More "Getting to Know You"

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Rachel

Rachel

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Hey guys!

I figured it's about time for another of these and since Sue has already started 2 of them, I thought I'd jump in.

In honor of Sue's current trip (and all the vacations that have been going on lately!), let's talk about the best trip you ever took...or if that isn't good for you, where your dream vacation would take you!

I'll start. While I've taken a lot of good vacations (my mom worked for an airline so we flew standby for free...this was pre 9/11 when there were plenty of flights with plenty of empty seats), I think the best I ever took were to Boston. People think that's crazy since we took trips to England and Scotland, and some cruises as well. However, my Boston trips were special. It would be a Friday night when I was in high school. I'd come home and my dad (who I absolutely idolized) would look at me and ask if I wanted to go to Boston the next day. Keep in mind, we were coming from Montgomery, AL. Saturday we would get up at like 4:30 so we could catch the first flight out of Montgomery to Atlanta. Then we'd take the earliest flight we could get from ATL to Boston. We'd arrive and rent a locker at the airport to put my dad's carry on bag in. We'd wander around Boston for hours...hang out in the Common, check out historical buildings and places, take tours, we even went to see a play once! We'd catch an evening flight back to ATL, and end up usually on the 11 PM flight back to Montgomery. We'd get home completely exhausted.

We did this randomly for years. It was great because the whole flight up and back we'd talk about everything...from how planes work (my dad was a pilot in the Air Force) to my friends to what I wanted to be when I grow up (I still don't know!). We'd do tons of fun things in Boston, and when I got to school on Monday, and people asked what I did over the weekend, I could nonchalantly say "Oh flew to Boston on Sat...not much Sun". I haven't been back since my dad died 11 years ago. I may never go back, honestly, because it was "our" place. I don't want to face it alone. But these are still some of the absolute best memories I have of traveling.

All right...your turn! :)
 
Rachel that sure sounds like fun and a great memory for you! I haven't had the opportunity to do much traveling. Always thought that's what I'd be doing at this point in my life... But I guess the one I remember most is Ireland. I went to London for a 6 week college credit course, and after went to Ireland for a week. It was so beautiful and the people were amazing. So friendly and real characters. After Ireland, it's anywhere with a beach! I'm fortunate to live close to the Gulf Coast and can get to some pretty nice beaches for a weekend now and then.(well at least I used to...)
 
Love Rachel's Boston story, so poignant and warm memories of her Dad. And Sharon, so jealous you are near the gulf coast, that is one area I would like to see. I have been lucky in that I have been to a few places, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Jamaica & Barbados. It is great to see different areas with customs and food. While I love the tropical beach area, I enjoy seeing different states here in the US. Having been a military brat, I have seen most of the US except the northern Pacific coast and all the states along the top of the map. My favorite US place was Charleston, SC. It is so pretty there! And I guess my heart is still in the South. The next US place I want to go to is Austin Texas. That is supposed to be a funky fun town with great music. ( and Steaks) Also, I want to get to Sharon's area and see those beaches.

It's so hard to say favorite place, each place had different memories and foods ( I am some what of a foodie) And love finding the history of the place that we visit. It's been a while since we have traveled due to circumstances and taking care of my mom (and now Bubba)

Assuming we travel again and as far as out of the country: I want to see Italy, Croatia, Greece, England, Scotland and Ireland. I have never been to Europe so that would be great. This is all assuming that we have kitties that go OTJ for us!
 
Thanks for doing this, Rachel. What a wonderful memory you have of your Dad and Boston. We are pretty well traveled as a group!

When we were younger, we would trade houses (and cats and cars). One of our best trades was with a family in Harlem. The Netherlands. They lived on a canal so we could watch the boats sail by. They had bikes so we'd ride to the market and the train station and then explore. But the fun part was the cat trading. (This was before Oliver was diabetic). Their cat got a hairball and so I called them and they told me where the store was to get the hairball medication. Unfortunately the man who owned the shop was one of the few people in Holland who didn't speak English. So I got his attention, meowed, made a licking gesture and then coughed dramatically. His eyes lit up and he led me to the same medicine I had for Oliver at home.

We traded homes in England, France, Switzerland and Canada and had wonderful "on the economy" experiences. It is fun, adventurous and cheap!
 
That sounds like so much fun. I have read about people trading and always thought it would be a fun thing to do. There has to be some real trust involved in today's times. Glad it worked out for you Sue!
 
You have to set up the trades 6+months in advance so usually you "know" the people by the time you actually trade. And I don't have anything in my house worth taking. The worst thing we had happen is someone broke my pottery butter dish. They called to find out where I had gotten it and replaced it.
 
I've been all over the U.S., but my best trip ever was to Germany, right after my daughter moved over there to work. Spent 3 weeks in Berlin with her & although the weather was gloomy (Feb into Mar), I loved everything about it: Seemed there was a bakery on every block (yum!), and there were always fresh flower displays set out by shopkeepers, even though it was wintertime! The locals were very patient & kind about my "fractured" German & we had such fun exploring the city together!

My favorite stateside getaway was to Malibu, CA where a friend had a home at the beach. He told me, "When you come, after you're settle into bed at night, you'll hear the seals a barkin', the waves a crashin' and the coyotes a yippin' up in the hills above us ..." And it was TRUE!!! We spent a lot of time on the beach exploring the little tide pools in the rocks, gently picking up live purple sea urchins and other creatures (like fat sea slugs) and then setting them back in their watery homes. My friend's neighbor was an artist who had a pet tom turkey - and the turkey had a pet mallard duck (!) who waddled around right in between the turkey's legs. It was so hilarious to watch! Sadly, my sweet, funny and extraordinarily talented friend passed away in 2014. But I will always treasure that magical time I spent with him in Malibu.
 
Hands down, the best trip that I ever took in my whole life was a backpacking trip with one of my daughters (Alex - the same one that just got married). From March 13 through September 30, 2015, we thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (2,185.9 miles). Then this year, March 4 through May 3, we thru-hiked the Arizona Trail (800 miles). I love living in the woods or desert!
 
Robin, I'm so glad you got to spend that time with your friend. I know you must treasure those memories and be grateful you were able to do that!

Cindi, wow! Girl, you've got more stamina than me! I'm so impressed...what was it like being out in nature for such a long time?
 
Robin&BB said:
I've been all over the U.S., but my best trip ever was to Germany, right after my daughter moved over there to work. Spent 3 weeks in Berlin with her & although the weather was gloomy (Feb into Mar), I loved everything about it: Seemed there was a bakery on every block (yum!), and there were always fresh flower displays set out by shopkeepers, even though it was wintertime! The locals were very patient & kind about my "fractured" German & we had such fun exploring the city together!

My favorite stateside getaway was to Malibu, CA where a friend had a home at the beach. He told me, "When you come, after you're settle into bed at night, you'll hear the seals a barkin', the waves a crashin' and the coyotes a yippin' up in the hills above us ..." And it was TRUE!!! We spent a lot of time on the beach exploring the little tide pools in the rocks, gently picking up live purple sea urchins and other creatures (like fat sea slugs) and then setting them back in their watery homes. My friend's neighbor was an artist who had a pet tom turkey - and the turkey had a pet mallard duck (!) who waddled around right in between the turkey's legs. It was so hilarious to watch! Sadly, my sweet, funny and extraordinarily talented friend passed away in 2014. But I will always treasure that magical time I spent with him in Malibu.
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So, very sorry about your friend's passing. The visit there sounds like it was magical and every pet should have a pet!
 
Oh Sue, I am so sorry about your long time friend too. It is so wonderful to have such wonderful memories of our friends. I would have loved to have seen the turkey and duck together.

Rachel said:
what was it like being out in nature for such a long time?
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Well, I loved it so much that I slowed down my hike the last couple of weeks on the trail and literally cried almost the whole last week of the AT hike because I didn't want to leave the woods. Seriously, it gets to be a way of life, the norm and for some a lifestyle and many do not want to go back. For some, they couldn't wait to leave the trail, but not me. It is really hard work but I loved it.
 
I do international HIV work so I've traveled to many continents - throughout Africa, all over Asia including Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, etc) I lived in Cambodia for a few years which was amazing. My wonderful Cambodian housekeeper and her daughter lived with me. I brought my two cats to Cambodia with me (under the airline seats- a story in itself) - one of the cats I adopted at age 11, Brandy was by this point 16, and had CKD. I shipped sq fluids, meds, and food from the US and so maintained her treatment. My housekeeper so loved all animals, which is unusual because many people in impoverished nations have such a hard time getting enough food for themselves, dogs and cats are not especially well taken care of. But she especially loved my two cats. She would carry them around like little babies, and they adored her. When I left Cambodia back for the US, Brandy was too sick to make the trip, so I taught my housekeeper to give the SQ fluids, how to give her meds and other care instructions. I left her about 6 months supply of anything she might need, including extra money for trips to the vet (that is another story). She took exceptional care of Brandy who died about 4 months after I left. when she died, my housekeeper took her body to the local Buddhist pagoda, and had a traditional buddhist funeral for her - including monks chanting and praying, and the ritual cremation below are two photos she sent me from Brandy's funeral - her body is in the box with the wrapping paper IMG_0196.JPG
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Carol, what awesome work that you do. Thank you so much for that. Do you think that HIV is decreasing? Also what a beautiful story about Brandy. She was very lucky to have someone who loved her too.
 
Merlin said:
Carol, what awesome work that you do. Thank you so much for that. Do you think that HIV is decreasing? Also what a beautiful story about Brandy. She was very lucky to have someone who loved her too.
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Yes, it's especially nice considering how I first got Brandy. My friend who is a vet was called to a Chicago high rise to put a cat to sleep because the owner died and the relatives who lived far away didn't want her ruining the place. My friend said instead she would take her and try to find her a new home. After several months, no one wanted an 11 year old cat, so I ended up taking her . She truly had 9 lives
as far as HIV, new cases are definitely on the decline, especially in Africa. What turned the corner was the recognition that when people receive proper HIV treatment, it decreases the chance of transmitting the virus to others by over 95%. So the big push has been getting everyone on treatment
 
Oh Carol, what an amazing story! I think that Buddhist funeral was lovely...the pictures surely were. I would have loved to do something like that for Gypsy! What a lovely idea.

I'd love to hear more about your work! It is so needed.
 
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