So a few nights ago I was able to venture out into a nearby town for the evening. One of the people I work with helps run Kareoke at a pub there so I decided to come help out and have a pint or two. Some of my friends back home have a small Irish style pub, O’Brien’s Pub in Ketchikan. They pride themselves on being the only place in town with Guinness on draft, so I decided to have a proper Guinness in a proper Irish pub for them.
It wasn’t until I’d taken a big sip, and taken on a classic “Guinness Mustache” that I realized I had never had one before! I felt a little silly at this point, having talked about the only place back home that serves it like it was my family’s restaurant, and then here low and behold I hadn’t even partaken of the stuff. It was great to sit amongst the locals, listening to various classic rock and modern pop songs being torn apart by people a few pints in. It reminded me a lot of a few small bars back home, actually. Same music, same crowd cheering at their favorite singers or songs. It always amazes me how similar we are for how different we try to be. After learning to play billiards, through a series of carefully orchestrated losses, we went to watch the rest of the singing before heading off home again.
That was last night. Today marks 7 months on the road for me. I remember the day I left very clearly. It was a brisk Saturday in Ketchikan, Alaska. There was an incredible sunrise that morning. I spent most of the day packing and repacking my Aarn backpack and did a quick radio interview at KTKN. I boarded a ferry heading for Bellingham, Washington with only the gear I could carry and a goal to circumnavigate the globe.
Over the miles I’ve seen some beautiful places and met some great people. All across the 12000 miles I’ve traversed I’ve noted that people are so very similar. They all enjoy hearing stories from places they never have been. They enjoy telling you about their home area. They love a good laugh.
As different as a place is from your home, you will always compare it to your home, because that is what you know. Even if its to say its better than home, you still will have your home in your mind.
It always makes me think when people from outside the US talk about the US. They sometimes have a very bad impression or just wrong information. It made me think how important perspective can be. I was thinking of this the other day while out photographing some horses that live nearby. I love seeing them each morningn on my way to golf course to work. They truly are beautiful. Some of them even pose!
Then I saw one horse eating grass near a yearling that was laying down, basking in the warm sun. It would eat a bit then violently jerk its head, trying to whip a fly buzzing around its head. But from my view, all I could see was a horse murder!
But I digress.
In other news, I was featured on another travel blog, “Gotta Keep Movin’ ” with an interview for “The Travel Ten” . You can see the answer to the questions, and some pictures from the interview HERE. Includes a few short takes of stories that aren’t here, so be sure to check it out! I also updated the Gallery, and the “Face of a traveler” animation! (HERE). Should have a new exciting place that I’m visiting near by next week to post about soon. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to see in person, so I am very excited to be visiting. More to come soon about that!
Ty