Imaginary Road Trip ( #AtoZChallenge )

  I stare at a map tracing my finger along the road--a road which I have traveled before. Now, that journey is in my mind, in the depths of imagination and memory.  In my dreams I travel roads of my memory; in my memory I dream of my travels.



Imaginary Road Trip

           Imaginary road trips make for some of the most economical of traveling experiences.  You don't have to worry about gas or wear and tear on a vehicle.  You never have to leave the comfort of your own home.  It's a lazy way to travel.  You don't get the same impact either.  But when it's what you have at the moment and enjoy putting your mind to work then imagination can take you wherever you want to go.

         Not only where but when as well.  The mind is the only real time travel device that I know of.  Slip inside and you can relive travels of your past.  Look at the map.  Do you remember that place?  Or that place?

        The road has been my addiction.  If I'm not on it, rolling down some expanse of roadway, I start to feel that lure--that attraction that draws me to travel.  Or to dream of travel.  Or to escape on an imaginary road trip.

        I'm not sure where that road might be going in the more immediate sense.  But I'm in this life for the long run.  Or at least the longest run that this life will let me have.

       In the meantime, it's up to me to make the most of the journey. 

 
        Do you ever take an imaginary road trip?  What stirs your thoughts to dreams of travel?   Do you keep photo albums or scrapbooks of past travel experiences?   

Flyin' Home (#BOTB results)

The flying Car, pastell colour, 49x31 cm, 1964 (WV-Nr.3019), 
by Margret Hofheinz-Döring
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Homeward Bound

      Vacations can be such fun, but going home is something I do look forward to when I've been away for a while.   It's been nearly a month of being away with a visit to Seattle, a tour across Canada, a sweep through New England, several days in New Jersey, a stop in Virginia, and a relaxing visit to East Tennessee for a week.

     As always, vacations must end and ours is winding down in the next few days of heading back to Los Angeles.   We'll be flying home--not literally, but still in our van--with plans to be in our own house before the week end.  Then it's back to the old grind--and thankfully back to my faster computer which will facilitate internet activity for me.

      I love road trips, but as the old adage proclaims, "There's no place like home."  That's true to a certain degree.  It's also true that there's no place like anyplace else.  Once I'm home I'll be missing the travels and thinking about our next road trip wherever that may be.

Battle of the Bands Results

       My most recent battle was between versions of the 1967 song "Wings of Love" from the concept album The Story of Simon Simopath by an English group called Nirvana which preceded the same named grunge group by nearly 30 years.  This contest was between the original artist and the popular 60's English group Herman's Hermits.

        Herman's Hermits has its fans and I think that contributed to their win.  I too might have gone with the Hermits if not for the "Hey, hey" shtick in the chorus as was pointed out by Stephen T. McCarthy in his comment.  I particularly liked the choppy guitar in that version.  I think it is very reminiscent of some of the guitar sounds in The Who's Tommy which might indicate that the Who could have been influenced by this particular recording.    

        This time around my wife was listening as I was preparing this Battle (which is unusual) and she was taken in by the sounds of Nirvana, casting a vote which I have included in my count.  The Nirvana album holds fond musical memories for me and I tend to enjoy this style of popular music.  My vote also goes to Nirvana putting me on the losing side, but not by too many votes.


Final Tally

Nirvana                  10 votes

Herman's Hermits   14 votes

See ya soon!

        Since I'll be flying home over the next view days, my blog rounds and activities may be a bit sparse and sporadic, but I'll try to  be as blog diligent as I can.   Be back on the 15th with a hot August battle.

         Are you ready to head back out again after you've been home from a vacation for a while?   What do you dislike most about traveling?    Did you hear a similarity between the Herman's Hermits version of  "Wings of Love" and parts of The Who's Tommy?

Question of the Month

Please vote on my Battle of the Bands if you haven't done so yet!   Click Here.

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Question of the Month

The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino from A Life Examined. The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants. 

The question for this month is:

“Of all the places in the world that you haven’t yet been to, where would you like to go next?”

    


         That's kind of a crazy question for me.  I get asked and my head starts flooding with places I want to go.  Many of the places where I think about going I've already been to and many of those I have to go back to because that's where my family is.   For me, travel to visit family precedes any travel I'd want to do for sheer pleasure.  It's an issue of love I would say.  I enjoy traveling, but I love seeing and spending time with family members.  If doing this requires travel, then that's where my travel time will go.    And of course my finances dictate how much travel I can actually do.

      Then there are those places that have fascinated me, but I'd be wary about going because of the situation in those places based on what I've heard in the media and elsewhere.
    
         One place that would be logistically easy for me to do and probably inexpensive would be a road tour of Mexico.  A tourist can just drive across the border into Mexico and drive around.  From what I've seen in documentaries and articles, there are some nice places to go in Mexico.  I've been to Mexico City and that was interesting to take in the sights of that area.  But there's that safety factor.  I've known people who have gone there and had some bad things happen and I've read about worse.  

       Not sure about driving around Mexico, but I'd sure like to.  Good food, some fine people, and interesting places to visit.   Since my wife is a native Spanish speaker I'd definitely want her along since my Spanish is not all that good.  However she has no interest in going there--even if it were safe with little travel risk.  She's from Ecuador and isn't interested in going to Mexico.  Truth be told, she's said that she doesn't even want to go back to Ecuador.   She probably would if I asked her to go and money were not an object, but if left up to her she wouldn't go back to her homeland.  At least that's what she usually says.

         By the way, regarding this world travel issue, travel isn't all that cheap.  At least not the way we prefer to do it.  When I'm traveling I prefer to stay in nicer hotels and eat in decent restaurants.  I'm not the roughing it adventurer that I used to be when I was younger.  I've grown softer as I've grown older.    My kind of travel takes a fair amount of money though not as much as a true luxury traveler.  

        So Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin American will be places I might dream about visiting, but the closest I'll probably ever get will be someone else's vacation photos or travel documentaries I see on television.  Also there are the places in my sleep dreams.  I like to sleep in my own bed at night in my own house and I go to some pretty exotic places in my dreams.  That works for me too.

          Do you enjoy watching travel documentaries?    Did you travel much in your younger days?   Are you able to travel much now? 

     Battle of the Band results will be on Wednesday June 8th.   

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Playing Favorites (A Monday Post)

English: Extreme points of the contiguous United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Least Favorite State

         Years ago, before I started my show biz road career, if you would have asked me to name my least favorite state of the USA, I probably could have readily come up with an answer.  Now that I've spent a fair amount of time in all of the 48 contiguous states I couldn't come up with an easy answer.  Sure, there are states that I might readily name as favorites, but when I start thinking of some that I might name as a least favorite, I begin thinking of things that I like about each of them.

         Call me a fan of the United States because I am.  Everywhere I go in this wonderful country I can find something of interest or something that I particularly like.  I guess if I were really pressed to answer the question I would have to say the state that I like least is the state of unhappiness.

         Despite its shortcomings, the United States of America is a nice place to visit and I'm happy that I live here.

Travel Day

         I'm keeping this post somewhat generic because if things are going according to plan I'm traveling today.   My wife is staying behind in Houston as I continue traveling by myself heading for a couple week stay in Tennessee and then on to New Jersey with some stops in between.  My wife will join me in New Jersey in August so we can make our way back home.   Since I'm traveling I may not make it online today so I don't want to create much in the way of discussion.

          What I do want to say is be sure to visit my site this Wednesday which is July 1st.  Being the first of the month means that it's a Battle of the Bands post and being the first Wednesday of the month it's also Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.  As I do whenever these events fall on the same day is tie them together into one hopefully clever post.

          This time around, my theme will be highlighted by one of my favorite songs.  What I consider to be one of my favorite songs might seem like an odd choice to some, but those who visit my BOTB posts regularly know that I can sometimes show what some have thought to be odd tastes.  On the other hand maybe you like this song as well.   I was surprised to find that it had been covered by so many artists so obviously I'm not the only one who thinks it to be a great song.

           Come back on Wednesday to hear two great versions of...

...you'll have to find out then cause I ain't tellin' now.   But I'll provide a clue:   This late 80's release was sung by an "institution" or an "organization" and the topic of the song has to do with space.

           Any guesses about the song in my next Battle?  Do you have a least favorite state in the United States?   If so what about that state do you dislike?




         

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Travel (Elements of Blogging) #AtoZChallenge

     
     Travel is another one of those blog themes with endless possibilities.  Most people enjoy reading about travel and many of us like the helpful travel trips that the more seasoned and in-the-know travelers can offer us.   A travel blog is an especially good site on which to share photos of faraway places or even more local sites that are interesting to visit.

        Here on Tossing It Out I have sometimes posted about my own travel adventures and I seen stories about travel on many other blogs as well.   The nature of travel blog posts is limitless with topics ranging from sights to see, places to eat, and travel bargains to be found.   A travel blog is one that opens itself well to monetizing since there are so many businesses that would be willing to advertise on an informative site with high traffic.   And even without pro-blogger status, a travel blog can be a fun way to share ones love of traveling with others who have a like interest.

       How about a blog dedicated to promotional trailers such as book, TV show, and movie trailers?  Other "T" topics one might consider are transportation, toys, teenagers, and Trekkies.   There are tons of "T" themes one can pursue when starting a blog.

        Do you ever share travel stories on your own blog?   Are there any pro travel blogs that you regularly visit?   What "T" themes can you think of that I haven't mentioned here?


Some blogs about travel or that are posting about travel for A to Z:

The Travel Type

born to be a Tourist

Yes, Virginia, There Is Life After Retirement

Patrick Tillet  (Have you seen his great travel photos?)

Tui Snider's Offbeat and Overlooked Travel





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Road Trippin' Promotion #atozchallenge

           Road trippin' promotion may not be for you if you don't want to or can't travel, but it's a concept that can work if you put some good planning and creative thought behind it.  This marketing method can be done in many different ways so it all depends on what resources you have to work with and who you have to work with you.

            What I'm talking about is taking your promotion on the road to bring it directly to a wider audience.  Staying within your own community can severely limit your ability to reach out to customers on a face to face basis.  For example, if you're an author, a tour of book signings and speaking engagements can have a lot of impact on your sales numbers.   When you manage to get onsite engagements it can be easier to secure radio, television, or other media interview slots.  Making your rounds geographically in person gives you some real marketing advantages.

           The ideal situation is to have an agent or marketing rep who can set up all of this for you--something that most of us don't have.   So how can you do something like this?  Travel is an expensive proposition when you factor in transportation, accommodations, food, and anything else you require while on the road.  How can the average person do something like this?

          With relatively modest means a person can take to the road on their own.  Put a tour plan together that entails visiting places that might be open to letting you set up a table, speak to a group, or participate in a special event.  It's best to check out possibilities on the internet or other resources and contact people ahead of time.  Start with a 100 mile radius from your home to test your abilities and the market.  If things go well you can widen your circle.   You can set up a schedule for fixed period like a week or two or just experiment with weekends.

         Another possible approach is to squeeze some promotional time into travel that you were planning to do anyway.   This may not appeal to everyone, but usually there is some down time during a vacation that can easily be used for promotional work.   Especially if you're driving and not in too much of a hurry, you can discover small shops that might be an ideal outlet for your product.   The hotel where you're staying might work.  And don't forget restaurants.  See what people are willing to do to help you.  You might be surprised.

        An author friend of mine tells the story of when he was flying somewhere and he left cheap promotional copies of his book on every seat in the plane.  That didn't work so well, but if he had focused on people whom he saw reading and struck up a conversation with them leaving them a book or even a bookmark he might have gained a few new readers.  Gumption and opportunity is the key.  If you've got 'em then use 'em.

       There is so much more that I could say about putting travel and promotion together, but I need to keep this blog post relatively short.  I realize that this is a method that might not work or appeal to all of you, but if you like traveling and have something to promote you might want to brainstorm on this concept.  It might be easier and more fun than you think.   Dreaming about it won't hurt.  Putting a road trippin' promotion plan into action might be just the thing you need to kick off sales in a big way and have fun traveling at the same time.

        It's bold but it is workable.

          Do you like to travel?   Can you organize trip details well?    Do you mind mixing business with pleasure?    

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Ask Arlee: Vacation Locations

Photo in or around Grand Teton National Park (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         This past summer I spent over a month in traveling.  Vacation I guess you might say.  My wife was on her vacation time, but since I haven't been working I guess it's almost like I'm almost always on vacation.  And for me staying home makes for a pretty good vacation location.   But let's talk about vacations away from home.

       In one of my recent calls for Ask Arlee questions, Susan Kane asked: 

Where is your favorite vacation spot? 

        This summer found my wife and I in Ecuador and on a cross country road trip that took us to New Jersey, Tennessee, and something like thirteen other states as we drove the highways of this wonderful country.   All the travel was great fun.   I love traveling as much as I like staying at home.  Okay, call me easy to please.

        So far I've been able to find something positive about everywhere I've been.  I may not always be jumping at the opportunity to go someplace, but if I'm there I try to make the best of it.   Stick me in Odessa, Texas or Williston, North Dakota or whatever out of the way place and I'll try to seek out the points of interest that are there.  I'm not saying I'd want to live just any old place, but if other people are living there and seem to be relatively content in doing so, then there must be something worthwhile about the place.

        A lot of my adaptability comes from my years touring one-nighters with a theatrical company.  We played some towns that most people wouldn't think of going to unless they had a specific reason to be there.  Since we usually had at least a few off hours in these towns I'd try to find something to do there that might interest me.  Sometimes it was just going to the local mall or whatever they had there in the way of shopping.  A meal at a local restaurant was almost always part of the schedule since we had to eat.  And whenever we could we'd visit the birthplace of some famous person, a fort, a natural attraction, or some other point of interest.  There are some fascinating places in the United States as there are throughout the world.

        My ideal vacation would not be in just one place, but traveling on a road trip to see many places.  For example, I'd like to be able to take two or three week tours that were thematic in nature.  A tour of Civil War battlefields would be very interesting I think.   Or maybe picking a famous person and visiting the places they'd visited and lived.   A journey of this nature would be educational and fun.

        National parks are wonderful places where one can just settle in and see the sights.  I'm not so much for camping like I used to do and I know my wife would have none of that, but settling in at a lodge in a park like Yellowstone or Glacier would be enjoyable. The National Parks of the United States are some the best places to go for relaxation mixed with awe-inspiring sightseeing.

         On the other hand, cities and tourist destinations both have a lot to offer.  I've always enjoyed spending time in Toronto, Ontario.   Washington, DC and the surrounding area has enough attractions to keep one busy for a few weeks, as do many cities around the world.  Then there are the places like Orlando, Florida.  I don't like being in crowded places and having to wait in lines, but Disney certainly offers some cool attractions if you're willing to pay the price.

         There are so many places to go that it's kind of difficult to pick just one.   However one place stands above all others for me--East Tennessee.  That's where most of my vacation times have been spent.  Staying at my mother's house--the house where I lived while attending high school and college--feels almost as much like home as the house where I live.  

           Spending time with my mother and brothers and sisters is time that takes me back to days of my youth.   I enjoy being with my family.  Then there are longtime friends who I rarely get to see anymore.  When in Tennessee I usually have some time to catch up with at least a few of those old friends.  

            Places exotic or somewhat mundane but different for me are all fun, fascinating, and curiosity inducing.   I feel excited and adventurous when I'm traveling in places where I am but a passing stranger. But there's no replacing any of these places with home.  I feel like I've got two homes.  Those are my favorite vacation spots.

           Thank you, Susan, for the questions.  Anyone else have a question they'd like me to answer in a future Ask Arlee post?    Where is your favorite vacation spot?    Do you enjoy traveling?   What is your favorite mode of travel?   If you could settle down in any place in the world where would it be?

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