Sunday, February 03, 2008

Places to go - been there, done that


The January 2008 issue of the Smithsonian had a feature about "28 Places to See Before You Die", cashing in on the current "# of places/things/etc. to see/do/etc." trend. I noticed, happily, that I have been to at least one place in each of the seven 2-page spreads, featuring four places per "spread" - the above being one of my all-time favorites (that's not my photo; mine dates back to 1986 and I'd have to scan it in but my scanner is currently broken).

I'm pleased I've already visited some of those places because I've actually grown tired of traveling in my old age. Fying freaks me out, and driving isn't that much fun either. Maybe it's having to do far too many 12 hour drives (one way; then there's the return 12 hours usually a week later) to visit my in-laws in the past couple of decades; or maybe I'm getting to be more of a homebody, if that were possible. But, I'm glad I saw those sights in my youth. I have wonderful memories of them to keep me warm in my senior years, as well as many good photos - and a few cheesy souvenirs - to prod my memory if need be.

"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." ~ William James (1842 - 1910)