Posted in Travel, Travel Writing, Women traveling

Travel Back in Time

Posted on by Rhonda Wiley-Jones

On vacation last month we traveled to visit friends in Wisconsin we had not seen in many years. As we followed the Wisconsin highway and turned onto a two-lane county road, then to the unpaved road into the forested overhang of our friend’s retreat home on Lake Michigan, we knew we were almost there. As it is with old friends, we fell into old habits of eating, drinking, story telling, reminiscing, filling our glasses again and catching up on the years in between. 

A TRIP DOWN ANOTHER MEMORY LANE

But I must interrupt our current good time to walk the dog, Murphy, who travelled with us. So he and I trekked back up the long driveway to our friend’s house and I was transported to the Scottish Highlands, particularly the Isle of Skye.

I had visited the isle decades ago, where eight other tourists and I missed the last ferry of the day for the mainland. We ended up spending a night at the inconvenience of locals who found lodging for each of us, couples, singles (like myself traveling alone), and singles traveling together.

We spent a riotous dinner together laughing about how we had become so entranced by the island that we simply forgot to catch the ferry. At least I was not alone. 

The road Murphy and I walked that day took me back in time to why I missed the ferry. In wandering the lush undergrowth that was so mysterious then, I decided–just knew in my bones–that elves had to exist on that island.

Did they call them pixies, sprites, fairies, leprechauns (no, that would be Irish)? 

I could not see them, but I just knew (without really knowing) they could see me. They were watching my every move. And here again in this forest near the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin I could feel their presence then and there again. 

I WONDERED 

Were they observing me from the turn of the underside of a fern? 

How small were they and how many were there? 

 

Did they sit and twitter with each other about how funny we look and sound? 

Could they leap from leaf to leaf to get a better view of us? 

 

And did they listen from the creases of a tree?

Could they hide in the center of a flower, seeing us without being seen?

TRAVELING BACK IN TIME

I will never know the answers, but I will remember that unexpected overnight stay on the Isle of Skye. And then how my time in Wisconsin took me back, just as our drive had taken us back in time to visit old friends. What joys!

A TRAVELER’S QUESTION

When you travel what kind of alertness do take with you to explore even the mundane? 

 

 

 

Author:

Wiley-Jones, fiercely committed for thirty years to guiding travelers toward supercharged benefits of writing to unlock the keys to transformative travel, will unpack journal-writing methods with which you can experiment. Wiley-Jones is an accomplished writer and award-winning travel writer with 1) a coming-of-age travel memoir, and 2) an historical travel adventure novel; as well as multiple publications in national anthologies and local lifestyle magazines. She can facilitate techniques for you to write stories for yourself, your family, and/or for publication.

3 thoughts on “Travel Back in Time”

  2. This is a most delightful travel story. I can just imagine you trek on the Island of Skye. Your approach to travel writing is most unique. So glad we can share our stories this way.

    We make the trek to Wisconsin yearly to see our grown son and his family. Sometimes we hike around the hills near the Wisconsin Dells and other times explore the artsy little towns around Dodgeville. At one state park I thought I felt some little critter watching me but instead is was an old man in a tree, whose eyes never moved. As much as I loved the moment, I was stunned by the reality of the face in the old rotting wood.

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