – we had a summer we will never forget.