“Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.” ~ Steven Wright
All avid fans of hiking or long distance walking share something in common. They understand that you must walk to truly experience and see a place. Sure, a car or bike will get you there quicker and allow you to see more places, but those modes of travel don’t allow you to see more OF a place. In our modern world where everything seems to move at lightning speed, is it no wonder people are craving slow travel? In a world driven by consumerism and the desire for more, is it surprising that someone like me would seek travel that focuses on meaningful experiences rather than a sightseeing checklist?
Slow travel doesn’t mean you move at the pace of a sloth — it’s a mindset, a different way of looking at vacation.
As soon as October arrives, I start craving apples and pumpkins and crisp Fall weather. In Southwest Louisiana we have the pumpkins and if we’re lucky we’ll get a few mornings below 60 degrees. We can of course buy a large variety of apples from the supermarket, but there’s nothing better than apples freshly picked from an orchard. I grew up with a large garden where we had apple, pear and persimmon trees. I had forgotten those tastes until Eric and I made a trip in 2011 to Washington state during the harvest season.
“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step” ~ Lao Tzu
Eric & I have enjoyed traveling together since we first met, but what really solidified us as a serious travel duo was the year we spent living in Delaware. Eric’s first job out of college was with a Taiwanese company whose American base was in Delaware. What was supposed to be a six month training ended up being a full year, so we made the most of it. I didn’t have a car & wasn’t working during that time, so I would spend the week planning trips for the weekend. We would rent a car each weekend because the company car they had loaned us could only run a few miles before dying. Plus, it smelled like soy sauce because a previous tenant had spilled a gallon of soy sauce in the front seat & never properly cleaned it. Quite often, we’d get the same rental car, a red PT Cruiser — we LOVED that cruiser!
