Tag: Travel

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Clip, Clop, Splish, Splash

ellenparkerwrites

Bring the carriage around to the front. The ladies are going to visit friends in the country.

Open carriage. Closed carriage. Coach. Wagon. Cart. Two wheels or four? One horse power or more?

This two horsepower open carriage is used to give tourists a sample of 18th century travel.

Similar vehicles traveled in America from soon after the arrival of Europeans until the early 20th century. (Or later. In the early 1950’s I recall one couple coming to town with team and wagon a couple times a year and “parking” at one of the few remaining hitching posts in our small village.)

The livery and freight company in fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois will rent you a gig and mare by the day. This is perfect to take your sweetheart on a ride during fine weather. Perhaps you will take a picnic and enjoy a scenic overlook of the Mississippi River. Do you have an important question to ask?

Check out the clean & wholesome romance, Stitching a Dream, to learn more about the residents of this town in the early 1850’s. Follow the link for book details. https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

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Favorite of Three

ellenparkerwrites

How do you like to travel? Are you the sort of person that wants to drive and be in control of every turn and stop? Or do you enjoy paying a fee to sit back and let another bear responsibility? Or is your choice a workplace that moves?

At this spot in downtown St. Louis you have your choice — to an extent. The top level of the historic Eads Bridge is a highway for cars and trucks. The second level is currently in use by the metro area light rail system. The river — a highway in its own right – hosts barges, pleasure craft, and tour boats.

Have you ever taken a tour boat on a river? Did you pass under a bridge? What was your opinion of the view (underside of bridge)?

Laura Tanner, a main character in the sweet romance, Starr Tree Farm, travels up the Mississippi from St. Louis to her parent’s hometown of Crystal Springs. She’s seeking answers in addition to some peace and quiet. What she finds–well, it’s not all peaceful or expected. Check the link for more book information. https://amzn.to/2zqIQEw

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A Pair in Sunshine

ellenparkerwrites

Some days a person just wants to slap on the sunglasses, adjust the hat, and soak in warm sunshine. Two of you? Perfect for this pair of chairs.

Fine seating, complete with artwork, welcomes cruise visitors to this Canadian city. Yes, Canada gets a generous supply of sunshine. And it’s not always reflected off snow. On this September day, I can easily imagine two friends, a little weary after exploring, taking a rest before boarding their ship. Dock visitors, human and other, add interest to the scene. What are the gulls trying to tell us? Can you find shapes in the clouds?

The characters in the sweet historical romance, New Dreams, arrive from Europe in a more southern port — New Orleans. New sights, sounds, and adventures await these new immigrants. How many generations are you removed from immigrants?

Click on the link for more book information: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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Gather Round

ellenparkerwrites

Imagine the tour guide directing the group to sit on this stylish bench — the more agile might take bleacher seats. Considering the location, Quebec City, I expect the remarks will be filled with history and perhaps clarify some Canadian history for this United States citizen.

Yes, our textbooks included some basics. French explorers, fur traders, and priests travelling by ship, canoe, and foot. They drew maps, traded with the Native Americans, and introduced the Christian faith.

However, travel and reading the information at the base of monuments and tourist literature exposes a person to much more of a rich history. Have you been to Canada? Which portion?

One branch of my family tree, the final group to arrive, entered Canada before making their way to the United States and settling in Wisconsin.

The sweet romance – with a touch of suspense – Starr Tree Farm, is set in a fictionalized version of where the above immigrants settled. Join Laura in her stay in the tiny village of Crystal Springs. Will the year-long mystery of her husband’s death find a solution here?

Here’s a book link: https://amzn.to/2zqIQEw

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Have you been in … Kansas?

ellenparkerwrites

Flying over does not count. Have you actually set your feet on Kansas soil? Shopping or restaurant visit on the Kansas side of the line in Kansas City counts. A road trip, either north-south or east-west counts.

This is the heart of the heartland on the map — center of the first 48 states — Lower 48 for an Alaskans. Also cowboy country. Wheat and sunflower farms. Military bases. And wide vistas typical of the Great Plains.

Oh, my. I think I need a break. How thoughtful to provide a rest area along the highway with tourist information, clean rest rooms, and a pleasant view. If I remember correctly, from this pair of chairs you see a plaza with an embedded, oversize sunflower.

Heartland of a different sort is presented in the sweet romance, Comfort Zone. Rich and Janet, mature and secure in their careers, are presented with an opportunity. Will they go for the gusto? Check book details at the link: https://amzn.to/2ZvL0Av

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Water: Finding a Boundary

ellenparkerwrites

Wave after wave after wave comes ashore here. I bumps against sandy, but firm, ground after rising and falling for: yards? miles? more?

Today this particular beach is used for play. A pleasant place to walk and think. Take a dip in the ocean — one foot only or wade out deeper. Windsurf? Fly a kite? Birdwatch? The list is long.

Not far away — a few miles — is a natural harbor and thus a perfect place for early European arrives to America to establish a trading post which grew into a city.

This South Carolina beach welcomes visitors in all types of weather. Do you want to play ‘tag’ with these afternoon waves?

Americans are mobile. Each generation tends to contain many members eager to explore and move — up the river or inland and to a mystical city of gold.

The fictional village of Elm Ridge, Illinois, contains many Americans from other states. (In addition to the newer European immigrants.) In the sweet historical romance, Stitching a Dream, Kurt Tafel has moved from Pennsylvania to establish his own business. He finds people born in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and other states. Check the information at the link to get more information on what awaits him in his new home. https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

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Young Adult & Senior Citizen

ellenparkerwrites

Many years ago, I was a young graduate moving to my first real job. (The kind with more than minimal wage which used my recent education.) Thanks to a father who enjoyed road trips, my parents moved me (and the stuff I thought I’d need) across four states and to the far end of the fifth. We stopped at a few places of note on the route.

Fast forward to my senior citizen years. I guess I inherited that love of road trips. When the opportunity arose to travel to one of those places of note I made the effort.

Yes, the lady drove West. Old and new mementos combine for the above photo. The mug was purchased by that young adult at the famous Wall Drug. Shirt and magnet on the recent afternoon in Deadwood.

Have you had an adventure this year? A road trip? Plane flight? Hosted out-of-town guests? Visited an attraction near your home?

Even if circumstances limit your ability to do the activities in the above paragraph, you can have an adventure between the covers of a book. I’m partial to sweet romance. May I recommend Morning Tryst? You’ll meet Serena Carter and Zack Sans, an unlikely couple at first glance — but they find common ground. Follow the link for more information. https://amzn.to/35gH37S

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Meet Me at The Lake

ellenparkerwrites

Please. You need to be more specific. Today’s spotlighted state is know for lakes by the hundreds — no — the thousands.

Do you want to drive along the shore of Lake Superior all the way from Duluth to the Canadian border? The drive is beautiful. The lake can be powerful — maybe a little overwhelming.

Or do your prefer a smaller, quieter body of water. Perhaps Lake Itaska, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. What’s your opinion of a lake surrounded by a city park? Or one where the shoreline is void of humans?

Be prepared to view water and cross bridges when you visit Minnesota. In addition to the lakes — the state hosts numerous rivers and streams.

Not Minnesota, but in the sweet romance, Morning Tryst, the state parks of another location ground the action. Serena Carter is hired to photograph Missouri State Parks. And she finds more than beautiful scenery and historic sites. Click on the link for more information: https://amzn.to/35gH37S

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Historically Rich

ellenparkerwrites

The state in today’s spotlight has historical sites in all portions. And sometimes, they overlap with each other.

From early settlements to the Revolutionary War to the Civil War to naval bases and government offices of today — Virginia is full of history.

During my visit a year ago, this midwestern girl had to keep reminding herself of the age of the culture around her. Yes, some of the buildings are 20th century re-creation — often from much older plans and descriptions. Other structures and traces of structures go back to when semi-nomadic Native Americans hunted and fished where I now live.

My visit to this state had one flaw — time was too short. Does that mean I need to travel again? Perhaps tour different historic home and sites?

Photographer Serena Carter never lived or worked in Missouri before she was hired to document the state parks. Seeing the natural and man-made sights for the first time gave her a fresh perspective on the world she found. Check out the sweet romance, Morning Tryst, to discover what else she discovered during her tenure. Kindle edition is at the other end of this link: https://amzn.to/35gH37S

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She went West

ellenparkerwrites

Go West, young man. Go West.

During my childhood, I heard this phrase many times. As a result, when I graduated, I went West. (After all, isn’t that where the young men were?)

Confession time. I come from a family not afraid to move to a new place. And I didn’t move as far West as the photo below implies.

A direct line from my childhood home to my first “real” job crossed four states and the continental divide — but no oceans.

Are you at the beginning or a turning point in your career or life? Do you like to try new things? Travel? You can’t stay in the United States and go much farther West than Hawaii. My one vacation travel day — via two airplanes — was a century and a half removed from others in my family who crossed an ocean.

Meet Louisa Mueller and Hans Hoffmann in the sweet historical romance, New Dreams. When they board a sailing vessel in Europe, they are moving to a new land, aware they will never see their homeland again. Yes, they went West — and had adventures you can read in the book at the end of this link: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE