Friday five - Travel

Leaving home whether for a week or a month can open space in our hearts, minds and souls, allowing the Spirit to move in ways unexpected. Seeing new places and meeting new people can change our perspective on the world. And sometimes getting out of town can be just plain fun!

As per the Rev Gals, here's the Friday Five.

England, 1984
I Was a Teenage Nanny. I was so homesick, which was a big shock. At 14, I had been pretty convinced that I was ready to take off forever and start my own life, but I learned that I wasn't. However, things I loved were: getting to really know and even love another family, exploring in tidal pools (so exotic for a midwestern girl), eating scones with clotted cream (dont tell ME the British dont know how to cook...), meeting a dreamy boy with a movie star name (Luke Harding, where are you today, I wonder?), seeing Loch Ness (but, sadly, not the monster), visiting anti-nuclear resisters camped outside Greenwich Common (my first introduction to that brand of activism), and, most wonderful of all, meeting up with my best friend from Minnesota while we were both in London and going to a hilarious play with her and her mom.

Mexico, 1985
Went with my highschool Spanish class, including same best friend from above. Although, for some reason, we spent more than half our time in Cancun, where everyone else partied all night, I mostly remember the family of 6 I saw sleeping in the doorway while we were in Mexico City. And wondering how much the money my parents (who couldnt afford it either) spent on my plane ticket could have done some real good.

Old Turtle Peace Tour, 1994-1995
With one other guy, travelled around the country for 8 months in an RV, towing a VW Bug painted like the eponymous character from the book Old Turtle, and leading workshops on peace-making in schools and churches and book stores, which resulted in THIS book. Too much eye-opening to really recount, since we visited every one of the lower 48 states, but I will say that I learned that you can find like-minded, loving people everywhere; that never knowing what the next day will bring can be energizing (and good preparation for ministry, that); that McDonald's usually has the cleanest bathrooms. Also during this time I first heard the word "eponymous" used in conversation, from the owner of Paul's Books, who introduced himself by saying, "I am the eponymous Paul" and who let his employees drink beer on duty as long as it was in a coffee cup.

Road trip to California, Spring 1998
So, I had this friend from work who was disabled and moving to Seattle to get a fresh start. I was going to California with my brother and my dad to visit my new nephew and I was really butch and figured I could help him out, so we agreed to caravan. I was already in a relationship and ready to live in Minnesota for the rest of my life. I did not expect to fall in love on the way, as Jeff and I in his van (followed by the other car but not really noticing it too much) talked for three days without stopping about the true meaning of it all and the sun set for hours and hours and hours across the western plains and the sand hill crane migration sang to us overhead.
Seven years later, we're still here.

India, 2001
Way more than you'd ever want to know about THAT is right here.