Memories

We make memories when we travel, and even when we don't. Life is about the memories we make and those we choose to keep. There are memories of smells and tastes, picking peaches and the memory of the smell of fresh peaches. The memory of the smell and taste of campfire coffee. The memory of the smell of sun dried towels fresh off the line.

Memories I have of where I used to live are with me daily. I remember how a storm looks coming in over the Sierras, and the smell of the rain when it hits the desert. What the setting sun looks like when the last rays hit the Inyos and turn the mountains into shades of deep velvet blue and gold and purple. The first rays of the sun hitting the tops of the Sierras and turning them pink and the mountains looking fresh and new every time. The smell of woodsmoke the first cold nights in October and the crisp snap of fall in the air.

We are the editors of our memories. I have edited out some of the less than happy memories from my many years living in the Owens Valley. I choose not to remember the times the wind blew half the dry lake up to Independence and beyond; or the sound of the wind howling around the house. The memories I keep are wind free and only remember the beauty I saw on a daily basis.

When you travel, the memories you make will be worth far more than what the cost of the trip is. Some of the best memories I have of my father are of trips to Nevada and Utah looking for ghost towns buried away at the end of dirt roads.

There are memories of Morelia I share with a friend who was in language school with me...and memories of Morelia I share with my husband. If you asked what my favorite memory of Morelia is, I would be hard pressed to choose only one, but I remember a particular morning seeing the cathedral in the center of the city bathed in pink light. It is made of sandstone, and the morning rays of the sun turned the cathedral a beautiful pink color. Traffic had not gotten heavy yet, and I had a few minutes to enjoy the view.

My husband and I saw Ireland under the best of circumstances. His favorite memory would possibly be of an Irish stew we had one night in a pub in Dublin. The beef was braised in Guinness and it was heavenly...and will never taste the same anywhere again as it did that rainy night in that pub in Dublin. However among his favorite memories are also the castles we saw and the smell of age in them, the green, clean hills, and the ancient stone houses. My favorite memory would be the rainbows over fields and rocky points all along during the trip. Another favorite memory would be the library in Trinity College...you have to see it to realize how long there have been libraries and how important they are.

In Paris I will always remember the view of the Eiffel Tower at night, lit up and beautiful beyond belief...and the tinkling sound of the fountain in the courtyard below our window. . One afternoon in Paris we came across a parade crossing a bridge over the Seine. That would be my husband's favorite memory. He remembers how happy and intent on the parade the people were, and how the music was different than any he had heard before and the overall joy of everyone who was there that day.

My first trip to London was with a group of travel agents. It had been a long day, as our flight got in around 11:30am and our rooms were not available yet. We were taken on a three hour city tour, and by the time we came back to the hotel, although we could check into our rooms, there was no time to rest before dinner. Looking out of the hotel window I could see snow falling past the street lights and melting before it hit the ground. We were taken to Hampton Court and brought in through the carriage entrance. With the cold, the lightly falling snow, and the dim lights in Hampton Court it made a lasting impression.

We had so much fun on a trip to Cabo San Lucas staying in Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos and walking into town every day. I would say my best memory from Cabo is sitting on the balcony in the morning with fresh made coffee and looking out to sea. It was a truly a vacation.

Jamaica is one of my favorite places, although one I have always been to with other travel agents and not with my husband. My favorite memory of Jamaica has to be floating down the Martha Brae River on a bamboo raft and the peace and quiet of the forest and the river and all of the birds and small animals that abound there.

My point in all of this is to remind you all that memories are the things that bond husbands and wives and children and friends together. Remember when you are booking your vacation you are making memories that will be with you for a lifetime. Tell me what you really want your vacation to be, so I can help you choose the best place for you. Tell me if you want to discover new things and have new experiences, or if you are looking for complete peace and quiet and a chance to recharge your batteries. Remember that not all of the memories I have mentioned are "cost items". Sometimes, it is not what you purchase while you are on your vacation that makes the best souvenir, it is what you see and remember. The stress of flying to your destination is soon forgotten, edited out of your memory bank like the March winds of Inyo County. What remains are the good memories of places you've been and people you've met...and hopefully, like me, a special memory or two of times that can never be recreated and can only be remembered and enjoyed over and over.


Until next time,
Sonia
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