Bakersfield Life

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Getting Away

Summer means many things – heat, kids out of school, and most of all, vacations. Bakersfield Life gathered four local women who know how to vacation in style to ask them about their summer gatherings. These women have been around the world and their responses are fascinating.


Q: If money were no object, what would be your dream vacation?

Colleen McGauley – I’d return to the Amalfi Coast of Italy, rent a large villa for several months and have family and friends visit as they could. We’d cook local foods, explore, work on relaxing, take cooking classes and enjoy the local regions.

Joanne Briones – I’d like to rent a villa in Tuscany for a month. I love the romance, food and culture of Italy. I like the idea of taking a month because my ideal vacation includes immersing myself in the culture and understanding the people.

Debrah Dutton – A European shopping trip would be a great vacation. As an interior designer, my clients often travel with me to buy furnishings and to gather architectural details and design ideas for their projects. This allows me to travel and work and at the same time do what I love.

Mary Christenson – I’m so boring! I love Santa Barbara, check in at the most luxurious spa for a couple of weeks of exercise, pampering, golf, romantic dining with my hubby, shopping – all with no cell phone.

Q: What’s the best trip you’ve been on in your life?

Colleen McGauley – I was blessed with a two-week vacation aboard a sailing yacht. Athens to Rome … for my 50th birthday, no less!

Joanne Briones – My favorite trip was when my husband and I took a cruise through Tahiti. The islands are gorgeous, the water and beaches are unbelievably spectacular and our yacht for the cruise was something like you’d see in a James Bond movie. Everything was first class, but my favorite experience was in Bora Bora. We went to church in a simple open-air sanctuary on lush grounds where we experienced the most moving service. I still remember the singing from that congregation, it sounded like angels.

Debrah Dutton – A few years ago, I spent a month in France and Italy where we explored the gastronomic regions of Lyon and Dijon, France. The experience of fine French cooking and wine tasting in this Burgundy district made this area of France unforgettable. My favorite place to vacation in Italy was at Lake Como near Milan. The landscape of the Swiss Alps as a backdrop to the shimmering lake is something I will never forget. The lake is surrounded by many villas that house beautiful gardens, art and architecture that are unforgettable. I would go back in a minute.

Mary Christenson – A Carribean cruise with my closest girlfriends when I was much younger! What fun! Good memories of all of us working so hard to be in great shape. Also a family trip to Europe – Paris, Scotland, London – three years ago.

Q: Are you more of an adventurer or a homebody?

Colleen McGauley – Adventurer – without a doubt!

Joanne Briones – This may sound odd for someone in my business, but I’m a homebody. I’ve lived in Bakersfield my whole life and I have a fantastic (and large) family and great friends. I like to work on my house.

Debrah Dutton – I am definitely an adventurer.

Mary Christenson – A little of both. I love to scout out villages, museums, fabric and trim shops, local sites and shop! I also like pool time, relaxing with good books, a little golf, just unwinding as well as dinners with my hubby and friends.

Q: Where are you going on
your next vacation?

Colleen McGauley – I leave next week for seven days at the Mendocino Farmhouse. A lovely Bed and Breakfast owned by a friend. Lots of great golf, relaxation and connecting with a dear friend.

Joanne Briones – This fall I’ll go to San Francisco for the USC vs. Stanford game and my husband will fit in golf at Pebble Beach. Next spring we’ll go to Hawaii and I’m excited about staying at the Four Seasons in Maui. My main focus, though, is a group cruise I’m working on for the fall of 2009 to the Western Mediterranean.

Debrah Dutton – I am going to Las Vegas in a few weeks for a furniture marketing vacation.

Mary Christenson – I’m going to Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas in July for a national real estate awards conference and I’m taking my family.

Q: Do you vacation every summer?

Colleen McGauley – Not necessarily. I squeeze vacations in and around my annual schedule. I prefer traveling at off-peak times when the crowds are a bit diminished. I don’t mind weather changes, so that’s a plus. It doesn’t ruin my world if it rains or even snows!

Joanne Briones – Yes, I do get to travel extensively. But like most people I don’t take a long, expensive trip all the time. I like to visit the coast and take some long weekends closer to home. I do think it’s important to get away, get refreshed and come home re-energized.

Debrah Dutton – Not necessarily. I travel all through the year and some locations are so overcrowded in the summer months that I prefer smaller trips within California as destinations each summer. Favorite summer locations are Laguna Beach, Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Francisco.

Mary Christenson – Yes! We’ve always done a family vacation to Door County Wisconsin – Sturgeon Bay – every year to visit my husband’s parents and family. I love the long walks around the island, sailing, sunbathing, reading, enjoying homemade cherry pie, rich cherry fudge, fresh salmon, corn on the cob and watching the gorgeous sunsets over the water.