Road Trip

Although most of my trips have been about the destination, its not always the final place that makes the journey worth while. One of my favorite things to do was to drive from my University, High Point University, all the way up to Parry Sound in Canada. This car ride was usually around 16 hours without stopping; there were times where we would have to stop along the journey, and then other times when just driving straight through was more fun! 

While a 16 hour car ride doens’t sound like very much fun, its all about who you do it with and how open minded you are. The drive from North Carolina is so beautiful and and so green, there is so much to see. Not only does one get to drive through several different states, but in order to get into Canada we have to pass Niagara Falls which is a beautiful stop. The falls are about five hours away from Parry Sound which makes for the perfect rest stop.

The drive takes you through many small towns, and I would reccomend one takes advantage of this opportunity. One can always find some dive restaurant with authentic southern barbecue to munch on. Although driving through many small towns on a very long drive could be very annoying to most, one must go into the drive with an adventerous spirit willing to stop for random places that spark interest. While the drive may be taking us to a vacation spot, whos to say you can’t make the journey there a vacation as well. 

What Traveling Has Taught Me

Being able to travel all over the world has taught me so much about man kind and society as a whole. Growing up in the United States, one can become very close minded to our culture. It is easy to grow  up over here and somewhat assume that every culture is somewhat similar to ours, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. There are certain little things that you notice over there that can add up to make a difference, such as no ice in your sodas or unisex bathrooms. Cutlures everywhere are so difference and I feel so blessed to have been able to experience these different cultures. 

In Canada there is not too much that comes to mind in terms of a different culutre in comparison to the United States, but there are still differences. Canada has a lot of Canadian pridse, so there is a Canadian flag everywhere you look. And in places in Paris, when you go down into the metro system, there are men carrying around shotrifles and in full military gear. There are just certain things that you see in other countries that you hardly ever see in the United States. I think it is important for those who have yet to travel abroad to a foreign country. It expands your horizons and helps one to look at the world with a new perpective. 

Meeting different people in different styles, attemting to speak with those who speak a different language can give any person valuable life experiences. I have gained so much through my personal experiences with other people across the world. I feel now having traveled only a small part of the world, I have a much better understanding of the world as a whole. 

A Little Tradition

To venture away from the common theme of traveling abroad, I decided this time to talk abut a trip that I love taking within the United States. Ever since my dad was a little kid, it has been a tradition for the Trotter family to take an annual trip to Bass Lake, California. Everyone on my dad’s side of the family minus us and his brother live in Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield is not the nicest part of Claifornia but it is where our whole family is so we go there once a year. Once we all congragate in Bakerfiled, the whole family piles into a few cars and we make the drive down to Bass Lake. 

We always rent a cabin in a little cove, its in the perfect location. Bass Lake is quite popular so if you want to get any good water sports in, you better be up and bright and early! During the day there are lots of people on jet skis and lots of people tubing. These activities make skiing and wakboarding quite difficult with all the waves, so one must do the water sport early in the morning to get some smooth water. 

Once you have gotten your water sports out of the way, its time to tube. One of our favorite activities is ghost tubing, this is three people sit on one tube, we tie two tubes to the back of the boat, and we lets on tube fly around while we get whipped around on the other tube. While it can be a little dangerous and painful at times, it is so much fun and so funny to watch. Another fun tubing activity is to tie two tubes to the back of the boat with two or three people on each and then attempt to switch tubes mid ride. 

There is lots of beer to be drunk and many laughs to be had. Bass Lake never fails to be one of the most fun weeks throughout the year. I will go to Bass Lake for the rest of my life, and eventually bring my future family there as well. While I have visited so many amazing places throughout the world, Bass Lake will always be my favorite place on earth.   

Round Three

Just over this past spring break, I made another trip back to Paris, France. This time was much different than all the other times. I stayed in the more business distric area of Paris. I got to meet several coworkers of Charlie’s (who works in Paris). It was an entirely different atmosphere from the touristy area of Paris. It is much more difficult to get aroudn this area of Paris. If you do not speak French, typically the language barrier is quite challenging. Going to the market is quite the challenge as well seeing as the food is all labeled in French. If you attempt to speak in French to the shop owners, they are more willing to try to speak English with you. 

Although those are some minor setbacks, its still a beautiful and amazing part of Paris. The people are friendly, and there is a lot of foot traffic on the streets. The streets are lined with bakeries and boutiques, there are endless shops to explore. The resturants are delishious cultural food, you will often stumble upon Indian resturants and English pubs. There is a good mix between clothing shops, there are shops with high quality clothes at higher prices and then there are more discounted but lower quality shops.  There is never a shortage of things to see around the business areas of Paris. 

While on this visit I went to see the Catacombs. It was amazing how many bones were down there. The tour was roughly 40 mintues, and the tunnels run under the city. The walls are lined with stacked leg and arms bones with skulls randomly scattered throughout the piles. It is quite the experience walking underground  surrounded by some many bones and skulls staring you in the face. Although it is not the most lighthearted of adventures in Paris, it is definitely an experience I would recommend for anyone traveling to Paris.  

Each time I travel to Paris, France its a completely different expereience. I have explored the touristy areas of Paris, met with locals in their homes for tea and cake, and stayed in the business distric of Paris. Each time I feel as if I’m going to a completely different place, I know there is still so much more for me to discover in the beautiful city. 

Double Trouble

After spending time with Charlie and his family in Germany, we took our travels back to Paris where we were to meet two frineds. Mike and Bri is a couple that graduated from my university last May, so over Christmas break we all decided to reunite in Paris. The couple had not spent much time in Paris so we made sure to hit all of the important spots. 

One day while exploring Paris we used Le’Opentour which is a bus that took us all over the city. We went to go see the Notre Dame, the Lock Bridge (one of the many), the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arch De Triumph, and saw many other site while riding the bus. It was perfect to sit on the upper level of the bus and see all of the architecure and famous spots all over Paris. I also did a bus tour when I first went to London; if you are ever going to Paris or London for the first time, I highly recommend using a bus tour. Its perfect for seeing everything one wants to see when going to these places and once can pick and choose which spots they want to get on and off at. Its the perfect way to tailor your trip to your exact desires. 

One of my favorite things that we did in Paris was to go visit Bri’s extended family. Since I had already been to Paris before, I had already done the touristy thing, now I wanted to emerse myself in the culture. Bri’s family disovered they had family in Paris through facebook. An extended family member of Bri’s messaged her on Facebook, leading them to find out that Bri’s grandmother’s sister lived in France. This was discoverd around five years ago and the family had made its way over to America to finally meet. So once we planned a trip to Paris, Bri suggested we go visit her family that lives there.

We had gone to Versailles for the day, and from there we planned to go see Bri’s family. We took a quick train and arrived in a smal town in France where her family lived. Her great grandmother, aunt and two cousins were there to greet us. We did the common French New Years tradition where we ate a cake and whoever found the coin in the cake had to wear a crown at dinner. I found the coin in the cake. It was amazing to get a deeper look into life in France. There is a difference in going to a foreign country and seeing all the touristy sites, and truly emersing oneself in the culture. After dinner with Bri’s family, I truly felt I got a deeper look into the French culture. 

My second trip to Paris with Charlie, Mike and Bri was amazing. I had now gotten to see every famous landmark that I wanted while also getting a deeper look into every day life in France. 

Germany

So far my travels have taken us through the UK and London, Paris, and Canada; next stop: Lubeck, Germany. Recenlty, Charlie’s father was transferred to a shipping company in Germany, so they all packed up and moved to the small quaint town of Lubeck. When I traveled to Germany, it was just over this past Christams break and I arrived just after Christmas.

Lubeck is a very small town, the roads are narrow and made of cobble stone, and almost everything is within walkable distance. When I arrived Christmas time was still in the air, there were lights strung all over the little town and the Christmas markets were still up and running. My first night there we all walked around a German Christmas market. This was the first time I tried Glue Wine; at first I was very skeptical because it is red wine warmed up with spices blended in, but to my suprise I loved the drink! There were small booths lined along the strees filled with beautiful furs, ornaments, handmade materials, and food… lots of food. 

Germany at Christmas time was one of the most beautfil things I have ever seen, lights were strung covering the sky, there were decorations everywhere. The architecture I noticed was quite different from Paris and London. Paris and London have a very romantic feel when it comes to architecture, while Germany is more rugged with darker brick and, at least in the town of Lubeck, it seems there is a church around every corner. 

The people in the town of Lubeck were friendly, I do not speak any German and I thought that was going to cause issues, but most of the Germans spoke very good english. One thing that I find very interesting about Europe is almost every time you ask an individual if they speak English they will say, “yes, but not very well” when in fact their English almost sounds better than mine! While it is helpful to learn the language of whatever country you are travleing to, but it is still possible to get around easily with most people speaking at least a bit of English. 

One of my favorite memories in Germany was going go kart racing. There was a little track in the small town, and Charlie’s family decided to take everyone out for a race. Of course all the boys lapped me several times, it was a great time! Me and Charlie also went on a farris wheel ride to get a view of the city and it was strikingly beautiful, the weather was chilly and the skys were clear. I could see out for miles and there was steeple after steeple. 

I loved Germany and would love to go back and get to explore even more of the beautiful land. 

Crystal Clear

As I said in my last blog post, Kathleen Island has become one of my favorite places on Earth. Although my fishing experience was exciting, there is so much more to the beautiful place. There are thousands of islands surrounding the small town of Parry Sound. It is very easy to get lost there when driving a boat. I have taken pride in the fact that now I can drive the boat all the way from the cottage into town without any direction.

One of my favorite things about Kathleen Island is the water; the water is so clear you can see to the bottom in many places! One activity I love is taking a kayak around several islands, I love to see all the different cottages that have been built while gliding over the perfect water.

Recently the Jones family built a hot tub overlooking the lake; when your sitting in the hot tub and look out into the open it almost looks as if your swimming in the lake. We always make a gin and juice to bring into the hot tub (gin and juice and rum and cokes seems to be the cottage drink) and sip as the sun sets over the water. The Jones have hats with “Kathleen Club” embroidered on them and in order to become initiated into this club, one must jump off the Kathleen Island cliff. While the cliff is not big it is always fun to hop out of the hot tub and jump off of the cliff into the cold water.

Wild life among these islands is spectacular, one time we came across five different snakes laying on the same rock! Talk about creepy! They also have bears and deer roaming around the woods. If your lucky enough, you may even get to see a baby cub! And of course, every time you see a Canadian goose don’t forget to salute!

I could write for years about how beautiful this place is, I have never been to a place in this world quite as wonderful as Kathleen Island.

The Loon

After having the most amazing time in Europe, it was time to take my travels elsewhere. This time I decided to travel north, up into Canada! Now once again, I wouldn’t have been able to explore Canada without Charlie Jones. He and his family have an island with a cottage on it in a small lake town called Parry Sound.

Getting to Parry Sound is no simple task, one must fly into Toronto, then (if your lucky with traffic) take a three hour car drive to get to the little town. After you get to the town, there is a twenty minute boat ride, and then you finally make it to the Jones’ Island: Kathleen Island. Although the journey may be long, it is worth the travel time and more!

On the island are three cottages: the main cottage, the boys cabin, and the boat house. Parry Sound is a small town in Canada, but many Canadians own cottages and islands. Some islands have more than ten cottages on them while others are private islands. The lake is huge and goes on for miles, I have barely made a dent when it comes to exploring everything out there.

There are endless activities to do on Kathleen Island; one can fish, ski or wakeboard, go tubing, walk around the path on the island, go swimming, go kayaking or canoeing, lay on the beach, go on sunset boat rides, cook amazing food, and hang out with amazing people! The list goes on and on.

One day, Charlie and I went fishing in this little area called Johnny’s Bay. We had been out there for roughly an hour with our Canadian Beers (a Canadian brand that is better than any American beer I’ve ever tried) and I finally got a nibble. After a few minutes of reeling the poor guy in, Charlie informed me that I caught the biggest fish ever caught by anyone at Kathleen! We took my fish and cut it up and put it on the grill; it tasted awful. Yet even though it was disgusting, it was fun to go fishing and learn how to gut and cook a fresh fish!

Kathleen Island has now become one of my favorite places I’ve ever visited, and next weeks blogs will include even more adventures from this beautiful place.

C’est Bon

So far on my global adventures I have explored the UK, but our next stop was in France! We took the Chunnel, about a three hour train ride, from London to Paris. Charlie’s brother Guthrie lived in Paris so we went to go stay with him for just a few days. In three days we got the see the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and much more.

Guthrie lives in a small apartment just outside of Paris. If you take the metro, its just a few stops into the heart of the city. We did so much walking around, there is so much to see and do it felt like we never stopped. The shopping in Paris is so lively and exciting. We didn’t go inside very many museums or go on many tours because there is so much to walk around and see. All the buildings are so magnificent and detailed.

If you venture outside of the touristy areas of Paris, it is a bit more difficult to get around. The accents are heavy and very few speak English. It is difficult to get around if you do not speak French, but they appreciate it if you at least make an effort.

Paris was amazing. I have now been to Paris twice and with each visit I’ve fallen even deeper in love with the city. You are constantly surrounded by new and beautiful things. The architecture on every building is so detailed and the fashion is so eccentric. If I could offer one piece of advice: know basic French, it makes your experience much more valuable and much easier on you.

London Calling

Next stop: London. After having spent several days with Charlie’s Grandpa it was time to move on and continue exploring. Charlie and I took at train out of Gloucestershire and into London. We had booked a cheap random hotel online that and coincidently the place was right next to the tube which was a great bonus for us! London was amazing, everywhere I looked there was beautiful architecture and so many different shops. On every block there were different pubs and little markets and cute little shops. I loved that about London, there are so many differently types of shops and restaurants where as everything in the states is based on chain restaurants and well known stores.

One of my favorite things that we did in London was seeing a show. We went to go see We Will Rock You. The show was fantastic and it was so cool to be able to go see a show in the heart of the city. There were people all over the place and endless shops lining the streets. The energy in London is contagious, the hustle and bustle of people coming and going to and from work and everyone carrying large shopping bags, there were endless things to look at!

If you are planning on visiting London, I would highly recommend doing the red bus tour. It takes you all over London and you can choose which stops you would like to get on and off at. You can tour as many London sites as you want and then once you are exhausted from seeing so many amazing places you can just sit on the bus and drive around the city to see its beauty.

While Charlie and I were in London we did the more touristy way to go about it as opposed to the kind of touring we did with his grandpa but I know we got a lot out of it! Through the red bus tour and walking around the city, I fell in love with London and hope to one day live there!