I’m a travel agent by trade, and a meanderer at heart. A traveler is seeking something, whether that’s business or pleasure. A meanderer’s first love is the journey itself, regardless of the destination.
There may be some journeys in the long history of human existence that have gone exactly as planned, but I’m not aware of them. When things don’t turn out as expected, the destination-focused traveler must, at best, tolerate them. The meanderer, on the other hand, embraces the moment when things go askew and awry as the epitome of the journey.
In 2020, many things that were supposed to be set in place and orderly have begun to go askew and awry in the most unpleasant ways. In search of some respite, I decided to meet with my dear friend Nancy Smith, an experienced travel agent and meanderer based in California. This book celebrates the wonderful simple pleasures we experienced in our travels:
Breckenridge, CO
Captain Mac and his magnificent restored 1927 TravelAir Biplane touring Washington State’s San Juan Islands.
Kevin our daredevil jet boat captain and his wonderful black lab Ru on Oregon’s Rogue River.
Luther Coates and his yummy Traffic Jam and Sourwood Honey at the Farmers Market in Asheville, Colorado,
The grace and beauty of the pottery of Jerry Weatherman at Orcas Island, Anderson Valley with its stunning vineyards and the Mendicino Coast, often shrouded in fog, and a brief glimpse of a fox meandering through deserted streets of Breckenridge at dusk.
I hope you will enjoy these photographs, and share the ways your life may have gone askew and awry, but brought you to the place you were meant to be.
Askew and Awry will be available to purchase through Amazon.com on May 1, 2021.
From “Askew and Awry”