11/18 Rhoads, Greece

When we reached the port we began to wander about.  We really didn’t know which way to proceed but luckily we crossed paths with a couple who spoke English.  They were retired Americans who had been living abroad for the last three years.  Instead of joining a country club or pursuing some hobby back home they decided to see the world at a slow pace.  They explained that they would live in a different city every three months or there about and they planned on doing that indefinitely.   …

06/20 Western Ireland

She had circled a small hostel up along the west cost of Northern Ireland in the little travel guide she carried.  It was a gorgeous drive and well worth going out of our way.  I’ll never forget the look on her face when she first saw her hostel.  It was in the middle of nowhere and when the young men came out of the house to greet her, all the sheep ran for the hills.  She had the look of a newborn, clinging to our car as if it was her mother.  …

07/09 Northern Finland

There were about eight of us on a train traveling from Sweden across the Arctic Circle into Finland.  When we reached a painted line across the tracks, the train stopped and they ushered us out for a celebration.  When the speeches were over, they actually gave each of us a certificate validating our crossing, woopty-do.  It was a nice opportunity to stretch our legs, until we came to learn that this leg stretching exercise would continue for another few hours.  …

05/30 Stonehenge, England

Like a string of pearls, one complaint began to lead into another.  One minute it’s the weather, next minute it’s the price of food, carrying too much shit and then it was his feet.  “I’m not walking any further, maybe I’ll just fly home”, confronted Jim.  I reminded him that I was not his mother and if he thought I wanted to hear this shit, he had bigger problems than just his feet.  “Nobody’s putting a gun to your head and you don’t need my permission to make choices”.  I explained that I was not budgeted for repeating every other step and had a plan of what I wanted to see and experience and sometimes those things aren’t at the end of a train line.  “I’m committed to go forward and if you find it in your best interest to detour, I’m more than willing to meet you anywhere else on the map”.  “There’s no rule that says we have to do everything together”.  I provided an example of picking up women.  “I expect this to happen along the way and when we reach that fork in the road I’m sure you’re not going to be wanting me hanging around as a third wheel or vice versa.  We’ll just meet up someplace down the road”.  I tried to be a good person and attempt to avoid confrontations but traveling together has a tendency to bring these things to the surface.  Conflicts start and end with words.

Surely I dreamt today, or did I see. I wandered in this forest thoughtlessly
the clever boy that I once knew; with pebbles white and bread crumbs too
left no trail and lost my way, where all my pictures were thrown away

Through the forest, in the middle of a glade, forever nagging to persuade
no plank or bridge was placed in sight, only fists clinched as if to fight
the wind, the wind has caused me harm; you pulled too many false alarms.

09/18 Paris, France

Sometimes when I take photographs I place more value on where I am standing than what I am looking at.  In Rouen I stood where Monet stood.  I preferred the light and shade of a subject, the dark spaces that define its character and capture the surroundings of the moment, revealing its alternations.  That evening’s twilight was a symphony colored in grey and rose that I watched as I waited for the sun to set. …

08/31 Toledo, Spain

We both had traveled through Madrid on our way into Portugal but neither one of us had our mind on sightseeing.  We had planned on traveling through into Avila and then on to Toledo so we only got off the train to stretch our legs and find ourselves some food.  When we first arrived in Toledo we walked around its outer wall.  Ann was sporting a t-shirt minus a bra and again my mind began orbiting.  …

08/24 Algarve, Portugal

We woke the next morning to a welcome change in rooms.  Perhaps a good night’s sleep awaited us.  Our little dog was adopted as kinda of mascot.  He had been eating and actually gained some weight.  By the affection he was receiving his future looked bright.  Every day was a beach day and today was no different.  Luck did find us.  I spent the first few hours at the bar down on the edge of the sand, hair of the dog like the day before and the day before that.  About every thirty minutes or so, it was back into the water to wash off the sun.  …

10/17 Stromboli, Italy

The next morning I hooked up with a young married couple from the states, heading in the same direction.  Since we had a few hours until our boat was scheduled to depart we headed into the countryside to get a feel of the island.  My German friend from the previous day had not resurfaced.   …

05/25 Bath, England

We caught a morning bus into Bath.  There was such a beautiful view out the window I hardly noticed any of the other passengers.  I could almost imagine hearing the hunter’s horn heralding from the hills, the sound of dogs running alongside the hooves of horses.  I gazed at the many sheep spattered like white paint against the green, divided by a patchwork of trees and fences.  …

11/17 Haifa, Israel

We discovered that the prior day’s information was incorrect.  There were no boats leaving today.  We got our Sabbath’s mixed up again.  We had already packed everything up and trekked the long walk down to the docks.  At first I had doubt that anybody was talking straight.  I always had to ask a few to get some comfort in confirmation.  We managed to gather numerous alike answers and concluded that we were stuck there another day, fuck.   …

08/16 Train Rails, Spain

We came to an unplanned stop at the border between France and Spain where it appeared the French weren’t about to share their trains with Spanish rails.  We had come to a complete stop and it was obvious they were ushering us through customs.  Well there was no way I would attempt carrying our hash through customs.  It just wasn’t worth the risk.  …

12/04 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia

It was very late, or to be more accurate, real early in the morning.  Outside the station it was dark and cold, really cold.  Neither one of us were equipped for that type of weather.  The streets were covered in ice and our worn tennis shoes didn’t provide much if any traction.  When we exited the station we had no idea which way to head to find ourselves a room.  There were two others that also exited our train so we began following them in the hopes they would lead us down the right path.  We came to a large boulevard lined with large office shaped buildings but there were no signs or lights that provided us any indication that we were heading in the right direction.  …

07/05 Amsterdam, Netherlands

We divided up the day between Rembrandt and Van Gough.  Sadness is Van Gough’s greatness and without his blood and wed of failures, such masterpieces perhaps would have never been put to canvas.  I can relate to the color and texture of his turmoil and find myself too at times walking around in a daze.  In contract his colors were bright and unique.  …

08/10 Zurich, Switzerland

Our rail passes provided free passage on numerous lake cruises, so we decided to take advantage.  We gathered up the ingredients for a day out on Lake Zurich.  Opened up a cold beer, claimed a table with a view and broke out the cards to continue the cribbage marathon from the night before.  What a perfect day it was to be out on a lake.  There was just the right mixture between the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the breeze and the temperature of the beer.  Man some of these homes that line the lake with their manicured yards and adornments screams money.  …