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Health & Fitness

Are We There Yet?

Whether you are an intrepid traveler or would rather hang out at the pool all summer, you will enjoy reading these travel memoirs.

Ah, summertime….fresh squeezed lemonade, swimming pools, sunsets on the beach…YES! For many of us, the approach of summertime also means planning the great American family adventure, otherwise known the Road Trip.  Anyone who has been on a road trip has both fond and not so fond memories. Little details stick out:  Staking out my territory in the back seat.  My car sick little brother.  Stopping at a diner called the Happy Chef somewhere in Iowa, Nebraska, or maybe Kansas.  There was a huge statue of a chef in the parking lot, and when you pushed a button, the chef would tell a goofy riddle.  The motel in Lincoln, Nebraska where you couldn’t watch TV unless you first purchased a key that would turn it on.  Finally, after two long days of driving, getting to see the Rocky Mountains.  From road trips, we learn flexibility and the necessity of a good sense of humor when things go wrong.

OK, I’ll stop now before I write my own book.  Travel memoirs are a popular genre, based on the variety of them I see at the bookstore and the library.  I think we can all empathize with dealing with cranky kids, mechanical difficulties, and the other zillion things that can go wrong when one decides to leave the safety of one’s own home territory.  We marvel at some people’s bravery (or perhaps foolhardiness).  We smile at their moments of pleasure.  We either vow to try the same trip ourselves someday, or declare we wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.  Either way, travel memoirs are great entertainment.  I am reviewing two travel memoir compilations.  Many stories involve children; some involve planes and trains, as well as automobiles.  Both these books are great for summer reading in the car during your own road trip, or just relaxing at the pool. 

“How to Fit a Car Seat on a Camel, and Other Misadventures Traveling with Kids”
Edited by Sarah Franklin
Paperback:
280 pages
Publisher:
Seal Press (April 29, 2008)
ISBN-13:
978-1580052429

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Oh my goodness, the difference a child makes when taking a vacation.  The amount of stuff you must now pack.  The effort of entertaining said child.  Add multiple children and the challenges increase exponentially.  These often humorous, sometimes poignant short travel memoirs by various authors deal with so many issues every parent can relate to.  In “Driving Mozard,” we can all sympathize when Sabra Ciancanelli decides to turn around to pick up her child’s imaginary friend, who they had apparently accidentally left at McDonald’s.  In “The Devil Wear’s Pull-Ups,” we laugh when everyone in the van ends up wearing a Pull-up on their head.  We pray for the infant quadruplets in “Four Babies, Two Sisters and a Breast Pump,” whose over 24 hour train ride was mandatory rather than a pleasure vacation.  We shake our heads with wonder and admiration at parents who bring their small children to West Africa (“Captain Safety”), on a sailboat cruise to Antigua (“Double Trouble on the High Seas”), or decide to take their baby canoeing on the fastest river in Michigan (“Saving Grace”).  Clearly these people are made of sterner stuff than I.   Anyone who has dealt with a kid for at least half a day can relate to this book.

 “There’s No Toilet Paper…On the Road Less Traveled”
Edited by Doug Lansky
Paperback:
216 pages
Publisher:
Travelers' Tales (November 16, 2005)
ISBN-13:
978-1932361278

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This book includes travel essays by Bill Bryson, Dave Barry and many other humorists.  I guarantee you will laugh.  We visit exotic locations around the world, including Antarctica, a nudist club, and even a Christian theme park.  We also travel to more traditional destinations such as Disney World and the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.  We go on a luxury cruise.  We witness a goat race in France.  We learn how Nigel Barley ends up at a movie theater in Cameroon with a monkey wrapped around his neckin “Simian at the Cinama.”   Rory Nugent gets harrowing cleansing from a witch doctor in “Under the Spell of a Witch Doctor.”  We learn deep fried potato bugs are a delicacy in the aptly titled “Deep Fried Potato Bugs.”  Language barriers are an important issue in both “An Irishman in Vurginny” and “This Land is Mine.” No matter where this book takes us, we laugh, and learn.

Happy traveling everyone! 

 

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