Category Archives: travel

Aug21

dare to dance.

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on this day in 1959, hawaii officially became the 50th state

 always wanted to visit

but the closest i’ve come

is when i was young and my dad announced

he wanted to buy a little radio station in kauai

i quickly got ahold of a hawaiian dictionary

 forced/encouraged the family to learn the alphabet during dinner

only to discover it was just a fantasy job wish for him

years later, as an adult

i took hula lessons with close friends

we were not good at it

got into the spirit of the dance

did not get asked to perform in hawaii

but we had a a blast

you never know

where and when this skill will come in handy

plus, it’s impressive on a resume

 i’ve yet to make it to hawaii

 only a matter of time

third time’s the charm

aloha!

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“dare to dance, leave shame at home.”

(A’a i ka hula, waiho i ka maka’u i ka hale)

-hawaiian saying

 

 

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art credit: vintage hawaiian poster

Jul29

partings.

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Born in 1960 to a Sicilian family living in Morocco and raised in France, Catalano became a sailor in his twenties. This nomadic lifestyle was a major inspiration for his work as an artist. The sculptures of Bruno Catalano, especially, Les Voyageurs show this influence. They delve into themes of travel, migration and journeying. Themes extend into exploring the ideas of home, belonging, loss and the experiences of a “world citizen”. Each statue carries a single suitcase, weighing them down, but also serving as their only means of support. Fascinating technically, artistically, and in its symbolism, the large omissions in the statues leave much to the imagination. Some figures appear to be fading away, while others materialize before our eyes. Contrary to the opinion that travel broadens and enriches, Catalano lamented that all his travels left him feeling that a part of [him] was gone and will never come back. ‘Fragments’ makes full use of this ethereal effect with three sculptures broken down to create one unit. The man looks fragile and delicately held together, losing more and more of himself till only his feet and bag remain.

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“life is made of so many partings welded together.
-charles dickens

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credits: Daily Art Magazine

Jul24

lost in translation.

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reminiscing about my visit

to beautiful ireland

 six years back, in july

how we found our way around the country

oh, we did a few turn-arounds here and there

as you can see above

but somehow we always ended up where we were going

eventually.

even with directions asked and kind answers given

regional accents, local advice, and lore

 thrown in for good measure

it could be a challenge at best

‘”oh, just go over the hill for a bit, turn at the old barn, you’ll see a huge green field with hills, and some sheep, and then a pub, they don’t have the best sandwiches but stop in for a pint, say hi to seamus for me if you see him, he’s a good lad, he just had that one thing that wasn’t really his fault, and all is forgiven, and oh, don’t turn by the church, go past it, there’s no sign, but you’ll see a big rock where john’s shed used to be before it burnt down in that fire in ’79 when everything was so dry, and take a sharp turn there….”  – and so on.

whether bumping along on a sheep path, sharing a two-way road with one lane, or driving half in a hedgerow

we found all the places we wanted to be

and discovered so many surprising and magical places along the way.

“going in the wrong direction, but making really good time.”

-cheri huber

Jan10

here we go.

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i just love everything

about this 1955 michigan tourism poster 

according to the map

it looks like ann arbor

is the place where you can dance. 

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“you live as long as you dance.”

-rudolf nureyev

 

 

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poster source: michigan heritage and history

Dec6

up for a stroll?

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The longest road in the world to walk is from Cape Town (South Africa) to Magadan (Russia).

No need for planes or boats, there are bridges. 

It’s 22,387 km and it takes 4,492 hours to run it.

It would be 187 days walking non-stop, or 561 days walking 8 hours a day.

The route passes through 17 countries, six time zones and all seasons of the year.

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“all walking is discovery, on foot we take the time to see things whole.”

*-hal borland

*Harold “Hal” Glen Borland was an American author, journalist and naturalist. In addition to writing many non-fiction and fiction books about the outdoors, he was a staff writer and editorialist for The New Yorker.

 

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credits: united humanists

Sep3

get in line.

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safe travels.

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“if all the cars in the united states were placed end to end,

it would probably be labor day weekend.”

-doug larson

 

 

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image credit: national toy museum (record for world’s longest line of toy cars)

Apr19

please don’t ask for extra glasses.

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it is my great pleasure to introduce you

to humor writer and fellow blogger Barb Taub’s latest book

PLEASE DON’T ASK FOR EXTRA GLASSES

it’s a rollicking tale of friendship, fun, travel to India adventure and misadventure

all taken with a tiny grain of salt and huge dose of humor

it’s a wonderful multi-cultural mashup of history, color photos,

travel tips, shopping advice, food suggestions, language and negotiation skills,

and chock full of ‘I wish we’d known that/what not to do lessons’

even if you never plan to travel to India, you’re sure to enjoy this read.

–https://barbtaub.com/

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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“she generally gave herself good advice, though she very seldom followed it.”

-lewis carroll

Oct21

away.

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the end of a wonderful, relaxing weekend away. 
 
 
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“babies don’t need a vacation but i still see them at the beach. 
i’ll go over to them and say, 
“what are you doing here, you’ve never worked a day in your life!”
-stephen wright
 
 

Aug21

aloha.

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herbert smith lived in hawaii in the 1890s

120+ years ago he took pictures of this bay surrounded by palm trees and small shipping huts

here is the bay many years later

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on this date in 1959, hawaii became a state

i have yet to visit

but plan to spend time

in a hut

under a palm tree

in hawaii

on a bay

one day.

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“coming to Hawaii is like going from black and white to color.”
-john richard stephens

 

 

 

 

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Image credits: Bonhams/BNPS, IPTCDaily Mail, Matt Hunter, Herbert Smith

Aug6

ticket to nowhere.

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Taiwan continues to cater to the needs of its travel-starved population by offering yet another aviation experience that doesn’t actually take you anywhere. Following up on an offer in July, in which the public was able to check in and board a grounded airplane in Taiwan’s Sonshan Airport, one airline has just upgraded the faux travel experience by offering an actual flight — to nowhere.

EVA Air, one of the biggest carriers in Taiwan, is offering the special journey on August 8 (Father’s Day in Taiwan) to help satisfy its customers’ travel itch. The trip will take around three hours, with the flight taking off from Taipei Taoyuan Airport, then circling the skies before returning to the same airport. If it’s a clear day, passengers will be able to take in views of several Taiwan attractions including Guishan Island and the scenic Huadong coastline, as well as other nearby islands.

Passengers will be flying on the “super popular” Hello Kitty Dream jet.The plane bears EVA Air’s special Sanrio-themed livery. An A330, it features many Sanrio characters including Hello Kitty, My Melody (Hello Kitty’s BFF), as well as Little Twin Stars’ Kiki and Lala. They can expect Hello Kitty in-flight amenities, free WiFi for texting and an inflight entertainment system that is usually reserved for long-haul flights. Inflight dining is another highlight of the trip, offering a choice of two main courses created by a 3-star Michelin chef.

The flight will be operated under flight number BR5288. Why? When spoken, it sounds like “I love dad” in Chinese. An economy class ticket is $180. Passengers can choose to upgrade their seats to business class for an additional $34.

International tourism has been effectively stopped in much of the world as countries shut their borders to stem outbreaks of Covid-19 and Taiwan is no exception. The island locked down its borders in March amid the growing coronavirus pandemic. Foreign nationals are still banned from visiting the island at this time.

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“you know the actor, john garfield? in one movie he walked up to this train station, the ticket booth, and the guy says, “yes, where are you going?” and he says, “i want a ticket to nowhere.” i thought, that’s it. i want the freedom to do that. i want a ticket to nowhere.”   -wayne shorter

 

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photo and story source: cnn travel