domestic travel ramblings/Kite Strings of the Southern Cross
When I created carianne, that was supposed to be for reviews, but since I rarely do reviews and haven't updated carianne in ages: Date updated: 2003-05-17 18:59:37, 64 weeks ago , I think that idea is out the window. Anyway, yesterday I finally finished reading Kite Strings of the Southern Cross by Laurie Gough, which I bought in December 2002 and started reading sometime around Christmas of this year.
Don't know why I put it down this winter, but I didn't pick it up again until this weekend, and I was sucked back in. While it touches on a number of the author's stops on her Asian trip, it primarily focuses on her time in Fiji and her encounters with Laudi and his family, especially the Giant Aunts. I liked it for several reasons, one being the simplicity of her life in Fiji. She lived in a tent on the beach. On the night she arrived, she picked up a spot of sand and called it hers. While I'm sure it's not all that simple, it was nice to see that some simplicity does still exist in today's world. I loved the way she wrote about her feelings toward Laudi, her interactions with his family, I felt like I was there, meeting them as she did.
I also liked her other stories, her time at the Hare Krishna temple in Malaysia, and her encounters with The Devil in the ta-wa. The Hare Krishna stuff was interesting because when I first encountered a Hare Krishna it was, where else, Venice Beach and the Promenade in Santa Monica. Like Laurie, I knew little about what they did and who they were.
I also love the interaction with other travellers, because that's one of my favourite aspects of travelling. I don't travel alone because I want to be by myself, but rather because it's easier to meet other people that way. It's also why I love staying in hostels, because sitting in the common room and just talking is as fun as seeing a museum or castle, plus you learn more in those talks than you do in any guidebook.
All in all, good book. I picked up the book because of the title, the Southern Cross. It grabbed me. Much like Jimmy Buffett's 'Southern Cross' When you see the southern cross for the first time/You understand just why you came this way/Cause the truth you might be running from is so small/But its as big as the promise, the promise of a coming day. I can't explain it, but I think those of you who have been to SE Asia and Australasia know what I mean. It has a grip on you and I still remember sitting on my friend's father's patio north of Brisbane and thinking this is Heaven.
I know I've talked a lot about my love of international travel, but I've done a fair bit of domestic travel as well, thanks to theparents' belief in summer vacations. One reason I was really sad to see the Spruce Moose go last year was because of the number of summer vacation memories in there--175K miles worth of memories. jordance and I loved it because we each had our own seat--and there was plenty of room for a cooler, games, etc. And :o no TV! We had the clam shell on top and collected a bumpersticker from every place it went to--so sad to see the clam die in May 2001 :( Anyway, was thinking this weekend and here's the :
1989-April-Orlando; August-Houston, Texas
1990-Williamsburgh, VA; Hilton Head, SC; Savannah, GA and Washington DC (jordance and his friend Luke, from Indiana were digging a bottomless pit).
1991-
1992-Elmira, NY; Niagara Falls and Toronto (I still remember pulling off the Thruway at 2AM and hearing Don McLean's American Pie for the first time. This was also the vacation of White American Cheese)
1993-Harvey Cedars Bible Camp, Hershey Park and Wildwood, NJ. Possibly also Myrtle Beach, SC but I need to check the dates.
1994-LBI (we were down there when the baseball strike started)
1995-California. Flew into LA, drove up the coast to SF. This was the summer I made Blizzard, the bear with a ton of frequent flyer miles. Felt odd to take a flying summer vacation. Also Memorial Day trip to Orlando. Ugh. Hot and Crowded.
1996-College tour trip: Manassas, VA (for Dad to see Civil War Stuff); Harrisonburg, VA (James Madison University); Chapel Hill, North Carolina (UNC Chapel Hill); Outer Banks, NC (Vacation); Fredericksburg, VA (Mary Washington College) and Baltimore, MD (Loyola). Note all these colleges were south and I ended up going North. This was also the trip of the Food Good Diner.
1997-LBI
1998-Bahamas
1999-theparents and jordance went to Maine.
2000-lived in MA for July, Cape in August
2001-Spring Lake for an overnight, left for Japan in August
2002-Hawaii for me, Ocean City, MD for theparents and jordance
2003-theparents had a house in LBI; I didn't go.
2004-weekend at LBI...
Some would say 2001+ have been one big vacation for me.
Pre 1989 included several trips to LBI, the Cape, Wildwood, Lavalette and Seaside, plus one additional trip to Fla that I need to check dates on. This was pretty good off the top of my head.
Because I'm a curious nerd, anyone else want to talk about trips you've made?
:points to icon:
I actually made this one :o Want to guess where the photo is from?
off to lunch to read 'Take Me With You' again :D
Don't know why I put it down this winter, but I didn't pick it up again until this weekend, and I was sucked back in. While it touches on a number of the author's stops on her Asian trip, it primarily focuses on her time in Fiji and her encounters with Laudi and his family, especially the Giant Aunts. I liked it for several reasons, one being the simplicity of her life in Fiji. She lived in a tent on the beach. On the night she arrived, she picked up a spot of sand and called it hers. While I'm sure it's not all that simple, it was nice to see that some simplicity does still exist in today's world. I loved the way she wrote about her feelings toward Laudi, her interactions with his family, I felt like I was there, meeting them as she did.
I also liked her other stories, her time at the Hare Krishna temple in Malaysia, and her encounters with The Devil in the ta-wa. The Hare Krishna stuff was interesting because when I first encountered a Hare Krishna it was, where else, Venice Beach and the Promenade in Santa Monica. Like Laurie, I knew little about what they did and who they were.
I also love the interaction with other travellers, because that's one of my favourite aspects of travelling. I don't travel alone because I want to be by myself, but rather because it's easier to meet other people that way. It's also why I love staying in hostels, because sitting in the common room and just talking is as fun as seeing a museum or castle, plus you learn more in those talks than you do in any guidebook.
All in all, good book. I picked up the book because of the title, the Southern Cross. It grabbed me. Much like Jimmy Buffett's 'Southern Cross' When you see the southern cross for the first time/You understand just why you came this way/Cause the truth you might be running from is so small/But its as big as the promise, the promise of a coming day. I can't explain it, but I think those of you who have been to SE Asia and Australasia know what I mean. It has a grip on you and I still remember sitting on my friend's father's patio north of Brisbane and thinking this is Heaven.
I know I've talked a lot about my love of international travel, but I've done a fair bit of domestic travel as well, thanks to theparents' belief in summer vacations. One reason I was really sad to see the Spruce Moose go last year was because of the number of summer vacation memories in there--175K miles worth of memories. jordance and I loved it because we each had our own seat--and there was plenty of room for a cooler, games, etc. And :o no TV! We had the clam shell on top and collected a bumpersticker from every place it went to--so sad to see the clam die in May 2001 :( Anyway, was thinking this weekend and here's the :
1989-April-Orlando; August-Houston, Texas
1990-Williamsburgh, VA; Hilton Head, SC; Savannah, GA and Washington DC (jordance and his friend Luke, from Indiana were digging a bottomless pit).
1991-
1992-Elmira, NY; Niagara Falls and Toronto (I still remember pulling off the Thruway at 2AM and hearing Don McLean's American Pie for the first time. This was also the vacation of White American Cheese)
1993-Harvey Cedars Bible Camp, Hershey Park and Wildwood, NJ. Possibly also Myrtle Beach, SC but I need to check the dates.
1994-LBI (we were down there when the baseball strike started)
1995-California. Flew into LA, drove up the coast to SF. This was the summer I made Blizzard, the bear with a ton of frequent flyer miles. Felt odd to take a flying summer vacation. Also Memorial Day trip to Orlando. Ugh. Hot and Crowded.
1996-College tour trip: Manassas, VA (for Dad to see Civil War Stuff); Harrisonburg, VA (James Madison University); Chapel Hill, North Carolina (UNC Chapel Hill); Outer Banks, NC (Vacation); Fredericksburg, VA (Mary Washington College) and Baltimore, MD (Loyola). Note all these colleges were south and I ended up going North. This was also the trip of the Food Good Diner.
1997-LBI
1998-Bahamas
1999-theparents and jordance went to Maine.
2000-lived in MA for July, Cape in August
2001-Spring Lake for an overnight, left for Japan in August
2002-Hawaii for me, Ocean City, MD for theparents and jordance
2003-theparents had a house in LBI; I didn't go.
2004-weekend at LBI...
Some would say 2001+ have been one big vacation for me.
Pre 1989 included several trips to LBI, the Cape, Wildwood, Lavalette and Seaside, plus one additional trip to Fla that I need to check dates on. This was pretty good off the top of my head.
Because I'm a curious nerd, anyone else want to talk about trips you've made?
:points to icon:
I actually made this one :o Want to guess where the photo is from?
off to lunch to read 'Take Me With You' again :D