A Local Wander: June 2013

Road-Trip Ramblings #3: Songs for Driving

I've realized while driving over the past two weeks that I have three specific go-to songs when the road keeps stretching on and on and the in-car company has exhausted all things interesting to talk about. No, not tunes that I punch up on my playlist. These are coming straight out of my mouth, often for entire verses before I realize I've started singing. They are:

Phantom of the Opera

Oh, if my high school choir teacher could see me now! The original tune and chords only last so long when the open road is stretching out before me. With imperfect juxtaposition, I promise I've created any and all possible variations of minor chord melody that my mediocre vocal abilities can give to this song.

Hooked On A Feeling
The chorus of this song lends itself perfectly to masking or bringing on sleepiness. Try it with me...

(wide open mouth here)

I-I-I-I-I....

I'm hooked on a feeling...

Tell me you didn't finish the chorus through a yawn!

Do You Think I'm Sexy
It's a little embarrassing, but when I'm dead tired and at the end of my rope behind the wheel, this is the song that ALWAYS pops into my head. In doing my research for this post, I now know that it's a Rod Stewart song and somehow that is not making it any less shame-worthy to me. In the spirit of head-bopping drivers everywhere, let me entertain you with this winner of a song in Mr. Stewart's glory days, not the post-midlife era that I recognize him in...

Please do tell me you were there flashing your long hair around with Rod in his heyday! And then help me expand my repertoire-

What are singing behind the wheel?

Travel Memories Saturday: New Zealand

Skydiving over Lake Taupo, New Zealand, 2002

We all have those classic shots that capture travel memories with little need for words.

Each Saturday morning, Sharon (from State by State Travel) and I post photos that express emotion, tell a story or make you wish you could be there. Be sure to also stop by State by State Travel and see what travel memories she is sharing today!

Do you want to hop into the picture and join in the fun?

What's your favorite travel memory photo? We'd love to see!

If you would like to have your travel memory photo used,

email it to alocalwander@gmail.com

with a brief description of where it is or what is happening

and we will schedule it

for one of our weekly Travel Memories posts.

If you are a blogger,

you will get a free link back to your blog below the photo.

Park Watch: Le Page Park, Oregon

A beautiful rest spot at the confluence of the John Day and Columbia Rivers on I-84...

This park does have a small entrance fee

(It was only $1 for my car of 1 adult and 4 kids)

More information at recreation.gov

Travel Memories Saturday: Little Sahara

Croquet in Little Sahara Recreation Area, Utah

We all have those classic shots that capture travel memories with little need for words.

Do you want to hop into the picture and join in the fun?

What's your favorite travel memory photo? We'd love to see!

If you would like to have your travel memory photo used,

email it to alocalwander@gmail.com

with a brief description of where it is or what is happening

and we will schedule it

for one of our weekly Travel Memories posts.

If you are a blogger,

you will get a free link back to your blog below the photo.

Park Watch: Boise, Idaho

In case you ever need a play break along I-84...

Visit the Boise Parks page fore more information

Help Our Family Out?

It's been a little quiet on here recently, as I've found myself busy with 4 little boys in the wilderness or Oregon and California. Updates coming soon, I promise you.

Until then, maybe you'd like to help us out with our next trip dream? Click the image to find out what we're trying to do in August.

And I'd love if you could share!

Trip Plan B?

What's a plan without a little turmoil and change? One week into our ambitious summer road trip, B broke his arm while playing with his cousins in western Nebraska. Figuring we were still relatively close to home, we drove back to have it checked out and now find ourselves on a 2-week appointment rotation for the next several months.

Could we still drive across the country to North Carolina to see our friends? We could. But it would mean many long days of driving with little time for stopping along the way. That's not what I want this summer's memories to be about. So, after a very stressful night of me confronting my dislike for change once a plan has been made, we've dumped Plan A that would take us east, and jumped head-first into Plan B which has taken us for a drive down the Oregon Coast (to start with, anyway).

I hope you're still excited to travel along with us!

Do you have a favorite stop along the Oregon Coast?

Travel Memories Saturday: Cambodia

Just a friendly warning in Cambodia.
Shared by my sister-in-law Alma, who is currently living in Manila, Philippines

We all have those classic shots that capture travel memories without having to say one word.

Do you want to hop into the picture and join in the fun?

What's your favorite travel memory photo? We'd love to see!

If you would like to have your travel memory photo used,

email it to alocalwander@gmail.com

with a brief description of where it is or what is happening

and we will schedule it

for one of our weekly Travel Memories posts.

If you are a blogger,

you will get a free link back to your blog below the photo.

Park Watch: Laramie, Wyoming (In Case You're Ever Passing Through)

The start of a new series where we focus on parks and playgrounds you'll miss if you don't get off the main highway,,.because we all need to stop and stretch our legs...

Getting There:

Take I-80 Exit 313 (Third Street)

Go North to E Ord Street

Turn Right, then drive 2 blocks on Ord Street.

For more information,

City of Laramie Undine Park

Summer Road Trip: Hotels Used To Be Built With Character

I get such a thrill out of finding unusual places to stay. Most of the time it's a quirky b&b or hidden away apartment rental, but occasionally it also turns out to be in a conventional hotel. Check out the "loft suite" we stayed in last week at the Salt Lake City Airport Radisson...

This hotel was built in 1989 and I have to imagine a staircase like that would never meet code in a hotel being built today. To prove it, the first thing B & P did was climb up the outside of the banister. All uniqueness aside, I did have hesitations about the kids leaving the room while I was slumbering in the bed up above. Sure enough, I'd barely laid down my head the first night when I heard P turning the deadbolt and peeking his head outside. He spent the rest of the night in bed with me and somehow I ended up the second night on the pull-out sofa to keep him from trying to escape again.

Maybe logistically this wasn't the best choice in hotel rooms, but for the same price of a generic square-box hotel room, we got something fun to stay in and talk about later!

Tell me about the most unique lodging you've ever stayed in!

Summer Road Trip: Salt Lake City's Tracy Aviary

I am not a zoo person. They're hot and smelly. Too many times the animals are hiding lifeless in the shade or absent from the exhibit all together. I just get really bored. A "zoo" dedicated to only one type of creature wasn't that exciting to think about, but B & P both love birds and I knew it'd be a memorable way for them to start their summer vacation.

Once inside, all I can say is that this is not another boring zoo. Each enclosure holds several different types of birds and it was engaging to search around for birds that were camouflaged or scavenging for food. Since birds obviously live in trees, the entire aviary is cool and covered in shade. Even in the heat of summer I think it would be a welcome respite from the sun.

Here are the birds we loved the most...

Pelicans

Red-Tailed Hawk

Bald Eagle

Scarlet Ibis

Trumpeter Swan

What type of bird would you want to see while you were there?

Useful Information:

Tracy Aviary is in the southwest corner of Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.

The park is super easy to find, but the entrance is a little tricky.

To avoid driving around the entire park twice like I did,

you'll need to enter the park on the north end of the park

and follow the one-way road around to the right.

There are bird shows throughout the day,,

but I was a little confused at how they are not announced

and the times are not listed in the map/brochure.

Do a little research on their website before you go

to ensure you don't miss a thing.

Liberty Park is definitely worth extra time when you're done at the aviary.

The playground is designed for children of "all abilities" with astroturf in some areas for wheelchair access and oversized swings for older children who may be interested in swinging.

Also check out the beautiful musical area with chimes and xylophones of all sizes.

Very cool place to play.

Travel Memories Saturday (Washington D.C.)

Washington D.C., 1997
Borrowed/re-posted from Wandering Still

This photo comes from the time in my life I like to call my "fountain days." What happy memories come flooding back as I think about the free-spirit I was back then feeling the invitation of refreshing bubbling water. And its impossible to think about fountain-hopping without also thinking of my old friend Jason.

I started college when the internet was still a novelty. Sitting in the campus library I signed up on a Christian dating site and quickly met two fantastic people. One of those people was Jason and it was only a matter of months before I hopped on a plane to New Jersey to meet him. My mom dropped me off at the airport a little confused and a lot scared and horrified. I figured that out when I didn't think to call her upon arrival and she hunted me down by phone at Jason's grandmothers home.(Important clarification: Jason and I were always just friends. Our hotel rooms always had two beds and we never even held hands. I'm not sure my family has ever believed me.)

I learned a lot of important life lessons while cavorting around the country to meet Jason. Here area few of the gems that stayed with me:

Always have food available for the needy.
I met Jason's grandmother that very first weekend. In her kitchen drawer, where you and I might keep the dishtowels or utensils, she had a full stock of SPAM, just in case somebody ever stopped by collecting for the food bank.

There really is a wrong side of the tracks.
On a business trip in Baltimore, Jason's company put us up in the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in . One night while out on a walk we crossed a bridge and immediately found ourselves in the most run-down neighborhood I've ever been in. I was terrified and even Jason gave pause as we walked in one block, over one block, and out one block. A girl followed two steps behind singing the theme from "Reading Rainbow" until we reached the bridge where she stopped and we high-tailed it back to luxury.

Security guards do a lot of looking at you funny, not much anything else.
Washington D.C. is fountain mecca and where I took my first wet foray. (Don't panic, I never got up the nerve to actually walk through the reflecting pool on the National Mall!) This is where I also learned that the Benjamin Franklin monument is very slippery and that getting on a subway train while soaking wet is a freezing cold terrible idea.

I don't know why I eat the way I do.
Slipping into a local diner and sharing an order of fries, Jason looked perplexed when I quit eating halfway through. When he asked why I answered without thinking, "Those ones don't have ketchup on them." Only then did I realize I had that little oddity. I pour ketchup all over the top of my fries and quit eating as soon as the ketchup-ed fries are gone.

Any place can be interesting.
Several times Jason's work took him to Killeen, TX, and I'd meet him down there. Killeen, TX, is to pawn shops what Washington D.C. is to water fountains. Aside from the military base there is no reason to go there. South of Killeen, however, is Georgetown, TX, and a beautiful bed and breakfast with rooms in the carriage house. Heading north halfway to my home in Iowa you'll find Wichita, KS-also a very boring city. But if you're their on the right night you'll witness the most incredible lightening storm and then have the adventure of getting stuck in flash flooding.

Criminals can look just like you and me.
Jason always told me his older brother had been exiled from the country for bank embezzling. Once while on a country drive he nonchalantly asked if I'd ever done anything illegal and then told me the details of his entrepreneurial side business producing fake credit cards for teenagers. One of the last times I saw him he got notice that he was to have a meeting at the Pentagon and shortly after that a letter letting me know he wouldn't be contacting me anymore. Either the most elaborate "Hey, I don't want to see you anymore" I've ever received, or a guy who got himself into some big trouble. I'm still leaning towards the later.

And that's a shame. I will forever look back on that relationship as one of the truest and most free of my lifetime. The adventures we had and experiences I gained still make my happy heart leap. We all need that one moment in time where the person we're with and the places we are fit magically into place and continue making us feel giddy, happy, goofy, and free no matter how it ended or where it led.

Now you're heard mine, so tell me, when were your "fountain days?"

We all have those classic shots that capture travel memories without having to say one word.

Do you want to hop into the picture and join in the fun?

What's your favorite travel memory photo? We'd love to see!

If you would like to have your travel memory photo used,

email it to alocalwander@gmail.com

with a brief description of where it is or what is happening

and we will schedule it

for one of our weekly Travel Memories posts.

If you are a blogger,

you will get a free link back to your blog below the photo.