Chat Zone for The Big Big Trip Journal!

[HobbesOnTour]

The language of love knows no boundaries!
Do a u turn and go back for her!

Wasn't it your good self who was urging me to get my ass in gear in Mazatlán....and now you're urging me to go back??
Tough crowd!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Loved your post on the contented couple in the restaurant and the wonderful pic of the carousel in the playground hobbes, but my darkside also calls, so
≥≥≥Some of the churches can have some quite horrific statues!

Any chances of some pics?

Sorry! You"LL have to Google!
I don't feel comfortable taking pictures in churches, especially these ones since they get a lot of use.

 

[Vantage]

Wasn't it your good self who was urging me to get my ass in gear in Mazatlán....and now you're urging me to go back??
Tough crowd!

Put her on the trailer!
Honestly, I have to think of everything!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Put her on the trailer!
Honestly, I have to think of everything!

That's right! Put the woman in the kitchen you sexist!! be

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Put her on the trailer!
Honestly, I have to think of everything!

The signs may be indicating that you're on to something!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

@Andy in Germany , I recall you asking about climbing vs distance in a thread before and I was relatively blasé as I've never found it too difficult even travelling as heavy as I tend to do.
Well the last couple of weeks have kicked my ass - hard!
I've come to the conclusion that it's the combination of heat & climbing that is so difficult. Whereas before I never really looked at altitude, now it's a big factor. Getting caught with a long climb at the hottest part of the day is no fun!
Something to consider for Japan.

 

[Blue Hills]

Always like a good freecamping pic hobbes and was intrigued by your latest close to a road pitch. I know how invisible you can be close to speeding traffic. Did you take a pic?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Always like a good freecamping pic hobbes and was intrigued by your latest close to a road pitch. I know how invisible you can be close to speeding traffic. Did you take a pic?

Sorry! No pic.
I literally laid low until it was dark to avoid being spotted by truck drivers. In the morning it was all systems go to get back on the road.

 

[Andy in Germany]

@Andy in Germany , I recall you asking about climbing vs distance in a thread before and I was relatively blasé as I've never found it too difficult even travelling as heavy as I tend to do.
Well the last couple of weeks have kicked my ass - hard!
I've come to the conclusion that it's the combination of heat & climbing that is so difficult. Whereas before I never really looked at altitude, now it's a big factor. Getting caught with a long climb at the hottest part of the day is no fun!
Something to consider for Japan.

Thanks for that @HobbesOnTour, it confirms my suspicions. I won't be carrying as much as you but I suspect the climate will be much more humid which will make matters much worse. Will have to think about that...

 

[Shadow]

The campground is small, but lovely, a small community of "snow birds", people from Canada, mostly, avoiding the cold winter. There was one other tent and as luck would have it, an Irish couple (and their dog) in it!

As a one time resident north of the 49th parallel, I am familiar with snowbirds. I know of one couple who usually drive south to somewhere in the Carolinas or northern florida between january and march each year...to play golf. It suits them! And another couple who used to do the snowbird thing in Florida annually in a posh condo. Now they 'cruise'. Currently they are in the Pacific somewhere, as part of a 4 month trip. They are wealthy. It suits them! And offers a total contrast to your journey. (As an aside, I believe the snowbird tag also applies to folk from northern US).

And what lovely serendipity to come across an Irish couple. Altho' one may find 'Irish' all over the world. At what stage does one no longer be 'Irish'?!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

And what lovely serendipity to come across an Irish couple. Altho' one may find 'Irish' all over the world. At what stage does one no longer be 'Irish'?!

Well,it's a very small world these days.
As for your question....I met many, many people in the US who claimed to be Irish (not of Irish descent), although I had the feeling that many would struggle to point out Ireland on a map. On the other hand, some had done some serious research on their ancestors and visited Ireland more than once. The immigration officer back in NJ had visited Ireland 16 times meeting up with family. He only stopped when his own kids came along.
I've been away from Ireland longer than the Irish couple. In fact, I'm coming to the stage where I've lived outside of Ireland longer than I've lived there. I wonder where that leaves me?

 

[Vantage]

I wonder where that leaves me?

Here.

I was born in Bolton to Irish parents who then took me home to Ireland till I was 10 years old. Been living in England since then. My parents only left to escape the troubles. My brother and sister were both born in Ireland and to be honest, I'm more Irish then they are!
I still have most of my accent and the folk here often struggle to understand a word I'm saying
The official line is that the country's laws you are from dictate your nationally but I'd say that if you feel you're Irish in your heart, that's good enough

 

[Andy in Germany]

I've been away from Ireland longer than the Irish couple. In fact, I'm coming to the stage where I've lived outside of Ireland longer than I've lived there. I wonder where that leaves me?

I don't know, but we're in the same place.

Our kids are in an even more interesting position: on the one side they have British ancestry going back into Wales (grandfather) and (Grandmother) Viking/Scottish/possibly Hugenot. On the other they have ancestral ties to one of the oldest Samurai families which used to own Kochi Castle.

The official line is that the country's laws you are from dictate your nationally but I'd say that if you feel you're Irish in your heart, that's good enough

Curiously, the boys now have UK/German nationality but they are very clear that they are not German, despite being born here and having no plans at all to leave when they're older. Beautiful Daughter has UK/German/Japanese nationality and speaks all three languages fluently. Unless we leave Germany she'll have the choice of UK/German or Japanese nationality at 21.

 

[Vantage]

You have to wonder about how far back on the ancestral ties do we go though.
My family name has origins in Scotland. Further back, the celts are believed to have emigrated from East Europe, some say Transylvania. Even further back, science says humans originated from Africa.
Were do we draw the line?

 

[Andy in Germany]

You have to wonder about how far back on the ancestral ties do we go though.
My family name has origins in Scotland. Further back, the celts are believed to have emigrated from East Europe, some say Transylvania. Even further back, science says humans originated from Africa.
Were do we draw the line?

Well, the family lived in the castle environs until the UK military booted them out after WW2, so that's fairly recent.

The Celts are an interesting group; there's remains of Celtic culture locally to me here, but their origins could even be in Asia, and in a pleasing symmetry,some of the designs in temples in Japan are nearly identical to designs in Celtic artefacts in Scotland and Ireland.