Because It's Friday
5 hours ago
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Same planet, different worlds
Part of what you get out of travel is what you bring to it. My lovely wife and I have a certain, shall I say, style? First we traveled with a canoe and a tent. Now we have the ambulance/motorhome conversion pulling a sailboat. We have a lot of fun and interesting experiences in our travels.
Some of friends, family and acquaintances from home have traveled to some of the same places, yet had totally different experiences. It first stuck me how different talking to my uncle and cousins. (the prosperous ones) Where we had a great time on the water, beaches, canoing or sailing, they went to play golf. We camped in places of great natural beauty, they stayed in 4 star hotels. We might have had a beer in a small funky bar, listening to a local Blues band, they ate in the restaurant hotel.
They said they had a good time. We know we did. What they spent in three days kept us going for a month.
We almost met up with friends of the family in our travels down to Florida last year, but we were heading back north while they were going south. They went to a lot of the towns and attractions that we went to. Unlike my relatives, they didn't stay in a hotel, but in their slide in truck camper. One would think we'd have experienced more of the same things, but not really.
The guy's retired military so he and his wife stayed on a lot of military bases. Some of them have great campgrounds, not open to us civilians. Of course, since it's all former military people camping there, they have a lot in common. That's nice, but limits the type of people one will meet up with.
One of the places they went was Key West. Now Key West is a pretty small island, but unless we ran into each crossing Duval Street, my wife and I would never have bumped into them in a week on the island. I guess they just aren't the type of people to share shots of white lightning with a local character at 3 a. m. in the rain. There was a great band playing and nobody wanted it to end.
It's not just where you go, but what you bring to a place that matters.
-Sixbears
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It's all about the attitude man.
ReplyDeleteMy family thinks I'm weird because I like to pull over and read those little historical place signs on the side of the road.
My dad is one of those A to B people. Get where you are going.
Me, I like to take my time and see the sights if at all possible and I can guarantee ya if it were me, I would be right next to ya getting soaked and lit up on the lightning.
Yep, attitude! That and not being afraid to wander out of one's comfort zone once in a while.
DeleteA wise man once said, it's not the destination, rather it is the journey.
ReplyDeleteYou take the high road,
I'll take the low road,
And I'll get there before ya.
There's some kayaker's round here who load up the car with gear and commute from feature to feature full tilt.They never get to enjoy the rest of the journey. The river changes with the season and offers unique views that may never seen the same way twice.
I do like the whole picture rather than just the high points.
Deletewhen we go somewhere we avoid the tourist traps.One of the first ? i ask is i find a local and ask who has the best food and what area to visit that is off the vistor maps.Had a lot of cheap fun and good food by asking.LOcals like to send people to local places to many chain stores and restraunts pay little and bleed the profits to far away places.A Waffel house in the smokey is just like any other,but Jack,s Fish and sud shack is one of a kind!
ReplyDeleteGood point. Always ask the locals.
DeleteA really good post, Sixbears. And very, very true.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dessa Wolf.
DeleteI really, really enjoyed my trip to the Davis Mountains State Park even if I didn't sleep in a tent. I would never be happy in a hotel, and my dogs sure wouldn't, either.
ReplyDeleteThat looked like a great trip, and you experienced a lot.
Delete