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Well okay, my guess is you probably would believe them. I haven’t seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion or sea beams* glitter in the dark near the Tannhaüser Gate. My guess is also that you’ve seen some pretty awesome things in your life and your travels that some of us either wouldn’t believe or would feel very envious for not having seen – even if you weren’t a replicant who escaped from an off-world colony.
Speaking for myself, I have been so very lucky in my life to have traveled extensively for business and for pleasure – England, Spain, The Netherlands, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Israel, Germany and all over America. I have hiked with family in the Olympics in Washington State and hiked and camped in the Sierra. I took the road to Hana on Maui and paid my respects at Charles Lindbergh’s gravesite. I have wandered through Yosemite and camped close to 10,000 feet at Tuolumne Meadows. I’ve wandered like Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak through the redwood forests of Marin County. I have swum with giant sea turtles and whitetip sharks in Hanalei Bay on the island of Kauai. I have wandered through the Cotswolds and the Lake District in England at the magic hour, chatted with the locals and felt quite at home.
I have lived in a few very scenic areas and sometimes have found moments where my mind was free of the stresses of everyday life, as when I would read a book near a mountain stream; or stand at the edge of an intoxicatingly fragrant pine forest and look westward out toward the Sierra foothills to take in a blazing red sunset that spanned across the sky; or pour myself a snifter of brandy, put on some classical music by Delius or Debussy, and read a book while occasionally watching the snow fall outside my window.
Just driving by myself up Highway 395 which skirts the eastern side of the Sierra and passes through towns like Lone Pine, Bishop, and Bridgeport on into the late afternoon and evening hours. Then, stopping the car atop Monitor Pass, getting out to lean back on the warm hood of the car, looking up at the Milky Way was an amazingly serene and enriching experience.
I may never have an opportunity to visit many—or perhaps any—of these places again. Another hike at higher altitudes or swimming in the ocean off Hawaii may be out of the cards. As I get older and care for my son, most of those moments are not as easily attainable as they once were, and so, I rely on the occasional YouTube video to vicariously rekindle some semblance of them. Here are a few of my YouTube subscriptions that help me to sometimes escape. Maybe they’ll help you escape the madness and stresses of your life, too. For an optimal experience, watch these on your television:
8K Paradise:
Lost Forest
https://www.youtube.com/@LostForest
A young Irish woman who lives on a dairy farm with her husband, her cats, and their cows. She makes and sells jewelry items to customers around the world. Her videos are beautifully done. A sample of one of her videos:
https://youtu.be/TWXtUEUmvVM?feature=shared
Out and About Walking
https://www.youtube.com/@OutandaboutWalking
Walks through various Cotswolds villages in England. A sample video:
Madison Boatworks
Follow the sailing exploits of a couple in the South Seas. Beautifully shot.
https://www.youtube.com/@MadisonBoatworks
* Some websites call this out as “C-beams”…but that doesn’t seem quite correct to me and certainly not as poetic unless one a is poet of steel construction.
Waterfall above in Langdale in the Lake District of England.
Discussion (5)
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I have a similar list and we crossed paths in a few places. Other than a vacation to Italy in a few weeks I'm content with staying home in the USA. I've seen the world. It really isn't that great.
It's good to read stories like this. News has been a bit of a bummer lately.
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Thank you Brian for posting this. I appreciate your look at how your adventures unfolded and how the arc of life is leaving you with good memories and the sense to savor what is worth savoring.
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Fill us in on the water fall and the blue sunset.
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Took the photo of the waterfall when I toured the Lake District. This is one of several waterfalls in Langdale. Here are a couple more images of Langdale, the first showing the New Hotel and the second showing the Langdale valley from the hills above the hotel:
The smaller sunset photo was taken down the street from my home while my son was swimming in the community pool.
The larger sunset on the lake photo is from an 8K Paradise video. Not mine.
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I’m in Dubrovnik right now. The Old City is extraordinary- beautifully restored and clean as a whistle. I thought there would be a big Game of Thrones vibe, but it’s fairly low key- I’m a fan. We are thinking of taking a trip to Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the very early start is a disincentive.