Travel

Just Getting There – Almost Post-Covid

8 September 2021

I have to admit travel planning is NOT what it used to be. And being a solo traveler, I might be getting too old for this worry. I am used to 50 years of getting on a plane and going wherever and whenever I wanted. I always knew my independent trips were numbered at some point, but Covid was not what I expected would be the fly in the ointment. Even less did I think the situation would be worsened because a gaggle of nationalistic fascist would threaten the freedoms of the United States of America.

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By Pat, ago

2020 COMBO SMACK FROM HELL

If the grand entrance of Covid-19 in the early weeks of 2020 didn’t prove Robert Burns correct, that “the best laid schemes o’mice an’ men often go awry,” I don’t know what would. Covid would initiate the longest expanse of nontravel I have experienced in decades. Being socially responsible and just NOT wanting to let something like a virus take me, I have remained home. My Travel Calendar has never been this blank. My computer has taken a beating but my genealogy research has soared.

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By Pat, ago

No Guarantee One Will Like Travel

January 12, 2562 BE

There is no guarantee that someone will like travel.

When I moved to California 50 years ago, I had never been west of Des Moines. I had no idea what to expect other than it was my decision and my new job. So, if it was a bad decision, I could just move back? Probably it would have not been that easy.

When I first traveled in 1972, some 84 countries and seven continents ago, I had no clue what to expect. I had never traveled out of the country, let alone on my own. In both cases, I made the right decisions for myself and have never regretted the adventures.

Last Christmas, I gave my niece, Mikaela, the gift of travel. “Anywhere you want to go,” I said to this novice, 15-year-old potential tourist. I was hoping for something easy, familiar, comfortable. She chose Thailand. Thailand? Are you sure? Yes, she was and thus, Christmas of 2018 we traveled to Thailand. It was full of surprises for the both of us.

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By Pat, ago

Exploring the African Continent

Oceania Nautica

It is back to Africa for me. I fell in love with South Africa and its people during my travels in 2006. Fascinated by Africa’s history, intrigued by its politics, and yet horrified by its disease, poverty, and politics, I am eager to return to the continent. This time my friends and I travel North and West Africa for a glimpse into a part of the world I barely know. Many of the countries I will travel have acquired new names since I attended school during Africa’s “colonial” period.

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By Pat, ago