DC to MB, the glory days.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you a travelogue update.

 

In case you hadn't noticed, I have recently been participating in activities which do not include reading. However, last week I was able to read and engage in such consuming activities.

I have the heart and soul of a traveler. Last week, I went on a most wonderful adventure with my best friend, M.

As we are of the ripe age of 21, this was the very first trip that either of us had taken without parents or family members or classmates. It was a very exciting time for both of us.

We left for the airport on Saturday, July 18, 2015 with so much bubbling excitement! Little did we know that that excitement would be squashed by the wonderful announcement at our gate that our flight had been cancelled. We were left to spend the night at a hotel in Detroit, which was an experience; let me tell you.

In the morning, we finally made it to Washington, DC. If there is one thing I love about history, it's American history. Ever since I spent those many months in that grade 11 American History class, I've wanted to take a travel to Mr. Obama's place of residence. There is just so much history there. If only we could have stayed a month, although I fear even that wouldn't have been enough.

One of my favourite things was sitting across the street from the Washington Monument and thinking about all the television shows and movies that I've seen that are based in DC. Just think of all the people who have stood right here in this very spot. Magical, I tell you! Magical!

National Treasure was one of the many movies that we watched on repeat as children. There were so many moments during the day where we observed places that became settings in the movie. That will remain one of my all time favourite movies, even if Mr. B (grade 11 American History teacher) claims it's historically inaccurate. (We were all appalled that he wouldn't let us watch that movie in class.)

Anywho, we visited Mr. Obama's White House, but were surprised that he didn't come outside to greet us. All those people showed up and he didn't even come out of that big white house. The nerve, I say!

We were off to a rather slow start, but the road trip portion of the adventure began on Monday, July 20.

In our rented Toyota Prius, we started the journey south. There were many beautiful things to see as we travelled through the countryside. M chose a path that would take us through the various little towns between Washington, DC and Myrtle Beach; instead of living the fast paced life of a freeway-er.

As we took a wonderfully long time to exit DC, we had not travelled nearly as far as we had hoped the first day. That is not altogether terrible. We were on vacation after all.

We stayed the night in Kitty Hawk, NC. That is just on the edge of the Outerbanks; which are a fantastically beautiful place to travel through. You may have some issues with catching ferries though. Don't worry, there is always the Jolly Roger to entertain your traveling soul as you wait three hours for the next ferry.

We finally arrived in Myrtle Beach at 10pm on Tuesday, July 21. I would normally prefer to be driving during the daytime, but I must say; it was quite a sight to be welcomed into MB with bright lights and excited vacationers. They have a lovely night life there. If you have a vehicle, why not cruise up and down North Ocean Blvd for a few hours every nigh? Traffic pileup at 10pm? Not a problem.

The air that surrounds a vacation destination is one that would make our little Ltown jealous if it were to ever see such a place.

After two and a half spectacularly vacationy days in MB, I was ready to stay forever. Unfortunately, reality took hold of my mind and made me get on the airplane to come home.

Side note: if you ever book a trip where you arrive at the Atlanta airport with only a 50 minute layover, re-evaluate your life. It was enough time, but there are better things in life than rushing from gate C55 to gate B7 in the hopes that you will make it in time. Just leave yourself some room, enjoy your travel.

After arriving home at midnight on Friday, July 24 I felt like I needed a vacation to recuperate from my vacation. We packed so much into 7 days. The week felt like forever, but I wouldn't have changed any of it.

 

One day, I'll be back, this is t-bear signing off

France is Sweet

Book 26 - A book that was originally written in a different language

Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky

"Suite Française (French; "The French Suite") is the title of a planned sequence of five novels by Irène Némirovsky, a French writer of Ukrainian-Jewish origin. In July 1942, having just completed the first two of the series, Némirovsky was arrested as a Jew and detained at Pithiviers and then Auschwitz, where she died. The notebook containing the two novels was preserved by her daughters but not examined until 1998. They were published in a single volume entitled Suite Française in 2004."

-This quote brought to you by the most reliable, Wikipedia.

 

As you may have noticed, summer is here.

I was all gung-ho when the end of June arrived, and then July hit. There was little I could do to assist the progress of my challenge.

When one is too busy with friends to read, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Oma would be proud of my socialness.

I greatly enjoyed spending time with this novel. It was hard to read a lot in one sitting, as I was constantly on the move, but I rather loved traveling through France with the characters.

As Wikipedia kindly described, this novel is just two of the, potentially, five novels. The first series is called Storm in June which follows the lives of different families from varying social classes, fleeing Paris after hearing news of an invasion from Germany. It was interesting to see that even though there was a war going on, social class was still a major part of life. It could determine whether or not you have a place to stay, have food to eat or are even able to escape the impending invasion at all.

We are faced with every day situations, "have we packed all the linen?", "is the silver in the trunk?"; amid the people who are more concerned about saving their lives, and the lives of their family members, than saving their valuables.

Some people made it out of Paris before the invasion, some left and then returned after not reaching their destination, only to find Paris untouched and rather empty.

The second series is called Dolce which is centered around the lives of different classes of people who live in the same town. The series starts with an occupation by a troop of German soldiers.

At first all the residents of the town do not appreciate anything that involves the German's. Slowly, certain groups start to become more comfortable with their new arrangements.

The children are the first to be welcoming to the troops, followed by the ladies who are excited about the presence of men who aren't from their town. I rather enjoyed the opinions of the townsfolk regarding the mannerisms and traditions of the German's. Although many people grew very comfortable with the German soldiers, they could always take a moment to harshly judge the German way of life; therefore, proclaiming the correctness which is the French way.

These series' were wonderfully helpful in portraying what life was like to be running from dangers and what it was like to be held hostage in your own hometown. There was quite a large amount of seriousness to the tales, but there was also an appropriate amount of humour, which is always welcome.

If you happen to be looking for a novel which was originally written in a different language, look no further, I have found one for you! But really, read it. There is history, war, romance, humour and even a bit of suspensefullness. In other words, there is something for everyone!

 

Travelers, start your packing! this is t-bear signing off