There Be Dragons,... How Far Do You Go?

Discussion in 'Places I Have Lived' started by Holly Saunders, Sep 26, 2018.

  1. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    In a small town I know very well, current population around 15,000.. there are bars and restaurants, a few club for seniors...green bowls, line dancing, swimming , a supermarket , medical centre and a weekly market .. . From the top of town to the boundary line Arches, is probably just 2 miles at most ..everyone owns at least one car. The other side of the arches is a dual carriageway leading to Much more interesting towns and villages and beautiful scenery ...yet time and time again, I see the look of horror on peoples' faces when asked if they ever go further than the boundary... ''Oh no, never beyond the arches''. ( except on the odd occasion when they have no option ...airports and vacations etc)

    These people are missing out on some beautiful areas and experiences as well as larger towns and cities... but nope, ''There be Dragons'' beyond the arches... for some reason they fear the unknown , at least that's how it seems to me...am I wrong?


    So...are you like that... do you feel that you'd prefer never to leave your own neighbourhood and has it become better or worse since you've become older?
     
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  2. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    I never felt afraid to leave my "neighborhood" but lately while I don't mind going to my daughter's I don't like to go past a certain point in Fresno.
     
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  3. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    When I lived in Central Missouri, there were people there who had never gone out of the county in their whole life, especially country folk, who lived and worked on the same farm where their family had lived for years.
    On the other hand, I have been a vagabond most of my adult life, and lived in a lot of different places. I would actually still travel more often if I could do that; but now that I am older, I just do not feel comfortable with driving cross-country anymore.
    If I could travel on the train though, I would sure take at least one more trip and see more of this beautiful country of ours.
     
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  4. Beatrice Taylor

    Beatrice Taylor Veteran Member
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    I normally paddle around within a five-mile radius of my home and when I do venture out I rarely travel to the north or west.

    I was raised in the area southeast of where I live now and that is where my memories were made.
     
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  5. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I avoid cities that big. In all honesty, when I am driving long distances by myself, or when I get to determine the route, I don't go through any cities. For example, when coming back to Millinocket from the south, I will take Route 11 (light blue) rather than I-95, but I was able to do that only once with my wife along.

    Other than the idea that adventures are found largely in big cities, that is pretty much what I do. Rather than staying on boring I-95, where everything is always the same and nothing ever happens, I prefer to go through the rural areas where there are moose, deer, bear, and other critters, and through small towns where I can find restaurants that aren't chains and other sights that I don't see every day, such as oddly built houses, barns, camps, and so on.

    I don't alway stay on Route 11, as there are other small roads that can take me for a ways, and I am not even averse to driving off into the woods on a logging road in order to see if it goes through to the next road.

    route-11.jpg
     
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    Last edited: Sep 26, 2018
  6. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    I pretty much stay in the same areas, unless something I want to see or buy is in an area I don't spend time in....if it is then I will go to that new area long enough to see or buy what interested me. With all the traffic now days and the crazy drivers I just don't like going all over the place like I did when I was younger.

    I don't like crowds either and one usually will find that all over now days too.
     
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  7. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    A large family is a crowd in Maine.
     
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  8. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    Yeah...sometimes my large family is a crowd over here too....especially when we gather for family reunions! :)
     
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  9. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    I'd be to afraid of getting lost or murdered by strangers.
     
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  10. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I have always enjoyed taking the back roads, or just a more scenic route, unless pressed for time to get somewhere (or driving a 19’ U-Haul with trailer on behind).
    There are always a lot of things to see when you can take the scenic routes.

    When Robin and I went to California from the Seattle area, years back, we took Route 101 along the ocean instead of I-5, and we stopped anywhere along the way that looked interesting.
    One place that we both loved was the Oregon Vortex, which is in southern Oregon, but not along the coast. We came back home at least partially on I-5, and I think that we saw the sign and took the detour to go and visit the Vortex.

    This spring, whenI went to Orlando for the week (she was there for work), we traveled down through Georgia and along the East seacoast of Florida, and came back home along the smaller country highways that hugged the west seacoast of Florida.
    We had stunning beautiful views of the ocean, and drove through some quaint and picturesque little towns on the trip, and the traveling was as much fun as the trips we took when we were in Orlando, although that was a lot of fun, too.

     
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  11. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    @Yvonne Smith, I found the same thing in rural Georgia. Many people there had not left the county they were born in their entire life. The adjacent county had a large town with remarkable shopping, etc., but these people were afraid to even travel 60 miles. I would recommend the train to everyone, especially is you can afford a sleeper car or bedroom. My wife and I try to take at least one long-distance train trip every year. You can see the countryside,, and you don't have to drive. If you have a room or berth, food is included (it is considered first class) but alcohol, if you wish to imbibe is not. You can carry booze with you, though, I think. The only advantage to taking an "open seat" other than cost, is that you can get off and on at any stop and simply reboard the next (or any) scheduled train. I traveled in open seats when I was younger, but now enjoy the bed and privacy more. There are handicap rooms as well, that provide more facilities and room for wheelchairs.

    By the nature of living where I do, I have to travel. I think Alaskans are the most traveled Americans, since many of us have to fly to get anywhere outside of the town in which we live (not the case for me now, however). I have children in Seattle and Omaha, and have to fly to visit in any reasonable time frame, although I have driven to the Lower 48 on several occasions. Routinely, we have to drive 17 miles to the nearest town of any size, and do that at least weekly. I seem to be the happiest when I am traveling, and that was the life I envisioned for myself before I married and had children. In retirement, we try to take at lest two major trips every year.
     
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  12. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I agree. Train trips in a sleeper car are great. The scenery is spectacular, you get to look into everyone's backyards, and you don't have to deal with the frustrations of driving.
     
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  13. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    I've written enough posts about my train rides...I definitely agree that's to way to travel. :)
     
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  14. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    I like to take a less traveled road, regardless of where it's at. I do like smaller town sceniero better than big city.
    The only reason to not venture out ..is because of known high crime areas.
     
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  15. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    On my bucket list....but not alone.
     
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