Best Trip Ever
Q.
Think about some of your favourite trips. Where were you? How did you feel? What makes certain journeys so special to those who wander?
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Our best trips often leave vivid sense memories – sounds, smells, tastes, colours. Those with extraordinary skill, like artist Georgia O’Keefe (1887-1986), can mine those memories to take us back there with them.
Though she was known particularly for her gorgeous portrayals of New Mexico, O’Keefe also fell in love with Hawaii. She sailed to Honolulu in 1939, courtesy of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. The deal? O’Keefe would create two Hawaiian paintings for their national campaign. In exchange, she could take the extra time she needed to paint for herself.
The O’Keefe-Hawaiian Pineapple Company collaboration was less than smooth, but O’Keefe did travel for ten weeks across Hawaii, painting, and writing about her island discoveries in regular letters to her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz.
On March 20, 1939 O’Keefe writes from Hāna:
‘I drove out early this morning—through the cane—along the sea—early light on the mountain tops that are often in cloud—some way feeling that I would never experience anything like it again. The cane fields sort of get under my skin—sort of fascinate me—and every day I learn more about them—When you get snatches of the sea through the sharp softly waving leaves it is really lovely…’
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Georgia O’Keefe. Hibiscus. 1939
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O’Keefe was in her early fifties when she went to Hawaii. At what stage of life are we most likely to experience our most beloved trips?
In a 2023 survey of 1,509 Canadian adults, Sunwing found:
My Fondest Travel Memory Is From…
1. A recent or past vacation as an adult (71%)
2. A childhood trip (16%)
3. A trip as a teenager (18%)
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And why did Canadian respondents remember these particular trips so fondly?
What Made That Trip So Special?
A. Made me excited to keep exploring other places (55%)
B. Sharing memories + getting closer to family or friends (51%)
C. Helped me learn more about another culture or language (37%)
D. Gave me a more positive outlook on life (36%)
E. Helped me grow as a person (34%)
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Header Art: Georgia O’Keefe. Hibiscus with Plumeria. 1939
