Easily Amused

"We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character." Henry David Thoreau

Is it the sign of a small, easily amused mind, that I get a kick out of my car turning over 200,000 miles? My poor little car is falling apart: the paint is wearing through; the trunk latch is broken and is secured by bungee cords; the noise it makes when turning is absolutely painful to hear. My kids call it my "ghetto car." But is was once my mom's car and, crazy as it sounds, I feel her presence every day as I am driving around. For better or worse, I inherited her spirit of wanderlust and adventure. I am the Doña Quixote of ordinary adventures.

Love you, Lif!

Song of the day: Riding In My Car by Donovan

Photo: Riding In My Car

Best Places to Snorkel

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonders forever." Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Perhaps because I live landlocked, I always dream of the sea. About fifteen years ago I had my first experience of snorkeling. Like so many "first experiences", it was certainly memorable, though not exactly stellar. A few years later I found myself on the Polynesian island of Moorea. It was there that I fell in love with snorkeling.

Sadly, due to deforestation and the effects of tourism, things have changed dramatically over the years but, back then, the lagoons were filled with seemingly endless coral gardens teeming with millions of fish in every color and hue imaginable.

I will confess, my snorkeling experience is, by no means, extensive, but it has been at least varied enough to know that there are interesting places to snorkel (anywhere in French Polynesia, but especially Taha'a) and not-so-interesting places to snorkel (avoid Ixtapa Island unless you like cold murky water and about five non-descript fish). Dear Reader, as always, I am seeking your counsel: what are your recommendations for best and worst places to snorkel?

Song of the day: Under the Sea by Alan Menken

Photo: Clownfish - Taha'a, French Polynesia

Your Favorite Travel Destinations

"The first journey creates the traveller." John O'Donohue

Travel and photography are two of my greatest passions and pleasures. When I am not traveling (which is most of the time), I am wistfully dreaming about places to which I would most like to journey. High on this list are the Seychelle Islands, Thailand, Egypt, China, the Maldives, India, the Ukraine, Tanzania, St. Lucia, Morocco, Italy, France… The list goes on and on.

A quick bit of research on the web yielded dozens of lists of places I should see before I die. One such list from the folks at Lonely Planet www.lonelyplanet.com includes:

Petra, Jordan (Jordan)
Taj Mahal, Agra (India)
Lhasa, Tibet (Tibet)
Haghia Sofia, Istanbul (Istanbul)
Colosseum, Rome (Rome)
Sun Boat, Giza, Egypt (Cairo)
Isfahan, Iran (Iran)
Acropolis, Athens (Athens)
Angkor Wat, Cambodia (Cambodia)
London, England (London)

Now I am curious. If you have been to any of these places, what has made them memorable for you? Would there be other destinations you would recommend as "must see" places? Are there destinations that you would suggest I should avoid? Since I am stuck here for the moment, a bit of vicarious travel would be oh-so-welcome!

Song of the day: Wild World by Cat Stevens

Photograph: Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Perfect Moments

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan


As I grow incrementally older, my attention span grows exponentially shorter, so it is no great surprise that I have become fascinated with books which are little more than lists: Alain de Botton's "On Love", Amy Kaouse Rosenthal's "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life", AJ Jacobs' "The Know-It-All"…

In that vein, I thought it might be interesting to compose my own compendium of lists. What better place to begin than with "Perfect Moments". I imagined that I would quickly be able to come up with several dozen monumental memories. Eagerly I got out my very favorite journal and began to write. The first few were easy and came with almost no thought. The next few, I confess, I struggled with. And then my mind went absolutely blank. Surely I have had more than six perfect moments in my life, don't you think?

My friend Mary suggested (and I agree), that the word "perfect" is probably a bit of an overstatement. While "Perfect Moments" sounds wonderful, "Memorable Moments" is probably a more appropriate place to set the bar. And with the change of that one word, my list is now back on track.

As I work on my own list I find myself wondering what makes moments memorable for others. I would be most grateful if you would take a minute to share your thoughts.



Song of the day: Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

Photo: Bora Bora, Polynesia

Things I Love About Japan

• Walking in the fog at Lake Chuzenji
• The neon of Tokyo
• Real Ramen
• Crab cakes at Yokohama Station
• Seeing Mt Fuji in the distance at sunset
• The Diabutsu at Nihonji
• Riding the Shinkansen
• The deer in Nara
• Naohiro
• Gyoza
• Sunning with the cats at Enoshima
• Kegon Waterfall
• Ryokans
• The Roozer
• Umebashi
• Sakuragichu
• Japan Rail Pass
• Kamakura in the rain
• The Rail Stations
• The iconic Diabutsu at Kamakura
• The Taj Mahal restaurant

Dear Erving Goffman

Song of the day: You're the Hangnail In My Life by Hoyt Axton


Photo: Kamakura In The Rain, Japan

Shadows

Song of the day: Unusual Way by Linda Eder

Photo: Anthurium, Botanic Gardens