A
Few Excerpts From The Book "On Our Own"
|
 |
"We
pack differently when we drive than when we fly somewhere
- for example, we took five pounds of potatoes with
us on this trip. Add to that ski jackets, down vests,
windbreakers, rain gear, boots, mosquito netting and
sunscreen - after all, it is nearly summer in Canada."
|
"I
am a supporter of animal conservation, like to see
them protected and hate to see them hunted for sport
so I was extremely pleased we had been able to see
these magnificent creatures. It made me feel good
to see they were still there. Life is tough enough
with their natural prey and predator circle of life;
they don't need some yahoo in a boat firing harpoons
out of cannons at them."
|
We
drove on through numerous berber villages, saw lots
of kids and locals, dozens of cats and one dog. By
mid-afternoon we pulled to a stop at a large kasbah.
Now I always thought a kasbah was a marketplace. I
guess I did not pay close enough attention to Yosemite
Sam. A Kasbah is, in fact, a family dwelling. Not
just one home but a virtual village growing as families
expanded."
|
"At
the next directions stop Karen walked toward a bar
to ask. A man stepped out of a car. Karen indicated
"No capice Italiano.' A second man in another
car chimed in with a British accent, "I speak
English.'
'Great! Do you know how to get to Pienza?'
'Oh, no.'"
|
"We
were in a casita away from the main hotel. It was
a quaint little European-style cottage from the heyday
of the late fifties and it reminded me a lot of the
room where we spent our first night in the Cinque
Terre area of Italy last year. However, it was a long
way from the main hotel area - I think it was in Puerto
Rico."
|
"Harmony
really was charming but the local grocery store was
one of the few in the United States that did not sell
wine. We were directed to Wheeler's Bar and Grill
advising that they had a large selection of wine and
takeout food, which we had also enquired about. So,
the wide selection of wine consisted of six or eight
brands set up on a 20 foot shelf behind the counter.
I wanted a dry red so Bubba offered the following
advice, 'My buddy Orville comes in here all the time.
He likes dry wine and he always buys the California
Merlot.' There you have it - if it's good enough for
Orville, it's good enough for me!"
|
"The
sagebrush, ironwood and numerous species of cactus
contrasted against the perfect blue sky of Arizona
were the living lyrics of 'Don't Fence Me In.' The
trail looped around the mountain to provide the illusion
of being miles away from civilization. The smooth
surface for the most part allowed us to enjoy the
stunning views instead of worrying about our footing
even with the continuous ups and downs. There was
very little in the way of flat sections, and why is
it that on a trail such as this there are always so
many more ups than downs?"
|
"The
last photograph in this chapter expresses my feelings
about our travel adventures. On our own we had a new
world of destinations opened to us. That immersed
us in an education obtained no other way - a world
of culture, religion, history and geography. When
all was said and done the scene that remained was
one of two young boys standing near a river by a covered
bridge. That was Gavin and Adam 20 years ago - all
my life's a circle."
|
|