Travel Local

I recently read a term that I think describes how I like to travel – slow travel. I like to stay in one place for a period of time, get to know the city, meet locals, and learn the language. And from what I’ve read out in the blog-o-sphere, I’m not the only one.

A great way to find out what’s going on in a city or region is to attend local markets. Markets are an especially great way to discover regional foods and art. And people are there to sell stuff, crafts, food, wine, clothing, so they are going to talk to you. At least that’s been my experience. You never know, you might go home with treasures untold, which could be friendship, honey, radishes, or big a canine kiss.

Photos were taken at the White Rock Local Market on December 8, 2012.

©pennysadler 2012-2013. All rights reserved.

King Lear and Blogging

What does King Lear have to do with blogging? Not much – and, more than you may think. At least in my world.

Let me start at the beginning…

Last year when I began blogging, I knew nothing. I just wanted a place to share my travel photographs, my thoughts, stories about traveling, and, I hoped, to build some community (I have!). I read up on WordPress and other blogging platforms and compared them. I gave myself a crash course in how to edit my photographs in Lightroom 3. And, I started blogging. It’s always been a work in progress and I’ve made a lot of mistakes.

Last week I posted that I’m working on a makeover for Adventures of a Carry-on.
So in that spirit, yesterday I began going over every post with a fine-tooth comb. Making sure that watermarks are consistent on photographs (they aren’t), checking use of italics and bold text. There’s a lot of cleaning up to do.

So yesterday afternoon, I was in a groove really getting a lot done – and here’s where King Lear comes in. I had volunteered to be a greeter at the Dallas Theater Center in exchange for a ticket to see King Lear. I don’t know much about the Bard’s work except for the ones that have been made into movies, like Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. I thought this would be a great way to become better friends with Sir William and do my civic duty at the same time. But as the hour approached, I was reluctant to stop the momentum.

I finally forced myself to get dolled up and on my way to the theater.

By the end of the first act, I realized I might as well go home and work on my blog some more. I mean, I had my own craziness happening, I didn’t really need King Lear’s on top of it. Most days I come home from work, head up the stairs to my office, and change clothes while sitting at the computer. There’s usually a small pile of clothes and jewelry scattered around my office and draped over my chair. By the time I leave the room two hours later, I’m in my underwear. Oh, and I have a couple of crazy sisters too.

Back to the play. At intermission, I was seriously considering bailing out. The play was never-ending. And, I couldn’t stop thinking about my blog. I decided to text a friend who’s a big fan of Shakes (as she refers to him) and get her approval for bugging off early. I mean he was crazy and there was intrigue, corruption, and manipulation everywhere. I got it about twenty minutes into the play.

I’m kind of worried. Maybe blogging is making me impatient? I’m afraid I’m losing my ability to enjoy or understand something more wordy, more intellectual, more intelligent – without a notepad and my camera.

I’ve always been impatient and sometimes even called pithy. Was it wrong to choose blogging over high brow entertainment? Are we looking for short, bullet-point experiences? Can we, as a culture, enjoy culture as it is, without having to document it?

Guess King Lear’s not the only crazy one…

©pennysadler 2013. All rights reserved.