April 25, 2010
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I discovered a great way to travel most inexpensively.
One of my favorite authors, Paul Theroux, has a new book out about his journey on the tracks of the great railway bazaar. His descriptions of remote places always leave me hungry for more. I want to see for myself, the gritty, seamy side of the downtrodden places he visits. I need to revel in the in the faded glory of the palaces, mosques, and train stations. And, thanks to Google Earth, I can. I simply type in the name of an obscure village in Romania and instantly, I'm there. With a click of the mouse, I can see the train station with its weed lined tracks, discarded plastic water bottles, and spindly trees.
He describes a delicious meal he has in Turkey, of Imam Bayildi, and I Google search for the recipe and recreate the dish in my own kitchen. It was quite good, by the way, but none of us actually swooned over it. (the name of the dish means "The Imam fainted")
I can enjoy the sights, tastes and smells, all without the slightest discomfort; well, except for the gastrointestinal repercussions of eating eggplant, onions and peppers. Perhaps that's why the Imam fainted
.Speaking of traveling; I'm headed back to Gooseberry Mesa again only this time I'll be traveling with friends. Mike's shoulder isn't well enough to ride so he's staying home with the cats. It will be a different kind of trip altogether as the people I'm going with prefer hot tubs and restaurant meals to starlit nights on the mesa. I will miss the the serenity of the quiet evenings but I'm sure the comfort of a shower and a real bed will be adequate compensation.
I've been hired as an enumerator for the U.S. Census and I start training on Tuesday. It's a temporary position, only two months, and the hours are flexible. I've been told that they try to place you in your own neighborhood. That's a little scary. Mentone has more dogs than people and more pit bulls than any other breed. I'll have a chance to practice my pack leadership skills. Think calm assertive, no touch, no talk, no eye contact, and always carry dog biscuits.
Please excuse the poor videography of the video; it's the only one I had of Mike playing at Gooseberry Mesa.
Comments (11)
Pits bulls, be careful!
Your method of travel is not only inexpensive it is very safe.Hard to beat how cheap my travel has been the past 6 months, even better because I eat cheaper then my 35/day allowance.
well done on your new job even if its only temporary. Not long now before the Tour of France , I have been watching the spring classic races , just love the French countryside. We are off to Nice at the end of June so we will be there for the building up of the Tour
Good idea! I hadn't thought of using Google Earth in that manner. But I think I still wouldn't be satisfied. I'd still want to go and see it in person.
Hahahaha the name of the dish is really hilarious. I wonder why there are such names as these? I suppose it's like the chinese dish Buddha Jumps over the Wall.
@ElevenStones - Your method of travel may be cheap, even lucrative, but it's hardly without its discomforts. Are you far enough away from it now to think it was worth it?
@englishjuls - Oh, Jules! You are so lucky!!! My dream vacation is to tour France with the Tour. I just read Floyd Landis' book, Positively False, which makes me want to go even more. I've always believed he was unfairly accused so I was happy to have his book corroborate my bias.
@Gringottsbank - My sources said they didn't know if the Imam fainted because the dish was so delicious or because he was shocked at the prodigious use of olive oil. My guess is that the name was corrupted in translation and that it was actually "The Imam Farted".
@judyrutrider - yes, but I must admit I enjoyed my week in Texas and or two days in the UP last fall much more then my month in China.
The lucarative part only comes into play because I get paid for the time I am traveling, the return leg was the first and probably only time I will ever be able to claim a 31 hour day.
Gee, maybe I'll write about life in Hooper Utah then you can create an imaginary visit to my house, since that will probably be the only way you'll ever come this far north......
Hooper looks beautiful! I saw the post office and what looks like a church, surrounded by large, new houses on enormous lots. There were no pictures to open except for the post office; why don't you submit some?
Mike's playing was very soothing.
@AprilsPlace - Uh, yeah, we've been together waaaay too long for the part you evidently edited out of your comment.
It appears that comments come into my email as soon as they're posted. What I don't understand is WHY you would censor yourself on my site?!?!
Mr RutRider plays very well. Hope he's better soon.
Good luck with the census work. I try doing the pack leader thing when we go to see my brother in law but his spaniel still jumps all over me
@StephanieWall - It's always awkward trying to discipline someone else's dog or kid when their mom or dad is around. They have that "you're not the boss of me" attitude. If you can get them alone you can instill some respect without leaving visible bruises. Just kidding, I would never inflict pain on a dog; now kids are a different story. (again, mostly kidding)
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