Travel In Interesting Times

   Those of you who have faithfully followed our adventures over the past few months know we'll be heading back out onto the road Tuesday. Our next destination is Mobile, AL for three weeks followed by three weeks on Hutchinson Island on the east coast of Florida. We're looking forward to a few weeks of warm weather as we escape the creeping misery that is November in Toronto.

  When I told my son, David, of our upcoming itinerary his first comment was, "It's hurricane season! Why would you go there?" I then told him we were also hoping to travel to the Middle East next spring to visit Kate in Jordan, new friends in Israel and see Egypt. David's response? "Egypt? You could be kidnapped or killed!" Of course, with this week's events in Israel the idea of such a trip has become somewhat moot. Throwing oneself into the jaws of a shark goes beyond adventure. Having said that, we could be kidnapped by a rifle-toting militia  in Montana.

  Thinking of our recent excursions, to remotest Antarctica, deepest Uganda and unsettled South Africa, we have exposed ourselves to unnecessary risks with little thought. The reward of unusual experiences has far outweighed the potential risks.

  The world is a dangerous place. Sitting here in front of my laptop in Jen's kitchen I face untold potential catastrophes. The gas furnace could explode. An electrical surge could cause my computer to blow up in my face. A meteorite could fall through the roof. Shit happens. Are we courting disaster by traveling to places the media have labeled "dangerous"? I guess it all depends on your tolerance for risk.

  When we went to Antarctica we could have been stranded thousands of kilometers from rescue in a very hostile environment. When we trekked in Uganda we could have been attacked by a protective silverback gorilla. Trekking at Kruger National Park could have exposed us to attack by any number of predators. Hell, just driving South African roads risked being swallowed by man-eating potholes! Oh yeah. Carjacking too.

  (BTW, I'm running a GoFundMe fundraiser to buy soccer shoes for girls living on the border of Kruger National Park. They play in a league run by the guide who shepherded us through the backcountry at Kruger. They are currently playing in bare feet. Click here to read about it and please contribute and share it with your friends and family.)

  Our recent trek around North America took us to places where the temperature hit 43C. We drove through Death Valley where many of the unprepared have died. Our car was broken into near San Francisco and we blew a tire in the middle of a busy highway near Seattle. We skirted wildfires in BC and plowed through hail covered roads in Yellowstone. Oh, and we finished it all off by driving around Toronto, the most dangerous place of all!

  For our next act we travel to the Deep South, home of racists, Trump-loving right-wing politicians and a crazed neo-Nazi state governor. No, we wholeheartedly disagree with all of it, not supporting any facet of that madness. The flip side of all that is warm weather, friendly people, great seafood and lots of history in which to immerse ourselves. Politics? That's not a subject that will enter any conversation we have with the locals. We're not going to change their views and exploring the depths of irrational fears and hatreds won't enrich our time there.

  Hurricane season? Sure, a tropical storm may come our way but the National Weather Service is pretty good at forecasting these things and providing lots of warning. Besides, it's not our house. We're just keeping it warm for the owners. Also, I love watching violent weather. If I worked for CNN I'd be the guy who volunteers to hang onto a telephone pole while a 200 kph wind howls around him!

  A few years ago my chiropractor told me of his plans to take part in the Mongol Rally (look it up). Drive 10,000 miles across the Gobi Desert in a car purchased from a junkyard. He suggested I might be interested in entering it too. I thought about it for an entire hour; no thanks. After further thought I think he arrived at the same conclusion.

  The point of this installment is that experience comes with risk. Minimizing exposure to risk is great for insurance companies but does nothing for the soul. We travel to see and do the things and meet the people that provide us with warm memories and enrich our lives. We calculate the risks and avoid those where the odds are stacked against us. To quote Sir Edmund Hillary, we do this because it's there.

  So, faithful readers, follow us once again as we set out into the Great Unknown. It will be fun.