That big ol’ boat.
Now that it’s a month past my vacation, the thrill and urgency of writing about my big solo road trip is fading. The vacation itself doesn’t bear a lot of narration; when I got home my Mom said, “So you mainly just hung out and talked?” Why yes. Yes I did. I got nearly a solid week of hanging out with one of my best and oldest friends and just talking, and it was magnificent!
I still keep thinking about travel, though. I always want to do more of it, even though I am a bit of a homebody and love returning almost more than I love going out to explore. There’s room in life for both, though.
Lately I have been thinking about this picture a lot:
The coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life!
This is a reproduction of a 16th century galleon that gives tours and cruises from Dubrovnik, Croatia on the Dalmatian coast. The picture is snapped from the balcony of the stateroom I shared with my parents on a Mediterranean cruise four years ago. I just looked it up and as it happens, I was in Dubrovnik exactly four years ago today, June 21st 2006. I saw this galleon going by as we were getting ready to go to breakfast, and I went out on the little balcony and took approximately 2309482 pictures, while exclaiming repeatedly, “This is the COOLEST THING I have EVER SEEN in my ENTIRE LIFE!”
As I clicked away and kept repeating that, I heard giggling coming from a balcony or two away. It didn’t give me pause. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my entire life!
It was the beginning of the trip and everything was magical, outlined in wonder. As the trip went on, fatigue built up, the strain of three adults sharing one not-large stateroom built up, reality came back in. But through all of it I tried to retain a sense of wonder. The things that I saw that I could not see at home. The chance to stand in places I’d only read or dreamed about. Even the joy, perceived anew, of life at home when we returned.
I have a lot I could say about that trip, about travel, about family, about cruises in general, about the European World Cup coverage in 2006 v. the ESPN World Cup coverage this year, stories about Dad for Father’s Day, stories about jet lag and funny things that happen in airports. But all I keep coming back to is that sense of wonder. I hope that I never, ever lose it.
June 21, 2010
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Jen · 
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If you decided to travel more often, I bet Desmond could easily adapt to life at sea.
Oz not so much I fear.
Hee! Awesome.
That sailboat is totally racing the galleon. And winning. Well, at least until the galleon raises its sails. Then it’s on.
Hmm, actually, that would be a tight race, since both are going to max out at about 7 knots…
Sorry. Yes, that is friggin cool.
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