It's cold outside! But the sun is shining! And that makes me want to get in my car and go traveling...somewhere, anywhere. About this time of year I get the wanderlust. My dictionary says that's a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about. Yep! That's me!
If you get the same wanderlust, there are several ways you can travel if you don't have the pocket money or stamina to get in your car and head off into the wild, blue yonder.
My first way to travel is the television, of course. I love to watch the Travel Channel, even if they do take me to some cold countries. Two of my favorite shows are Rudy Maxa's world and Rick Steves' travels. The other night I visited Scotland with Rudy and the night before it was Ireland with Rick. Can't beat that kind of traveling.
Your computer is also a good way to "rove about." I just spent some time doing a virtual tour provided by Armchair Travel, an online company that lets you visit the world through 360 panoramas, music, movies, games and more. I took a few minutes to tour part of the Taj Mahal in India, the Kew Gardens in London, as well as St. Paul's Cathedral, and did a quick visit of Oman on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. You can take the same trips by visiting http://www.armchair-travel.com/.
There's also another fun trip to take by visiting Joe McMichael's Globe Genie (just Google that one). I played around with it long enough to find 4th Street South in Cordele, Georgia. You can visit not only places in North America, but Europe, Africa, Asia and other parts of the world. But beware! it's a random travel and more fun that way.
There are many of us who like to listen to the radio to travel. That's where NPR (National Public Radio) comes in. Nancy Pearl is a librarian for NPR and once-upon-a-time in 2007 she had a column filled with books for armchair travel and adventure. She suggested In Trouble Again: A Journey Between Orinoco and the Amazon; Travels in West Africa by Mary Henrietta Kingsby, a Victorian lady traveler who wrote about her adventures; Emily Eden's Up the Country and Susanna Moore's One Last Look, both books about India; and many other books about Canada, King Solomon's Mines, Baghdad, etc. All good reading. You can visit npr.org for more information.
Of course, I love to sit in my soft rocker in the sunlight with a cup of hot tea and enjoy a good book. When I checked our Pines System about travel, I found there are 567 items. This includes print books, audio books, DVDs and videos. The ones I found interesting are Riding the Iron Rooster by Train through China; The Kingdom by Sea: a Journey Around Great Britian; A Life on the Road with Charles Kuralt; Travel Photography, a Time-Life book; To Jerusalem and Back, a Personal Account; A Book of Travellers' Tales, and A Guide to the Georgia Coast.
And you don't want to forget to look for DVDs and videos that will take you on wonderful adventures.
There are two books, however, I've decided to check out. One is Find Waldo Now and the other is I Should Have Stayed Home: the Worst Trips of Great Writers.
Looks like I don't really need to get in my car and go anywhere. There's plenty to do by staying home and traveling on my magic carpet.
Now, what are you going to do about your wanderlust?
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My first introduction to the concept of travel was from your Bookmobile. I was told as a youngster that I '..read more books from it than anyone else..'. Whether that was true or simply encouragement (it worked!), I developed an increasing hunger to know and to go, from the pages of the wonderful books. And I practiced. What at first seemed risky, became a long drink of water for a thirst parching from too long in one place. I know the need for travel. To just pick up and go. Ah, the road trip.
Just returned from an impromptu trip to Atlanta; the person I wanted to consult with said 'Cam you be here tomorrow at 2?' I was.
The solitude of the drive; my space around me; the thoughts distill; "I", (all of me) come(s) back from wherever. The treasure of time-enough slow time-to allow to come up the true next thing I need to do, because that is what I want to do. To wander into Fresh Market which I miss from home; the cobbler who can make my Brooks Brothers shoes new and suitable for the city. The intimate spot to dine, away from the bustle, and to write about the exchanges and real conversations I've had (not mere intersecting monlogues). Having the time to digest all I took in from the amazing person who granted me three hours of his time. Enroute back here, continuing the reflection, and needing to kill a couple of hours before getting home where the twin four-year olds, who love me so, and I them, would co-opt me thereby ending this blissful state, I decided to delay my arrival until they were in bed; to check out Americus, Plains, Koinonia, et al; get a proper orientation of the lay of the land for a return trip later on. Well, that area is West of Cordele, and all the planning I'd done to be away and safe from the impending storm, coming in from the West, trapped me there as the wet stuff pinged the windshield as I was returning to I-75. I checked in at the Windsor; what a wonderful place to cocoon as the storm came in and sequestered us there. All ten of us. I learned the history, the famous guests; saw the Carter Presidential suite, and the Bridal suite where Al Capone had stayed. Gingerly walked around the block to The Maze, an antique shop and gift shop; art and photo gallery with a smal cafe to rival urbane ones elsewhere. Rosalyn Carter's brother's son, Chuck Smith, is a part of the place; he and I talked (really shared). Conversations are so nourishing; and rare to many these days. I relish them. Got to know a bit more about Koinonia Farm, the then and now, integrated farm co-op which formed in 1942, and whose founder, Clarence Jordan, became a founder of Habitat for Humanity. Had some of their date nut bread at a local fair-trade coffe house. Mostly, though, what I carried away with me are the exchanges made with those I interacted with in passing: the front desk personnel with whom I shared myself, and then they shared themselves; the breakfast companion, a woman specializing in hospital equipment-there to assist with the refurbishing of the new hospital following the destruction of the one lost in the tornado; the dinner companion, Ishmael, an engineer from Turkey, who lives with his family in Milledgeville. The breakfast was buscuits and muffins and coffee-free, as the staff had been unable to get to work. That feels like the real me. I am still deep inside it, and reluctant to come out....It is in the allowing of an unfolding which yields transformative moments. I brought home awareness of St. Eom of Buena Vista, email addresses and business cards; one of which feels promising as a next employ....Life is all around us, and it is dynamic. Travel opens vistas. Thanks for allowing me to share...And the opportunity to thank you for opening me, through books, to the world!
My first introduction to the concept of travel was from your Bookmobile. I was told as a youngster that I '..read more books from it than anyone else..'. Whether that was true or simply encouragement (it worked!), I developed an increasing hunger to know and to go, from the pages of the wonderful books. And I practiced. What at first seemed risky, became a long drink of water for a thirst parching from too long in one place. I know the need for travel. To just pick up and go. Ah, the road trip.
Just returned from an impromptu trip to Atlanta; the person I wanted to consult with said 'Cam you be here tomorrow at 2?' I was.
The solitude of the drive; my space around me; the thoughts distill; "I", (all of me) come(s) back from wherever. The treasure of time-enough slow time-to allow to come up the true next thing I need to do, because that is what I want to do. To wander into Fresh Market which I miss from home; the cobbler who can make my Brooks Brothers shoes new and suitable for the city. The intimate spot to dine, away from the bustle, and to write about the exchanges and real conversations I've had (not mere intersecting monlogues). Having the time to digest all I took in from the amazing person who granted me three hours of his time. Enroute back here, continuing the reflection, and needing to kill a couple of hours before getting home where the twin four-year olds, who love me so, and I them, would co-opt me thereby ending this blissful state, I decided to delay my arrival until they were in bed; to check out Americus, Plains, Koinonia, et al; get a proper orientation of the lay of the land for a return trip later on. Well, that area is West of Cordele, and all the planning I'd done to be away and safe from the impending storm, coming in from the West, trapped me there as the wet stuff pinged the windshield as I was returning to I-75. I checked in at the Windsor; what a wonderful place to cocoon as the storm came in and sequestered us there. All ten of us. I learned the history, the famous guests; saw the Carter Presidential suite, and the Bridal suite where Al Capone had stayed. Gingerly walked around the block to The Maze, an antique shop and gift shop; art and photo gallery with a smal cafe to rival urbane ones elsewhere. Rosalyn Carter's brother's son, Chuck Smith, is a part of the place; he and I talked (really shared). Conversations are so nourishing; and rare to many these days. I relish them. Got to know a bit more about Koinonia Farm, the then and now, integrated farm co-op which formed in 1942, and whose founder, Clarence Jordan, became a founder of Habitat for Humanity. Had some of their date nut bread at a local fair-trade coffe house. Mostly, though, what I carried away with me are the exchanges made with those I interacted with in passing: the front desk personnel with whom I shared myself, and then they shared themselves; the breakfast companion, a woman specializing in hospital equipment-there to assist with the refurbishing of the new hospital following the destruction of the one lost in the tornado; the dinner companion, Ishmael, an engineer from Turkey, who lives with his family in Milledgeville. The breakfast was buscuits and muffins and coffee-free, as the staff had been unable to get to work. That feels like the real me. I am still deep inside it, and reluctant to come out....It is in the allowing of an unfolding which yields transformative moments. I brought home awareness of St. Eom of Buena Vista, email addresses and business cards; one of which feels promising as a next employ....Life is all around us, and it is dynamic. Travel opens vistas. Thanks for allowing me to share...And the opportunity to thank you for opening me, through books, to the world!
My first introduction to the concept of travel was from your Bookmobile. I was told as a youngster that I '..read more books from it than anyone else..'. Whether that was true or simply encouragement (it worked!), I developed an increasing hunger to know and to go, from the pages of the wonderful books. And I practiced. What at first seemed risky, became a long drink of water for a thirst parching from too long in one place. I know the need for travel. To just pick up and go. Ah, the road trip.
Just returned from an impromptu trip to Atlanta; the person I wanted to consult with said 'Cam you be here tomorrow at 2?' I was.
The solitude of the drive; my space around me; the thoughts distill; "I", (all of me) come(s) back from wherever. The treasure of time-enough slow time-to allow to come up the true next thing I need to do, because that is what I want to do. To wander into Fresh Market which I miss from home; the cobbler who can make my Brooks Brothers shoes new and suitable for the city. The intimate spot to dine, away from the bustle, and to write about the exchanges and real conversations I've had (not mere intersecting monlogues). Having the time to digest all I took in from the amazing person who granted me three hours of his time. Enroute back here, continuing the reflection, and needing to kill a couple of hours before getting home where the twin four-year olds, who love me so, and I them, would co-opt me thereby ending this blissful state, I decided to delay my arrival until they were in bed; to check out Americus, Plains, Koinonia, et al; get a proper orientation of the lay of the land for a return trip later on. Well, that area is West of Cordele, and all the planning I'd done to be away and safe from the impending storm, coming in from the West, trapped me there as the wet stuff pinged the windshield as I was returning to I-75. I checked in at the Windsor; what a wonderful place to cocoon as the storm came in and sequestered us there. All ten of us. I learned the history, the famous guests; saw the Carter Presidential suite, and the Bridal suite where Al Capone had stayed. Gingerly walked around the block to The Maze, an antique shop and gift shop; art and photo gallery with a smal cafe to rival urbane ones elsewhere. Rosalyn Carter's brother's son, Chuck Smith, is a part of the place; he and I talked (really shared). Conversations are so nourishing; and rare to many these days. I relish them. Got to know a bit more about Koinonia Farm, the then and now, integrated farm co-op which formed in 1942, and whose founder, Clarence Jordan, became a founder of Habitat for Humanity. Had some of their date nut bread at a local fair-trade coffe house. Mostly, though, what I carried away with me are the exchanges made with those I interacted with in passing: the front desk personnel with whom I shared myself, and then they shared themselves; the breakfast companion, a woman specializing in hospital equipment-there to assist with the refurbishing of the new hospital following the destruction of the one lost in the tornado; the dinner companion, Ishmael, an engineer from Turkey, who lives with his family in Milledgeville. The breakfast was buscuits and muffins and coffee-free, as the staff had been unable to get to work. That feels like the real me. I am still deep inside it, and reluctant to come out....It is in the allowing of an unfolding which yields transformative moments. I brought home awareness of St. Eom of Buena Vista, email addresses and business cards; one of which feels promising as a next employ....Life is all around us, and it is dynamic. Travel opens vistas. Thanks for allowing me to share...And the opportunity to thank you for opening me, through books, to the world!
Thanks for sharing, Sandra. You had a wonderful trip. It's nice to know you're a member of the Bookmobile fan club. What would we do without them? I'll pass your comments on to our Bookmobile gals....
Wow, thank you for all the inspiring armchair travel ideas! Just reading your suggestions made me want to jump up and get moving--to the library, of course! (alternatively, to fluff up the armchair pillow)
With less time and resources to travel as much as I once had, all your suggestions are excellent alternatives. They help to support the notion to either "learn by traveling, or travel by learning."
I will definitely be looking into some of your ideas; you've stirred up my "wanderlust"!
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