Destination: Cape Cod
Book: Summer Shift by Lynn Kiele Bonasia
Fried clams
Mmmmm, a basket of fried clams with some macaroni salad to carry down to the rocks along the shore sounds might good right now. The main drawback to reading this book on a Cape Cod Beach would be the constant temptation to stop reading and have a fried clam break.
You see, the book’s heroine owns a restaurant in a small town in Cape Cod (redundancy alert–are there any large towns on Cape Cod?). She has run the restaurant for 17 years, and her alcoholic husband wrapped his car around a tree a short time after they were married, so she’s discontentedly single.
As you may remember, I’m not crazy about romances, but this one has the virtue of presenting a few serious issues along the way. Her aunt has Alzheimer’s, her neighbor has Parkinson’s disease, and a cook at the restaurant has synesthesia–which isn’t as scary as it sounds–he feels shapes in things he tastes. Then there is the problem of letting go of the past, reconciling with an old love, and accepting her own maturing.
Sounds pretty interesting, and I love the setting, but I couldn’t warm up to the main character. That creates a real problem. I really didn’t like her very much. And she didn’t go out of her way to persuade me that I should like her.
As you may recall, I’m not crazy about romances, anyhow. But I’m trying not to over analyze a book that probably will be read with sand between the pages and grease marks from the fried clams on the pages. Here’s a nice description of the sea, that also tells us the main theme of the book. Time softens rough edges.
“She got out of the car and made her way down the narrow path that led from the house to the beach. When she got there, the horizon was defined by a deeper shade of black. Covered by a thin veil, the moon threw off enough light for Mary to see something blue near her foot, perhaps a dried jellyfish that had gotten tangled in a clump of eelgrass churned up in a recent storm. Somewhere out there, a baby winter flounder had lost its home. Mary bent down to examine the blue object, a shard of glass, Noxema blue, not officially sea glass yet, too clean and sharp at the edges. She picked it up and tossed it out into the water, where it, like everything else in time’s cauldron, would be sufficiently pulverized.”
Saltwater Grille
Oh, yes, Bonasia includes some recipes from the clam shack at the back of the book. Although the clam shack is a fictional place, the recipes were developed at the very real Saltwater Grill in Orleans, Massachusetts.
Enormous thanks to Alexandra Grabbe for scurrying around the Cape and taking these nice photographs. If you’re heading to Cape Cod, I hope you’ll visit Alexandra’s web site about a green B & B in Wellfleet on Cape Cod that she and her husband own. When her customers want something to read, Alexandra supplies a collection of books which she talks about in her blog, Wellfleet Today.
Tags: Cape Cod, Chez Sven B & B, Massachusetts, USA, Wellfleet
Hannibal MO
See where The Great American Road Trip 7-2010 has been in a larger map.
The Great American Road Trip
Destination: Missouri
Book: Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain, in The Library of America Edition
Mark Twain, who captured America like no other American writer, wandered the globe and lived abroad nearly as many years as he lived in the United States. As a matter of fact many of his most American books were penned while he luxuriated in villas in the Italian countryside.
He wrote follow-ups to his popular Tom Sawyer novel from a villa near Florence while fiddling with what was to become the final of the four masterworks of the Mississippi River, sometimes known as “The Tragedie” of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Of course I could have chosen to talk about his memoir of Life on the Mississippi or Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer, all memoirs to some extent of his years in Hannibal, Missouri, but being a contrarian, I wanted to read the lesser-known book as a salute to the state of Missouri.
Pudd’nhead Wilson made quite a journey itself, starting as a farce about conjoined twins, based on a pair of Italian sideshow noblemen that drew crowds in the nineteenth century Europe. However, by the time Twain finished his story, his interest had drawn elsewhere, the story had perhaps been influenced by his wife’s influence, and the twins, still noble, were no longer conjoined. The subsequent editing tends to rather sloppy and confusingly show glimpses of the previous “Siamese” twins.
As usual, Twain presents the accents and mores of his home town and the state of Missouri faithfully, although he was living in 1893 in a villa in Florence and had been for many years when he wrote this book. This is a book of memory. He is recalling the bad old days (1830) when a person like Roxy, the story’s main character, could be sold “down the river” because she is 1/16 black. “To all intents and purposes Roxy was as white as anybody, but the one sixteenth of her which was black outvoted the other fifteen parts and made her a negro.”
Even This long after the Civil War, such a strong condemnation of slavery sold more copies of Twain’s books in the north than in the South. He leaves no doubts of his feelings, not only about slavery but about the damage the aristocracy of the South wrought on the white population as well as the black.
Echoing his earlier story, The Prince and the Pauper, he switches two children but in this case, one is white and one is black (but in this case 1/32nd black, which serves just as well) and proving Twain is always up to date, he uses the latest science, in this case finger printing, to solve both a murder and the swapped-at-birth cases.
Despite the sloppiness in converting the Italian twins from conjoined to merely noble, this story deserves more attention than it generally gets. For one thing, Twain has created a really interesting female character for a change in Roxy. And if his cynicism towards American’s racial attitudes began to emerge in Huck Finn, it came to full flame in Pudd’nhead Wilson. See how he weaves a detective story, social satire, Americana and vintage Twain into a story that makes a good addition to the traveler’s road trip history library.
What is your favorite Mark Twain novel? Why do you think this one never gained the popularity of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn?
Tags: BlogSherpa, Great American Road Trip, Mark Twain, Mississippi, Missouri, road trip, USA
Book Cover
Destination: Southeast Asia
Book: 30 Reasons to Travel: Photographs and Reflections from Southeast Asia, by Joel Carillet
A Guest post by Dr. Jessie Voigts
This is a treasure-trove of photos and text that encourage thinking and learning about travel, others, and the common joys of humanity. I’ve not read a book that was so very thoughtful about people and places. I’ve lived in Japan, but not yet traveled to Southeast Asia. This book was an enticing look into cultures that are new to me.
One of my favorite reasons to travel, in this book, was Bac Ha’s Sunday Market. Joel describes the Vietnamese market, full of Flower Hmong in colorful costumes, “brought to mind a Henri Matisse painting run amok.” The photos accompanying this essay, indeed, show us the bright colors and marvelous embroidery that this culture is so famous for.
Perhaps for me, the best of the book is the underlying premise that the choices that we make in life, and in travel, contribute to our experiences. As an intercultural educator, I truly believe that to explore a culture fully, we must open our eyes, hearts, and minds. This book does just that.
I was lucky enough to sit down and talk with Joel about his new book. Here’s what he had to say…
Wandering Educators: Please tell us about your new book, 30 Reasons to Travel…
Joel Carillet: For several years I’ve published stories in magazine, anthologies, and on the web that dealt with specific places and people, but I’ve never had a format with which I could create an overarching argument for why travel is so valuable. 30 Reasons to Travel, my first book, gave me this format.
Through both word and image, the book invites the reader to consider how he or she is part of a journey that the world itself is already on. A lot of “list books” have been published in the last ten years (e.g., 1000 Places to See Before You Die), but what sets this one apart–in addition to its more than 275 photographs–is its more reflective nature. If you want a book that will tell you about plush hotels or the best places to get a tan, this isn’t for you. But if you want to consider the beauty of laughter, the value of holding a child of another race, or what a meaningful souvenir may look like, you’ll probably like 30 Reasons to Travel.
In putting the book together, I kept two interrelated realities in mind: First, not everyone can or does travel abroad. Second, many lessons of travel also have application in one’s own home or neighborhood. And so each of the 30 reasons is intended to provide food for thought not only for those who travel but also for those who say close to home.
As for structure, the book is divided into 30 sections comprised of a short story or reflection accompanied by photographs.
WE: What is your travel philosophy? You’re a very intercultural traveler…
JC: Neither I nor the book argue that there is only one way to approach travel. Each person is different and so what each person takes into the experience of travel is different.
Having said that, my philosophy–and what I encourage others to consider–is that travel is one of the best ways we have to enrich our understanding of what it means to be human. The Jewish philosopher Martin Buber wrote that “all actual life is encounter,” and I think he’s right. Not only do we encounter new people abroad, we also encounter ourselves in a new way. We’re enriched as we meet people, cultures, and issues outside our usual context, and hopefully others are enriched by us as well. Travel nurtures a sense of interrelatedness and leaves us dissatisfied with knowing the world merely through a television screen or newsprint, because travel shows us that you can’t actually get to know the world this way–and on occasion get it just plain wrong.
You can read more of the interview at Wandering Educators.
Dr. Jessie Voigts is the Publisher of WanderingEducators.com and contributes each month to A Traveler’s Library. She has a doctorate in International Education, and is passionate about intercultural learning. She and her husband are Worldschooling their daughter, and enjoying every minute of it. She is also a nature photographer and lives on a lake.
Ishigaki, Okinawa
Destination: Okinawa, Japan
Book: Island Story by Ayumu Takahashi
Hippie Commune or Utopia? With a “Hey kids, let’s put on a show” naiveté”", Takahashi returns from a round the world trip with his wife and says, “Why not build a self-sufficient village overflowing with music and art?”
Their cheerful belief never flags through eight sometimes discouraging years of searching for a place, recruiting volunteers, learning needed skills, and finding resources. Despite early missteps that make enemies of the residents, the young transplants have, in fact, built a community, that still exists, and you can visit it today.
By 2008, Takahashi, then 36, and the “founding fathers” have moved on to other things, which makes sense. As much as everyone might want to stay in their youth for every, the Peter Pan dreams can’t last for ever.
Early plans literally included a tree house, beach fort, and pirate ship all fueled by vast quantities of beer and punk rock. Language in the book tends to the vacuuous, reverting to words I haven’t heard strung together since the early seventies– “Vibes, cool, Wow, Yay!, Peace!” The depth of the thought that went into the enterprise shows in this mantra:
Okinawa is wonderful
Nature is wonderful
Friends are wonderful
Life is really wonderful.
On the other hand, the book as novel as the enterprise, and shows gorgeous photography of Okinawa. Maybe I’m just too old and cynical. Cool!
Win a trip to Okinawa. Deadline August 25th. Go to One Peace Books, the publisher of this book, and publisher of other inspiration and picture-filled books.
You can own this T-Shirt
There were actually only three entries in the contest to win the t-shirt that says “I guess there are never enough books.” So deciding on a winner was not as difficult as usual.
The winner, Casey Freeland, who, after a rather lame start about hiding a tattoo, goes on to promise us WORLD PEACE. How can you beat that? (I think Casey may have been watching too many Miss America Contests.) Here’s his complete answer:
That’s easy… because it will serve two purposes, like any well written prose. First, it will hide my tattoo which has a creature in it that makes people nervous. Second, it will make me seem soooooo smart, which makes people believe I am imparting some great wisdom every time my lips start smacking.
The result is immediate improved communication between me and everyone I talk to. Those I speak to will feel better about themselves, more confident, and go out into the world. Like a virus of good will they will infect all those around them.
The subsequent chain reaction of happy will spread across the globe until it reaches every mountain peak of the Andes and every Polynesian island.
And then… world peace.
All because you gave me a shirt.
And the runner up–winner of a bookmark that lists all of Steinbeck’s books:Jackie Smith of TravelnWrite, because Jackie tied up books AND travel:
I love the quote credited to Saint Augustine that says, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page.” For those of us who love travel AND books, books are the means of armchair traveling to distant lands we may never reach, they serve as the introduction to new places we may well visit and they serve to bring back memories of earlier travels. Therefore, just as with destinations, there can never be too many books.
Congratulations to both of you.
Book Cover
Destination: Southern Arizona
Book: Historic Walking Guides: Tombstone & Bisbee Arizona by Jane Eppinga
Curious staffers of other Congressmen go into the office of an Arizona Congressman, look at the map, and point with wonder at Tombstone. “You mean that’s a real place?”
Yep! Even though Tombstone in some ways lives on as a mythical Western town, best known for Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, it is still “The Town Too Tough to Die” and one of the prime tourist attractions in the state. Jane Eppinga, a prolific writer about Arizona history, says that when she signs her travel books in Tombstone, she meets travelers from Romania, Ireland, Hungary, Canada, and lots and lots of Germans and Brits.
Eppinga is a meticulous researcher who checks and double checks every fact in her books–eight in print and three coming soon. So I was happy to pull her away from her keyboard long enough to answer a few questions about her career and her latest book, Historic Walking Guides: Tombstone & Bisbee Arizona 
A Traveler’s Library: How did your interest in writing about historic Arizona get started?
Jane Eppinga: About thirty years ago, I started writing for the Arizona Capitol Times, [a newspaper published in Phoenix about state government.].. I was in the [Arizona] Historical Society… They wanted a history column, and asked the Historical Society for recommendations. They recommended me. And then my books came along, and that’s how I got started.
ATL: What was the first book?
JE: The first book that I ever did was Henry Ossian Flipper, the first West Point black graduate. Flipper was a resident of Nogales. That was 1995.
ATL: Why is a British publisher publishing a book about two small towns in Arizona?
Tombstone Gunfight
J. E.:The Brits and the Germans are crazy about Tombstone. The editor/publisher of DestinWorld has been to Tombstone and they absolutely love that place. When they hold the Rendezvous of Gunfighters in early September, whole groups come from Great Britain.
ATL: Did you personally go to all the places in the book?
JE: I have over the years. I did not do the 1000-Step Walk in Bisbee. [Bisbee is an old mining town built on steep hills.]… it is usually in October.
ATL: What do you recommend as “don’t miss” places in each town?
J.E.:
Tombstone: They’ve got to go to a gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and be aware that it is not the actual O. K. Corral where the gunfight took place. After that, I would say, it is that marvelous Court House. It is open, and it is a State Park. It is just a jewel of Victorian architecture.
Bisbee: Stop at the Mining Museum. It is a auxiliary of the Smithsonian. The second thing I would do there is take the underground mine tour. Led by guys who worked in the mines when the underground mining was going on. They know what they are talking about.
ATL: What books about the area do you recommend for a traveler’s library?
J.E.:
- Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend by Casey Tefertiller
- And Die in the West:The Story of the O.K. Corral Gunfight by Paula Marks
- Tombstone, Arizona ‘Too Tough To die’ :The rise and Fall and Resurrection of a Silver Camp: 1878 to 1990 by Lynn Bailey
- Going Back to Bisbee by Richard Shelton
Jane Eppinga
The Historic Walking Guides: Tombstone and Bisbee lays out nine walks, plus travel information. If you are not traveling, but want to learn about the history of gunfighters and miners in the Southwest, this is a good book for a traveler’s library.
Thanks, Jane. And congratulations for your national award on your book, They Made Their Mark,
The photo of the book cover and of the author are courtesy of Jane Eppinga. The Tombstone photograph is by Vera Marie Badertscher, all rights reserved. If you click on the book titles and go to Amazon and then BUY any book or item they sell, I will make a few cents.
Where would you like to visit in the Southwest? LAST DAY to leave me a note telling me why YOU should get the t-shirt that says “I guess there will never be enough books.”
Tags: aithor interview, Arizona, Bisbee, Doc Holiday, guidebook, gunfight, Jane Eppinga, OK Corral, Tombstone, travelers library, USA, Wyatt Earp
I know that America can be annoying to foreign travelers. You can rarely find signs and tour guides in any language except English. But there are some darned nice things, too, to enjoy on your U.S. Road Trip.
- Public Libraries. Travelers are not likely to be borrowing books, but here are the benefits of the ubiquitous public libraries: Free or minimal charge computer use; tables on which to work, and a place to plug in your laptop and get WIFI; clean restrooms; information on the surrounding area; a schedule of lectures, story hours for kids, and lots of newspapers and magazines to read for free.
- National Parks. America had the first National Parks, and the concept has spread to many other countries. National Geographic Adventure has these nice articles about our National Parks. Nowadays you probably have to pay a fee, but look into special discounts for Seniors and other programs. At National Parks, take advantage of Park Ranger programs, guided hikes, maps and brochures that come along with your admission.
- QUICK! What is the best travel bargain in the United States? Smithsonian Institution. You can browse to your heart’s content for free ANY time at the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities, like the National History Museum, the Air and Space Museum, and the newer Museum of the American Indian. Plus they have the most intriguing gift shops anywhere. On Saturday, September 25, 2010, the Smithsonian museum affiliates across the country will open their doors for free admission to everybody. The Museum Day Tickets are available NOW for download from www.smithsonian.com/museumday. I will take advantage of the free pass close to home at the museums listed at the Guide to Arizona Museums blog.
- Fast Food Restaurants. We love to hate them, but they provide a clean dependable place to eat and free, clean restrooms. I do seek out the locally owned one-of-a-kind restaurants when I can, but I can’t imagine a road trip without a stop at a few fast food chain restaurants, and some fast food places are actually healthy eating.
- Chain Motels. Again, the benefit is that you know what you are getting. Holiday Inn was the first chain motel, starting in 1952 to meet the needs travelers on the new national highway system that was beginning to cross the U.S. It is fun to explore the little independent places, and with the Internet that is easy, but sometimes you just want to stay at a familiar place.
- Toll-free Super Highway. The U.S. major highway system started in the fifties, and as Ken and I and our children crisscrossed the country from Arizona to Ohio in the 1960′s and early 70-’s we saw old Route 66 slowly morph into US 40. And each trip was faster and easier. Toll roads are a logical way to earn enough money to maintain highways, and our mid-twentieth century roads are showing their age, however, I still enjoy not having to drop money in a box every few miles.
- Coasts that belong to everyone. Since this is a state thing rather than a federal thing, it does not apply universally to our Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, however in California, in particular, the public is entitled to access to almost all of the coastline. Google “Public access shorelines” for the scoop on whatever state you are looking for.
- City and state parks. From the biggest urban park–16,000-acre South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona (and you thought it was Central Park in NYC, didn’t you?) to small town parks like the historic one we discovered in Fillmore Utah. Stay and hike, or stop for a picnic.
- The Great Lakes–FIVE of them. Well, okay, Canada gets to claim half of four of them, but they are the largest inland fresh water bodies of water in the world and offer an endless variety of recreation for travelers.
- Roadside rest stops. These range from barely helpful–a picnic table surrounded by dirt and pavement–to absolutely gorgeous–landscaped, dog play areas, snacks, clean restrooms, maps and information.
What did I miss? What are your favorite things to love about traveling in America? And remember, your comment (one per post but as many per day as you like), enter you in the contest for the “I guess there will never be enough books” t-shirt.
Tags: BlogSherpa, free admission, Holiday Inn, motels, Smithsonian, U.S. Road Trip, USA
You can own this T-Shirt
But it could be OUR motto!
Giveaway Contest
The picture shows Just SOME of the books recently reviewed here with the John Steinbeck t-shirt I’m giving away to the person who gives me the best reason they should have it. Comment on any post, one comment per post counts but as many posts as you like–through Friday midnight (MST).
Now please read the Great American Road Trip stop in Arkansas for a Great American Book….
(And even if you’ve already read about Arkansas, I invite you to go back and HEAR the son, Farther Along.
Great American Road Trip
A waterfall like the Cave Dweller's shower.
Destination: Arkansas
Book: Farther Along(2008) by Donald Harington
This book’s characters talk through musical instruments.Which makes it a natural to pair with Kerry Dexter, my partner on this Great American Road Trip. See what music she recommends for your drive through Arkansas at Music Road. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Arkansas, BlogSherpa, Donald Harrington, road trip, travel literature, USA
