Published in 1867, this travel book by the renowned humorist appeals to me on several levels, not the least of which is because he writes about a world cruise. Just as visiting his house in Connecticut revealed how remarkably the technology, utensils and built environment of our homes have changed in a little over a century, this book reveals how cruising and travel have advanced, and as such, I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys cruising.
Because he is Mr. Twain, there are lots of insightful observations that bring a smile of recognition despite the wide chasm of time between the time he wrote them and now. In a funny section about an excursion, Twain describes zigzagging through a village in the Azores on donkeys, coming to this timeless conclusion:
"It was fun, scurrying around the breezy hills and through the beautiful canyons. There was that rare thing, novelty, about it; it was a fresh, new, exhilerating sensation, this donkey riding, and worth a hundred worn and threadbare home pleasures."
Beginning with the promises of the advertising circular, Twain revealed that onboard the steamer passengers would enjoy wonderful entertainment, which meant a small library, church services and musical instruments, including "a disreputable accordion that had a leak somewhere and breathed louder than it squawked - a more elegant term does not occur to me just now. However, the dancing was infinitely worse than the music. When the ship rolled to starboard the whole platoon of dancers came charging down to starboard with it, and brought up in mass at the rail; and when it rolled to port they went floundering down to port with the same unanimity of sentiment. Waltzers spun around precariously for a matter of fifteen seconds and then went scurrying down to the rail as if they meant to go overboard. The Virginia reel, as performed on board the Quaker City, had more genuine reel about it than any reel I ever saw before, and was as full of interest to the spectator as it was full of desperate chances and hairbreadth escapes to the participant. We gave up dancing, finally."
Twain also wrote about passengers who began the trip writing page after page in their journals, but who eventually gave it up. "If you wish to inflict a heartless and malignant punishment upon a young person, pledge him to keep a journal for a year."
This blog is something of a journal, but no one forces me to write it, and for whatever reason, I find the act of writing pleasurable. It is a way to pass on information to anyone who happens to read it, which apparently includes you on occasion, but primarily, I would have to say it is a way of reliving the experiences, passing time while waiting for the phone to ring, and so when I am busy with visiting family or my actual travels, I don't generally write much.
Anyway, that is my long-winded way of saying that I haven't posted much to this blog lately because I've been busy. My oldest daughter Gina came into town just before Thanksgiving to work with USC, and she brought my granddaughter Emma along to have time to get to know her California grandparents, which of course was a terrific treat. While I love to travel, it proved just as entertaining to see where I live through the fresh eyes of a child.
A few weeks later, my youngest daughter Amy arrived for Winter Break, and my son Jay started spending more time away from his home in the Valley to be with us in Manhattan Beach. For Christmas, we drove to Montana for an amazing ski vacation with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew. Following that, we returned home to a family reunion of Julie's side of the family, with her older sister Cheryl and our nephew Jered staying on a few days, so this is the first time I've sat down to blog since dashing out our Christmas letter.
I've included a couple of videos to show what we were up to while I played hookie from writing my blog.
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