Until recently, I've been inflicted with an irrational fear of flying. Since Sept. 11th, 01, however, I have lost that irrational fear.

I know now that it's a totally rational fear.

So, I don't really have much interest in traveling at the moment. But if it's just me I have to worry about and had no other responsibilities, I think my mind would change.

I'd find a cruise ship or something to cross the Atlantic so I could visit Italy.

One of the miracles of living in Italy was that I ate all this great food and drank fab wine and always seemed to lose weight. There are a lot of hills, I guess.

Iceland, the Northwest of Norway, Greenland...

I'd like to see more of Ireland, Thailand, India, and Japan. I've never been "Down Under" and might like to go there.

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Closer to home it's Ocean Falls, BC

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Until recently, I've been inflicted with an irrational fear of flying. Since Sept. 11th, 01, however, I have lost that irrational fear

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Come on! You can't let stuff like that scare you. I would have taken a flight the next day after 9/11 if I could have.

Anyways, on topic, I want to go back to Europe, and possibly live there for a bit. I like the life style, and living there (though unemployment is fairly high), I also want to go to Thailand, mainly because I have a few Thai friends that I met in Belgium, and so I just gotta go visit them ASAP! Possibly also to somewhere in Africa, but no STRONG urge. And I haven't been a fan of South/central American countries for some reason. Though, my brother-in-law is from Mexico, I donno, just haven't had the "Desire" to go to those places. I wouldn't mind also visiting like China/Thailand(like I said) places in Asia, and the north east area of Russia...

I.S.S., Tranquility Base, Olympus Mons, Ceres, Europa, Io, Titan, Triton, The Kuiper Belt, RX J185635-3754, V 4641, NGC 4038 and 4039, and Quasar 3C273.

[ 15 January 2003: Message edited by: JimmyBrogan ]

[ 15 January 2003: Message edited by: flotsom ]

I also have a very strong desire to go to Ukraine, where my father's family came from, and Russia and Spain. Pretty much you could take me most places in Europe (east and west), and I'd be pretty happy, though Germany doesn't hold much attraction for me.

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Come on! You can't let stuff like that scare you.

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You know, talk about wasted youth. I thought to be one of those archeology dudes one had to slog through many years of university. But there are still lay people who do these things. Had I known, I would have ventured away from England and gone to Pompei, and worked for pasta and cheap wine, brush in hand under the meditereanean sun, wich would have bleached my hair blonde in no time, given me a tan, and aquired the eye of a wealthy middle aged Italian lady who would have kept me comfortable until she died and left her millions and sea side villa.

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No, in truth I turned down the offer of my own free will. I must be getting soft.

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Softer than the Darien Gap?

[ 16 January 2003: Message edited by: flotsom ]

But then The Darien isn't so soft its self!:

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The guide includes such sobering notes as

1976 One expedition member mysteriously shot and killed.
1977 Jeep lost in accident in Ecuador.
1979 Jeep lost to an unsavory encounter with a Columbian Park official.
This is plainly not a trip for the novice.

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Anyways, also to the Maritimes..

Scotland, Ireland, Wales, & travel through the rest of Europe with a knife, fork and corkscrew...

But today, mostly, I want to go to Vancouver. I like Vancouver and it's been over a year. I miss Vancouver. And I'm craving sushi.

I really want to go to Europe. I'd like to spend a month in France right now.

I saw myself wearing something in white gauze, strolling barefoot through the waves at the edge of the sands at sunset, someone tossing a garland into the water beside me ... *sigh*

I also saw myself eating. A lot.

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That sounds like a great read! I've been on Arctic explorers' diary jags before, maybe it's time to delve into the contenent crossers.

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Heh heh. You do know that Scott never made the North Pole. Also Admiral Byrd never wintered in that little shack on Antarctica. The little bugger invented it all. "That's not cricket."

Seriously, I've got photocopies of Knud Rasmussen's and Peter Freuchen's ugly mugs pinned to my wall. I'm lucky in a way, that I haven't got to the point yet where I can really get into older diaries of explorers, polar or otherwise. With the exception of Thesiger. I don't know why this is. But it means I have all those great sagas to look forward to.

George Meegan's book is really good.

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George Meegan, "The Longest Walk"
George began his walk at Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America on January 26, 1977, and for the next seven years hiked northward, ending his journey at Prudhoe Bay, AK on August 19, 1983, covering 19019 miles, a world record, on his hike.

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On a bit of a tangent, you might also like this site, Sherpafish:

http://www.oceanrowing.com/Gerard_d_Aboville/

Here's his book -- It's a great read:

http://www.allbookstores.com/book/1559702184

I highly recommend Michael Asher's books, especially In Search of the Forty Days Road and The Impossible Journey.

[ 16 January 2003: Message edited by: flotsom ]

Camping and hiking in Gros Morne, Big Bend in TX, or amongst the saguaros outside Tucson. Each is too beautiful for words.
salmon fishing in New Brunswick
at the Palio in Siena in July
Iceland in January
Vimy Ridge
Tokyo

Mandos: Being a rather provincial man at heart, I would refuse to go beyond Canada's borders in any case for higher education. Sept. 11th has only reinforced my bent towards insularity and I fully intend to stay at the same university for my Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate.

I don't know why people fetishize the notion of going to a different university for a graduate degree than an undergraduate degree. Seems to me that given the way personal connections drive the world these days that you'd want to keep them with your professors so that when thesis defence time comes you get a bit of a break.