The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. Saint Augustine

Hopefully you have noticed that there have been no entries since 7/27—hopefully someone did….I have been traveling again and anticipated that I would be able to continue with my weekly blog with no real interruptions—WRONG—-Service was horrible at best and non-existence at worst and so I was unable to even notify you of my departure and/or adventures. I have returned home and am now starting to catch you up on my trip—which I will do on Mondays and continue on my romp thru the 60’s on Thursday. I hope that works for everyone

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

Confucius

this Saturday

1105 Wheeling Ave

Glen Dale W.Va.

First destination Orlando International Air Port—its nicely designed with thing to do and places to eat…..I was of course traveling alone, something that you who have been following me for awhile have found is typical of me—whether its because I’m independent or rather that no body will travel with me it’s a fact of my life, but being anything but shy I do get to meet all manner of peoples and learn all sorts of crazy things.

This trip is planned to visit the middle of the USA–Pittsburg, West Virginia Ohio and Michigan—blue colar home and working man’s paradise…..or something like that. And for the most part I am returning if no longer home then as near as I’m gonna get since I’m grown and had moved away a 100 years or so ago.

And as doesn’t usually happen in my adventures there will be cousins, nieces, brother and sister-in-law as well as a few friends and a lot of new people that just shake their heads in mystification at a crazy quest to take my parents to the place they requested to end their mortal remains so many years ago.

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.

Robert Louis Stevenson

This is the part of the Airport that I have to go to when I fly to the UK—I always take Virgin—a lovely flight of 8 hrs. made bearable by free drinks and movies and all manners of comfort and great food—I love Virgin. But today I’m on Southwestern and for these local flights it’s just fine with me—I’m flying to Pittsburg in 1 1/2 hrs. No frills, you are welcome to bring your own food—you can get free soft drinks and small snacks (think peanuts) but they like Virgin do not charge you for your first bag and harder drinks (that nasty liquor drinks) are only $5—-so I embrace the skinny seats and limited leg space since it’s less than 2 hrs and they gave me a discount cause I’m old and I was on the special entry thru inspection where I could keep my shoes on and my computer bagged….I love Southwestern.

And we take to the sky a bit late, but an adjustment in our course puts us right back on time and we’re leaving the land of flamingos and palm trees and flying over the south and into the heart of America, where the roads spread like a well organized spider web from the tiny local to the larger intent on a destination Interstates. In those 60’s I’ve been writing about there were no interstates. We drove on routes from place to place, some more like puzzles than a way to drive from place to place. It took much longer, but gave you more of an education on the land you traveled than you receive now—but it took longer much longer.

When I was in my late teens we drove to San Francisco from the lower east side of Michigan and from San Fran down to LA and then on Route 66 and north to Chicago (or almost) before heading back home…..they don’t make trips like that anymore and 66 is a ghost of its former self—merely a memory of the by way that inspired a TV show and song and heaven knows what else.

Traveling it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.

Ibn Battuta

I have began to refer to this as my Quest—my parents while with a low level of funds and 3 children still managed to view some of the world and their favorite place was White Fish point in Michigan’s U.P. In a group of persons use to conventional burials my parents determined they would opt for cremation and that they wished their ashes scattered at White Fish Bay—and most recently (my dad passed years ago, mom less that 2) my brother called me and requested I determine when I could do this so the Quest could begin. And thus we decided on August 2017.

For me it was a responsibility that was sorely felt—to carry out my parent’s final wishes was very important to me…..but that didn’t prevent me from planning a trip that would give me a vacation and a change of my usual life—like my father seeing and doing was important and while he never took it so far as me (I do not have his restrictions either) he still taught me the pleasure of seeing new places and enjoying same. In today’s day and age family has been said like all the old values—to have been diminished and I guess that has happened with me as well and this was a chance to reconnect and revitalize my life a bit–or at least I hoped so.

So that’s pretty much the whole idea and I will give you some views on life in general from my quest as well as show you some of the places that I saw and things that I did during this period on Mondays as I set before—while maintaining my 60’s narrative on Thurs…..hope you can stand me back for more than one day a week.