There are SO many places I want to see, BUT I’m old and falling apart, and my traveling days are mostly behind me. Which is one of the many reasons I adore Strong Sense of Place! I can travel vicariously to so many fascinating places with Mel and Dave and the selected authors. I love it! That said, if I had to pick ONE destination to visit it would definitely be ICELAND. Preferably an extended stay, so I could see ALL of it.
May 14·edited May 15Liked by Mel Joulwan & Dave Humphreys
I retired in August 2023, and now that I'm learning what retirement is like, I'm looking forward to traveling. I'm taking my first cruise to Alaska in July and I can't wait. I've got a few more road trips across the US on my schedule for this year--I'm combining traveling with book festivals. Retirement is everything I thought it would be and more!
I'd like to put in a plug for Heather Lende's "If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name." That book made me want to go to Alaska just to meet her. There's also a chance your boat will pull up in her home of Haines. – Dave
Gayla! This is awesome. A cruise to Alaska has been on our must-do list for ages. I'm excited to hear all about it when you get back. Are you reading Alaska books yet?! The Alaskan Laundry is still one of my favorite books I've read for SSoP. —Mel
No, I haven't read anything related to Alaska except for The Great Alone a few years ago. However, I just downloaded The Alaskan Laundry and I can't wait to read it, especially since it's one of your favorite books! I'll report back on the book and the cruise. :)
Darn, none of my Libby libraries (10) have this in e-book format. I'll have to check for the paper book in my local library. Thanks for the recommendations!
Gayla, I’ve started planning travel around book festivals as well and find it’s a useful tool for choosing and planning. Which ones have you participated in and how did you like them? Which ones are on your horizon?
Louise, so far I've gone to the Savannah Literary Festival in February, the San Antonio Book Festival and North Texas Teen Book Festival, both in April. I'm searching for one to go to in the upper Midwest (Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois) in June or September, maybe somewhere in October (haven't identified any yet) and then I'll be going to the Texas Book Festival in Austin in November.
I enjoyed the Savannah and San Antonio festivals a lot, but the Teen book festival had too many teens in a closed space. lol Reader know thyself, now I do know what kind of festivals I thrive at, and one in a convention center with 15k teens (well behaved was a plus, but still...) is not something I can do again. I love to drive cross country listening podcasts and there is so much of the US that I haven't been to before, so I try to find a festival that lines up with somewhere I've wanted to go, and I go.
You are off to a great start, it seems. My sister and I enjoyed the Nashville Book Festival in October several years ago and last year had a great time at the Nantucket Book Festival in mid June. It’s a bit challenging to get to, but the festival itself is free and they have a lot of heavyweight authors in attendance. They also schedule speakers one at a time, so participants can see all the authors over the course of three days. Savannah has been on my radar as I live part-time in the Atlanta area, so it’s good to know you found that worthwhile. I’m thinking of going to Bouchercon (mystery-focused) in Nashville (next year in NOLA and the year after in Calgary) though I don’t know anyone who has been. Tucson , LA and Brooklyn have been recommended to me. Bloody Scotland sure intrigues. I’m checking that out next, thanks to Mel. Thanks for sharing your experience, Gayla!
I'll have to check out the Nashville Book Festival for this year, that may work into my plans. I want to go to Tucson, LA Festival of Books and the YA book festival in LA a couple of weeks after the LA Festival, all of these next year. I listen to a podcast and a couple of people on that podcast went to the Hampton's Whodonit in April and from the sounds of it, they had the best time and now I want to go to it next year too. Thanks for telling me about your festival plans too.
Can you tolerate Michener (ex. the classic chapter in Chesapeake from the perspective of a crab)? My SO definitely can't. I always dread starting them (they are LONG) but I always end with a great sense of the place and how it became what it is. So, I really liked Alaska by Michener if you can do it.
He is an acquired taste, but I find him worth the investment at the end of the day. You will find yourself skimming a few chapters not to your taste (ex. previously noted crab chapter, occasional elaborate descriptions of geology). I was looking at my favorite quotes relative to your other question and actually had one for Michener, that I really like. "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home." – James Michener
May 14·edited May 14Liked by Mel Joulwan & Dave Humphreys
I'm headed to Cherry Springs Dark Sky park in Pennsylvania to look at the STARS. Later in the summer, I'll be in Newport pretending it's the Gilded Age - I've got Beatriz Williams' The Lost Summers of Newport on my list to prepare :)
Love Dark Skies. Kind of sad that it has to be a "thing" we travel to, like it is now somehow special that we can actually see the stars - how do we manage to mess up that!! My best stars ever were on top of Mauna Kea on the Big Island in Hawaii, amazing!! Pennsylvania is lovely - hope you have a nice journey and clear skies.
We were in Moab Utah (designated Dark Skies parks) - so beautiful. We stayed after sunset with a packed dinner and waited for it to get dark. Seeing the Milky Way splashed across the sky is magical. It's amazing though as your eyes adjust how much you can see in the dark!
Mel, I’m still waiting to do that Historian tour!!😁 right now… I always say Scotland and that’s where I’ve been going exclusively these past years, but I’ll choose California, I’ve never been , my eldest has moved there and I’m planning a trip now. (Iceland, Nova Scotia, Greece, oh and did I mention Scotland?)
California is a really spectacular state. It's hard to meet a sunny morning in Monterey... eat breakfast by the water, watch the surfers, go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to see the otters. Pretty much perfect. —Mel
It's always Paris. So jealous because my son is going to Paris this summer. Who would've thought he'd get there before me. I'm a diehard Francophile, and I really should live there. In the meantime, I practice French!
Keep sending them! I'm not going to get to go this summer, and I'm not 100% sad because of the Olympics, which I know will be madness. But I am saving money towards my eventual trip!
After cancelling our family holiday to Japan in 2021, we are finally heading off in July, from Melbourne, Australia and are very excited! I have been reading some Japanese literature to get in the mood, just finished Confessions by Kanae Minato, which I loved and starting Convenience Store Woman this afternoon…
Hooray! So glad you're making this trip! I hope you have a fantastic time. For a completely different vibe from Convenience Store Woman (which I loved), you might try The Great Passage — it's so good. A really lovely story that's about love and love of language. https://strongsenseofplace.com/books/the_great_passage_miura/ Please share some stories about your trip when you get back!
Top of my list is Ireland which I will hopefully be visiting with my parents next April! I also would love to take a road trip to all the national parks and presidential libraries in the United States someday!
At some point, I want to live in a central part of a couple of countries and spend at least 2 months in each place, not necessarily the touristy areas. Italy, Spain, Germany and UK. We’re semi-retired and the day we downsize and sell our house, we’ll be off. Going to local markets, hanging out at cafes without an agenda is what we’re thinking of doing. I’m a genealogist and all four places hold ancestors and cousins for me. Fingers crossed we can make it happen.
Obviously, we support this idea unconditionally :-) Downsizing is a very interesting experience. When we moved from the US to Prague, we got rid of almost everything. It's pretty intense to touch every item you own to decide if it's a keeper, give-away, sell, or storage item. Even now I'm a little bewildered by some of the things I decided to bring with us and what I gave away or put in storage. My brain was addled!
But the move and the adjustment was much easier than I thought it was going to be. It felt like home to me pretty quickly. We talk about spending a year as nomads some time, moving with each season. We've never done that, and I'm curious to see how we'd like not having a firm home base for a while.
I love that you're curious about places where you have a family connection. You can totally make this happen! If you have any questions about any of it, we're here for you :-) —Mel
I would like to go to Svalbard and work at the Seed Vault, if they take volunteers. I love all things arctic! I've read a number of books that take place in the arctic and it always amazes me how well various authors are able to describe the setting. "Snowy", "cold", and "white" are such obvious gotos. Plus polar bears! Which in my view of the world is a good thing.
Svalbard! Such a good pick! And I love that you want to volunteer at the Seed Vault. That is very cool. When Dave talked about Svalbard on our podcast, I got all heart-eyes emojis. It seems so otherworldly and magical. Just in case you don't know about this episode: https://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2021-09-27-arctic/
Do you know about the YouTuber who shares her life in Svalbard? https://www.youtube.com/@CeciliaBlomdahl Her videos are great! I love the ones where she shows how she gets ready for the dark in winter and the light in summer. Really good stuff. —Mel
Perhaps not terribly exotic, but Ireland. My maternal great- grandmother, Minnie O’Cleary, died when my grandma was just 2 years old so we know absolutely nothing about her family or story at all. I also discovered in the last decade that I have Irish on my Dad’s side of the family, as well. No on ever talked about it so I’m eager to learn more and hopefully visit there one day.
Exotic, shmexotic. Ireland is awesome! I love the idea of trying to tracking down family. I *also* really want to go to Ireland. Give me all the misty coast and spooky folktales! —Mel
So so many destinations on my bucket list... but I think it has to be somewhere in ASIA (maybe Thailand?!) or AUSTRALIA because I need to visit those continents!
I so very badly want to go to Iran! I was working hard on convincing my closest friend to join me on a trip there to celebrate my 50th when COVID happened. And, you know, military conflict and massive repression. I believe it is a wonderful place to travel though - I need to get there.
Oh, man. I would love to time-travel to Iran in the '60s. The culture, before things got all messed up with politics, is so beautiful. I really enjoyed doing the research for our Iran episode. I'm sorry COVID and, ya know, patriarchy canceled your trip!
There are SO many places I want to see, BUT I’m old and falling apart, and my traveling days are mostly behind me. Which is one of the many reasons I adore Strong Sense of Place! I can travel vicariously to so many fascinating places with Mel and Dave and the selected authors. I love it! That said, if I had to pick ONE destination to visit it would definitely be ICELAND. Preferably an extended stay, so I could see ALL of it.
Traveling vicariously through Mel & Dave has been one of my joys the last few years prior to retirement.
Traveling vicariously through our research has been super fun for us, too :-)
I retired in August 2023, and now that I'm learning what retirement is like, I'm looking forward to traveling. I'm taking my first cruise to Alaska in July and I can't wait. I've got a few more road trips across the US on my schedule for this year--I'm combining traveling with book festivals. Retirement is everything I thought it would be and more!
I'd like to put in a plug for Heather Lende's "If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name." That book made me want to go to Alaska just to meet her. There's also a chance your boat will pull up in her home of Haines. – Dave
I just downloaded this one on Libby also. I can't wait to read both of them. :)
Gayla! This is awesome. A cruise to Alaska has been on our must-do list for ages. I'm excited to hear all about it when you get back. Are you reading Alaska books yet?! The Alaskan Laundry is still one of my favorite books I've read for SSoP. —Mel
No, I haven't read anything related to Alaska except for The Great Alone a few years ago. However, I just downloaded The Alaskan Laundry and I can't wait to read it, especially since it's one of your favorite books! I'll report back on the book and the cruise. :)
The Whale and the Cupcake from our Alaska episode is also a good one that's a fast read. https://strongsenseofplace.com/destinations/alaska/
Darn, none of my Libby libraries (10) have this in e-book format. I'll have to check for the paper book in my local library. Thanks for the recommendations!
So old school :-) —Mel
You might try The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivie. She is an Alaskan and tells a great story that describes Alaska in a beautiful way.
Such a good suggestion. Dave loved that book!
I read that a few months ago and really enjoyed it. :)
Gayla, I’ve started planning travel around book festivals as well and find it’s a useful tool for choosing and planning. Which ones have you participated in and how did you like them? Which ones are on your horizon?
I know you didn't ask me, but I want to go to Bloody Scotland! It starts with a torch-lit walk! https://bloodyscotland.com/
Louise, so far I've gone to the Savannah Literary Festival in February, the San Antonio Book Festival and North Texas Teen Book Festival, both in April. I'm searching for one to go to in the upper Midwest (Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois) in June or September, maybe somewhere in October (haven't identified any yet) and then I'll be going to the Texas Book Festival in Austin in November.
I enjoyed the Savannah and San Antonio festivals a lot, but the Teen book festival had too many teens in a closed space. lol Reader know thyself, now I do know what kind of festivals I thrive at, and one in a convention center with 15k teens (well behaved was a plus, but still...) is not something I can do again. I love to drive cross country listening podcasts and there is so much of the US that I haven't been to before, so I try to find a festival that lines up with somewhere I've wanted to go, and I go.
You are off to a great start, it seems. My sister and I enjoyed the Nashville Book Festival in October several years ago and last year had a great time at the Nantucket Book Festival in mid June. It’s a bit challenging to get to, but the festival itself is free and they have a lot of heavyweight authors in attendance. They also schedule speakers one at a time, so participants can see all the authors over the course of three days. Savannah has been on my radar as I live part-time in the Atlanta area, so it’s good to know you found that worthwhile. I’m thinking of going to Bouchercon (mystery-focused) in Nashville (next year in NOLA and the year after in Calgary) though I don’t know anyone who has been. Tucson , LA and Brooklyn have been recommended to me. Bloody Scotland sure intrigues. I’m checking that out next, thanks to Mel. Thanks for sharing your experience, Gayla!
I'll have to check out the Nashville Book Festival for this year, that may work into my plans. I want to go to Tucson, LA Festival of Books and the YA book festival in LA a couple of weeks after the LA Festival, all of these next year. I listen to a podcast and a couple of people on that podcast went to the Hampton's Whodonit in April and from the sounds of it, they had the best time and now I want to go to it next year too. Thanks for telling me about your festival plans too.
Can you tolerate Michener (ex. the classic chapter in Chesapeake from the perspective of a crab)? My SO definitely can't. I always dread starting them (they are LONG) but I always end with a great sense of the place and how it became what it is. So, I really liked Alaska by Michener if you can do it.
Confession: I've never read any MIchener. I love a long book. Maybe it's time? —Mel
He is an acquired taste, but I find him worth the investment at the end of the day. You will find yourself skimming a few chapters not to your taste (ex. previously noted crab chapter, occasional elaborate descriptions of geology). I was looking at my favorite quotes relative to your other question and actually had one for Michener, that I really like. "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home." – James Michener
Ooooh, that is an excellent quote.
I used to love Michener but I haven't read one of his books in decades.
I'm headed to Cherry Springs Dark Sky park in Pennsylvania to look at the STARS. Later in the summer, I'll be in Newport pretending it's the Gilded Age - I've got Beatriz Williams' The Lost Summers of Newport on my list to prepare :)
Love Dark Skies. Kind of sad that it has to be a "thing" we travel to, like it is now somehow special that we can actually see the stars - how do we manage to mess up that!! My best stars ever were on top of Mauna Kea on the Big Island in Hawaii, amazing!! Pennsylvania is lovely - hope you have a nice journey and clear skies.
We were in Moab Utah (designated Dark Skies parks) - so beautiful. We stayed after sunset with a packed dinner and waited for it to get dark. Seeing the Milky Way splashed across the sky is magical. It's amazing though as your eyes adjust how much you can see in the dark!
That sounds like a fantastic experience. That a thrill!
I would love to go to Newport; one of these day's I'll make it to the East coast.
Oooh, I'm very curious about dark parks. Can you report back after you go? —Mel
Yes! Hopefully we don't have cloud cover🤞🏻
Mel, I’m still waiting to do that Historian tour!!😁 right now… I always say Scotland and that’s where I’ve been going exclusively these past years, but I’ll choose California, I’ve never been , my eldest has moved there and I’m planning a trip now. (Iceland, Nova Scotia, Greece, oh and did I mention Scotland?)
OMG. The Historian tour. Some day. What a dream!
California is a really spectacular state. It's hard to meet a sunny morning in Monterey... eat breakfast by the water, watch the surfers, go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to see the otters. Pretty much perfect. —Mel
Italy, all of it. Venice, Tuscany, Rome, Sicily, Florence...
Same, same, same. —Mel
It's always Paris. So jealous because my son is going to Paris this summer. Who would've thought he'd get there before me. I'm a diehard Francophile, and I really should live there. In the meantime, I practice French!
Dee, since our Patreon hangout, I've been sending 'Get Dee to Paris' energy your way. Can you stowaway in your son's suitcase? —Mel
Keep sending them! I'm not going to get to go this summer, and I'm not 100% sad because of the Olympics, which I know will be madness. But I am saving money towards my eventual trip!
Yes, Paris is populated enough without adding the Olympics on top of it. When you go, we'll come meet you for lunch at L'As du Fallafel ;-)
After cancelling our family holiday to Japan in 2021, we are finally heading off in July, from Melbourne, Australia and are very excited! I have been reading some Japanese literature to get in the mood, just finished Confessions by Kanae Minato, which I loved and starting Convenience Store Woman this afternoon…
Hooray! So glad you're making this trip! I hope you have a fantastic time. For a completely different vibe from Convenience Store Woman (which I loved), you might try The Great Passage — it's so good. A really lovely story that's about love and love of language. https://strongsenseofplace.com/books/the_great_passage_miura/ Please share some stories about your trip when you get back!
Cuba. In February
YES! I got a big crush on Cuba when we did our podcast episode about it.
Top of my list is Ireland which I will hopefully be visiting with my parents next April! I also would love to take a road trip to all the national parks and presidential libraries in the United States someday!
Iceland. I love the pictures of the rugged, isolated beauty. So much sky!
Oooh, good one! Iceland is like another planet, and the skyr! Best breakfast ever. —Mel
At some point, I want to live in a central part of a couple of countries and spend at least 2 months in each place, not necessarily the touristy areas. Italy, Spain, Germany and UK. We’re semi-retired and the day we downsize and sell our house, we’ll be off. Going to local markets, hanging out at cafes without an agenda is what we’re thinking of doing. I’m a genealogist and all four places hold ancestors and cousins for me. Fingers crossed we can make it happen.
Obviously, we support this idea unconditionally :-) Downsizing is a very interesting experience. When we moved from the US to Prague, we got rid of almost everything. It's pretty intense to touch every item you own to decide if it's a keeper, give-away, sell, or storage item. Even now I'm a little bewildered by some of the things I decided to bring with us and what I gave away or put in storage. My brain was addled!
But the move and the adjustment was much easier than I thought it was going to be. It felt like home to me pretty quickly. We talk about spending a year as nomads some time, moving with each season. We've never done that, and I'm curious to see how we'd like not having a firm home base for a while.
I love that you're curious about places where you have a family connection. You can totally make this happen! If you have any questions about any of it, we're here for you :-) —Mel
I would like to go to Svalbard and work at the Seed Vault, if they take volunteers. I love all things arctic! I've read a number of books that take place in the arctic and it always amazes me how well various authors are able to describe the setting. "Snowy", "cold", and "white" are such obvious gotos. Plus polar bears! Which in my view of the world is a good thing.
Svalbard! Such a good pick! And I love that you want to volunteer at the Seed Vault. That is very cool. When Dave talked about Svalbard on our podcast, I got all heart-eyes emojis. It seems so otherworldly and magical. Just in case you don't know about this episode: https://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2021-09-27-arctic/
Do you know about the YouTuber who shares her life in Svalbard? https://www.youtube.com/@CeciliaBlomdahl Her videos are great! I love the ones where she shows how she gets ready for the dark in winter and the light in summer. Really good stuff. —Mel
Perhaps not terribly exotic, but Ireland. My maternal great- grandmother, Minnie O’Cleary, died when my grandma was just 2 years old so we know absolutely nothing about her family or story at all. I also discovered in the last decade that I have Irish on my Dad’s side of the family, as well. No on ever talked about it so I’m eager to learn more and hopefully visit there one day.
Exotic, shmexotic. Ireland is awesome! I love the idea of trying to tracking down family. I *also* really want to go to Ireland. Give me all the misty coast and spooky folktales! —Mel
I would like to go to huge song festival in Estonia
That sounds super fun!
So so many destinations on my bucket list... but I think it has to be somewhere in ASIA (maybe Thailand?!) or AUSTRALIA because I need to visit those continents!
Street food in Thailand! Koalas in Australia!
Just realized that makes it seem like I think you should eat the koalas. NO EATING KOALAS! Hugging koalas only.
I would literally do ANYTHING to hug a koala!!
Samesies.
I so very badly want to go to Iran! I was working hard on convincing my closest friend to join me on a trip there to celebrate my 50th when COVID happened. And, you know, military conflict and massive repression. I believe it is a wonderful place to travel though - I need to get there.
Oh, man. I would love to time-travel to Iran in the '60s. The culture, before things got all messed up with politics, is so beautiful. I really enjoyed doing the research for our Iran episode. I'm sorry COVID and, ya know, patriarchy canceled your trip!