Philosophy Now Forum

In 2009, when I was in the Upper 6th, we had a school trip to Israel, which definitely ranks as one of my most memorable. We basically spent a fortnight travelling around by coach, based first at Tel Aviv, then Eilat, and finally Jerusalem. One thing that sticks in my mind is when we were driving from Tel Aviv to Eilat, through the Negev Desert, stopping in the middle of it somewhere at what I can only describe as an oasis, complete with its own McDonald's and other shops. In Eilat, on one of the days, we went to a marine sanctuary called Dolphin Reef, where we were allowed to touch the dolphins. On another day we took a sailing ship down the coast of the Red Sea. Sadly, though, we missed out on going to Petra, over the border in Jordan, for political reasons. Eilat was extremely hot, despite it being January. In Jerusalem we stayed in a hotel on the Mount of Olives that was partly medieval, very near the Garden of Gethsemane, with I was surprised to discover still existed, full of extremely old and gnarled olive trees. Walking through the Old City, through claustrophobic tunnels teeming with people and stalls, we eventually reached a Pizza Hut in the centre, another example of ancient and modern side by side, which probably sums up the whole experience.

I have too many to list but here's a good one.

The Price Lake trout fishing tournament in the late 80s. They had just stocked the lake, and a blizzard had hit that weekend, but that didn't stop anyone. The old man and I were wrapped up so much we looked like scientists in a scifi movie set in Antarctica. The lake hadn't frozen over yet because the blizzard had only just started. We were pulling in trout faster than we could bait the hooks it was so insane.

That same weekend after the blizzard passed, i got busted for using salmon eggs as bait in the river where it's only legal to use open hook fly rigs. Caught an 18 inch rainbow trout that would have qualified but didn't because of the bait i used. The game warden spotted me from the dam bridge with his binoculars, came down, rounded me up, and walked me back to the old man who was fishing the lake at that moment. I got the mandatory scolding from the old man, and the warden got his mandatory apology.

Boneless mountain speckled and rainbow trout is the cleanest and freshest fish you'll ever taste. It melts in your mouth and it doesn't matter how you cook it.

The Swiss Alps in late 81. We took cable cars up this ice mountain that had a little shop and tourist center at the top built into the mountain. A sheet of ice was on everything and large birds circled above. It was surreal.

The oktober fest in germany that same year, and the tour of dachau.

The El Paso Mexico border bus station in late 1990. Trying to find a vendor at two in the morning to buy those seven dollar Marlboro cartons they sell. Me and this older chick who turned tricks with bus riders and more or less lived on the road (she was probably eighteen or nineteen) were fast walking up and down these side streets trying to find vendors and scared as shit we were going to get robbed. We had a forty-five minute layover, so we couldn't dilly dally around.

During the bus ride, I'd see her going to the bathroom, and then a minute later, some dude would go back there. Seven minutes later, one or the other would come out and then the other a minute later. She did this for three days on the greyhounds from west coast to east coast. I remember she bought me all this food at every stop, and we'd sit in the gas stations eating huge plates of nachos or hotdogs or whatever they had. Never did anything with her. I didn't like the idea of having sex with a chick who was just having sex in a bus bathroom hours before. Maybe if she cooled down a bit, took a long shower and closed shop for at least a week, I'd have considered it. She was hot, yes.

Later that same year, 2009, after I'd left school, but before starting work in October, I went on a week-long cruise with a friend, across the North Sea. First we called at Ijmuiden in the Netherlands, but were only there for an hour or so, barely enough time to walk into the town and get something to eat. From there we headed to Bergen in Norway, and went up a funicular railway to the top of a mountain. From Bergen we headed along the coast, into the fjords. On one occasion we walked up a mountain and got lost, and only just made it back to the ship minutes before it was due to set off. That was a bit scary, I must admit. In another place there were some Viking graves, which were basically small mounds of earth covered in grass. Being on the ship was certainly an interesting experience, a lot more stable than I thought it would be, even when the sea was rough. The jacuzzi on deck was also pretty good, too.

Don't you have any trips that were a little more mundane and less exciting so my trips don't look so lame by comparison?

Surely you've gone just to the next town over to see something that's not exciting or unique enough to tell anyone about, before.

You don't have to go on nordic cruises and camel convoys through the desert all the time. You can just go on normal trips once in a while.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 11:02 pm Don't you have any trips that were a little more mundane and less exciting so my trips don't look so lame by comparison?

Surely you've gone just to the next town over to see something that's not exciting or unique enough to tell anyone about, before.

You don't have to go on nordic cruises and camel convoys through the desert all the time. You can just go on normal trips once in a while.

I've been to Wolverhampton a few times. That's quite exceptionally boring.

Well, despite how boring it was, you'd still have to admit that the trip was outta sight!

Get it? "Out of sight"? Okay, I'll go do something else.

Author's note. The phrase "out of sight!" is an exclamation expressing elation and approval toward something that was popularized in the vernacular of 60s subculture. It may be a phrase used primarily by Americans, which would explain any confusion.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 29, 2024 12:10 am Well, despite how boring it was, you'd still have to admit that the trip was outta sight!

Get it? "Out of sight"? Okay, I'll go do something else.

I honestly couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

To my outdoor swing seat the other night, just in time to see a meteor and it was a beauty. In three pieces. Racing across the sky close to the horizon, its tail of smoke clearly visible. It looked so close that I was half expecting to hear an impact lol.

"I honestly couldn't see what all the fuss was about."

You're killing us. Have you no mercy?

....

There's actually a shocking amount of meteorite debris that makes it to the ground without burning up that enters the atmosphere every day. I was shocked when i found out. You have a decent chance of getting hit on the head by a piece. I'm not kidding.

From 2010 I became involved with the Pagan community, which had a very active presence in my home city, and joined a Wiccan group, which I stayed with for three years. During this time we went on lots of trips to Pagan events, and other trips just as a group. One of the latter was a camping trip to the Malvern Hills. On the morning of the first full day there we all walked down into the town barefoot, wearing only our robes, and went into a pub for breakfast. They told us, in no uncertain terms, that while they would let it pass just this once, next time we had to wear shoes or something. Which was actually a very sensible idea, as it was extremely uncomfortable walking up and down the hills like that.

The first night we had just pitched our tents in the middle of the path, but after that made an effort to get up to the Worcester Beacon, the highest point of the Malverns, where they used to light the beacon fires in ancient times. I had some very interesting dreams up there over the following couple of nights, but that's another story, I suppose.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 29, 2024 6:45 pm You have a decent chance of getting hit on the head by a piece. I'm not kidding.

What a lovely way to go. 'Woman killed by meteorite while star-gazing'

People think that wicca is an ancient 'mother goddess' religion with some vague, Celtic origin when it's actually a modern invention of the 20th century.