Road Trips and Tiny Trailers
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GUNS, BRITS & GETTIN’ HISTORY RIGHT
For our first cruise to the Western Caribbean, I decided that I wanted to do a little research in order to get history right. I also wanted to make the most out of the places we were going to see. Wow!  As much as I love history however, reading online novels about Jamaica, Cozumel etc. was more than my A.D.D. brain wanted to do.  I gave up the project and decided to just trust the tour guides (which is a subject for another post…).
On the cruise however, we met an older, wonderful little couple with whom we shared a lot of laughs. They were from a small (and clearly sheltered) town in the south of Great Britain. When we shared that we were from Colorado, our new friends got very excited. They were fascinated that we ‘out there in the Wild Wild West’ didn’t have cars and still rode horses! They also seriously challenged us on the wisdom of carrying pistols. This lovely couple had so many questions about how things worked with everyone carrying around firearms. After a good many laughs (and embellished stories) we finally became convinced that they weren’t actually joking. We decided that we needed to (albeit reluctantly) set the record straight.
After that, I did commit to actually doing research for our future trips. I needed to make sure that we were getting history right and experiencing current cultural facts with understanding and wisdom.
After some personal contemplation I’d like to share two examples of having my opinions-without-much-knowledge challenged:
A Civil War museum in Little Rock, AR takes the visitor through a series of paintings, letters, photos and writings detailing the war from both the Confederate and Union viewpoints. Upon exiting, the visitor is asked to vote on whether or not the war was justified.  I did hold on to my belief that, at the end of the day, slavery could not be tolerated, but boy did I get a new ‘big picture’ view of the War Between the States! It helped me be so much more objective and educated. It helped me get my history right!
Likewise, at Fort Smith in Arkansas we learned about the Indian Removal Act. This is a subject I had always been rather judgmental about.  However, after really understanding the choices that were available to the young government, I laid down my strong opinions. I also learned that it is always a mistake to view 19th (or 18th or 17th…) century decisions through 20th eyes, culture, and circumstances.
Travel has indeed been the greatest of teachers for both Eddie and I and is indeed fatal to prejudice and judgmental attitudes.
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One Comment on “GUNS, BRITS & GETTIN’ HISTORY RIGHT”
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Jan, amazing !!! We always knew Barb & Dean had “wondering” kids. So that’s why you are not singing at Denver First. The Rocky Mountain Praise Choir will miss you. Say, we would love to have you join us on our next cruise and invite you to blog your adventure with us. Remember all the fun we had at your folks 50th? Well, ten years later, ours is coming around. And it will be different. St Janet, my lovely bride of 50 years, has agreed to a fabulous Mediterranean Cruise. We already have 12 “cruise disciples” signed up and our cruise agent says we can add 3 more staterooms. (double occupancy) If you want to go, you can book now. Deposit of just $250 per person and you can get a full refund if you decide not to go within the next year. So look at the details below and let me know. I thought you might be interested since you toured Spain & Italy in another life. LOL Vern
We have booked the largest ship in the world. It isn’t even built yet. And we have selected about thirty of our closest (and not so close) friends to enjoy it with us. Vern & Jan’s Symphony of the Seas Cruise to the Mediterranean is now available for booking. Don’t delay, all we need is your deposit and you are good to go.
Symphony Of The Seas – A New Ship, still being built, sails in 2018
Accommodates 6,000 wild & crazy guys
Trip Details:
Departure from Barcelona, Spain – October 7, 2018 (that’s next year)
7 Night Western Mediterranean Cruise, Visiting 6 Ports – Barcelona, Mallorca, Marseille, Florence/Pisa, Rome & Naples
Prices (for two):
Interior Staterooms – $2003
Central Park Balcony Staterooms – $2,503
Ocean View Balcony Staterooms – $2,863
Got to this link for details on the 6 ports. I’ll send you an itinerary when you sign up. Make sure you page down to the Oct 7, 2018 trip.
https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruises?destinationRegionCode_EUROPE=true&shipCode_SY=true&symar17&ecid=em_8466796&rid=634117975&rcid=67986411&empc=RCIN_SYMPHONY_17&emsc=RCIN_SYMPHONY_0317_EA_PG_LEADACQ_US&empf=U&emct=&lnkid=TILE1_COPY
Vern & Jan Classen