VAGABOND TRAVELER

By Mary Emma Allen

The reasons for traveling exist as the numbers of travelers you encounter.  For some it's not a really planned excursion. Others follow particular "trails," or areas of interest,  such as:

Genealogy and family history
Battlefields of a specific era
Quilt shops and shows
One-room schools
Country churches
Presidents
Book settings of a particular author
Laura Ingalls Wilder's homes
State capitals
Poets of a particular type or era
Roller coasters
Historic trails
Historic markers in a state
B & Bs...one in each state
Sports museums or stadiums

Georgia Capital at Atlanta taken from the Veterans Monument. Credit Kathleen Walls

Why do you travel?  Do you have a trail you follow?  Or a particular interest that lures you away from home?

A friend and her son were determined to visit the capitals of all the states of the "lower 48" before he graduated from high school.  They started this during vacations when he was in grammar school and did complete their goal before he left for college.

1890 one room school located at Callaway Plantation in Washington, GA. Credit Kathleen Walls

My mom, who had been a teacher in three one-room schools before she had us children, began to follow the trails of these buildings in the areas she and my Dad visited.  Most no longer were operating schools.  Some simply stood there abandoned.  Others had been converted into homes.  However, they fascinated Mother.  And Father would go for "Sunday afternoon rides" on any excuse.  So Mother jotted down the names and locations of these buildings, tried to find anyone who had attended or knew about the schools, and occasionally took photos.  Unfortunately, I don't have her notes.  They would be helpful now since I've started my One-Room School Heritage blog. (I attended one of these places of education for grades 1-4.)

My husband, daughter and I have followed historic trails in our travels. These have included portions of the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, California Trail and Lewis and Clark Trail  , These adventures enhanced our daughter's education and knowledge about our country, as well as creating family memories.

Since my daughter and I are quilters and interested in quilt history , as well as current designers, we stop at quilt shops, tour museums featuring quilts, and sometimes attend workshops in travels together and individually.  I recall, on a trip to the West years ago, visiting the quilt exhibit at the Denver Museum of Art.  Beth and I visited quilt exhibits in Lowell, MA.  We've gone to quilters homes when they've held Open Houses.  Sometimes you'll find quilt shops in a town holding a tour on a particular day, with prizes and free workshops if you'll visit all.

Following family history trails proves fascinating, as you search out where ancestors lived.  My husband and I've done this as we've learned more about both sides of the family.  Sometimes we find the homes where they lived, cemeteries where buried, schools they attended, battlefields where they fought (as in the case of Civil War ancestors), and even people who knew more recent ones. 

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta. Credit Kathleen Walls

Another friend and her children like to visit the homes and museums of the US Presidents .  I visited some, when I was a child, and later with our daughter.  They have been incidental stops when we found our route took us nearby and we had time to stop.  However, they were fascinating and enhanced our knowledge of that particular person.

There are so many things of interest, whether of historic nature, sports oriented, family history related, environmentally captivating or simply pertaining to your particular lifestyle that you can focus your attention on when you travel.

(c)2010 Mary Emma Allen

(Mary Emma Allen developed the "travel bug" during family trips when she was a child.  She and her husband enjoy traveling whenever they have the opportunity, and she fits this in with her travel and culinary writing, as well as genealogy research. 

For information about Mary Emma click here