Happy Trails for a stress-free year
Finding happiness is easier than you might think. Happiness is
all around us, and all we have to do is hop in the car and hit
the road to find it. Actually, there is more to true happiness
than just jumping in the car, but for many people,
self-actualization does involve discovering new places, new
cultures, beautiful nature and secret little hideaways. Kathleen
Walls, publisher of American Roads Magazine, and David
Leonhardt, publisher of Your Daily Dose of Happiness share a few
of their favorite "Happy Trails," hoping you, too, will find
happiness there.
MOJAVE DESERT
For a Canadian, snow is no big deal. This year, we've been
shoveling it since early November. But to find snow in a desert,
that really made my eyes pop. It was noon, and it had rained in
Palm Springs, California, the previous evening. But the famous
Mojave Desert is actually quite high up in the mountains, and
the rain fell there as snow. Just how amazing was it to see snow
tucked up against the north side of a cactus? Amazing enough
that, through my jetlag, I delivered a mostly impromptu speech
on the sighting at my Toastmasters club.
If you want to see snow sidling up to a cactus - what a photo
op! - head for the desert in January or February, and make sure
to choose a desert with a high altitude. The Mojave Desert
proved most effective for this. Now, should I mention the Joshua
trees?
YELLOWKNIFE
It really is hard to fill one's eyes with wonder, what with Star
Wars and The Lord of The Rings and so many special effects that
make a person just want to yawn. Then, every now and then, one
comes across something truly unique, something that actually
does make your eyes pop with wonder. Such is Yellowknife, a town
built on a peninsula of rock in the Arctic. What is unique about
this town are the houses in the old city. There are some amazing
mansions hoisted up on the rock. Well, at least some corners are
on the rock. Others are on stilts one or two stories high. Each
house is unique, and so are the various contraptions to keep
them level on this uneven land. (Why would anybody choose this
spot to settle in the first place, with so much flat land all
around?)
The second amazing feature is the shanty-town shacks scattered
among the mansions. In every other city, the slums and the ritzy
parts of town are separate, but not in Yellowknife. I found that
a truly stereotype- shattering sight.
LUSK CAVERNS, GATINEAU PARK
Happiness is spelunking. Let's face it, you've done a million
vacations on the road and in the air and on the water. How many
have you done underground? Two, in my case. Once in Pennsylvania
on a boat, and once in Gatineau Park, in Quebec. If you think of
a cave as something cavernous, these don't qualify. The two
caves are merely a passage for a stream that flows underground
for a few yards. The first cave is just right for little
children, who can wade in the gently-flowing water.
The second cave is a little more challenging, as the water pools
into a miniature underground lake. In the spring, when the water
is high, there's not much room for a head to pass between the
water and the roof of the cave. Of course, you have to be daring
to brave the cold spring water. June is a great time to visit;
by August there's not as much water. And can there be anything
happier than splashing in water while exploring a cave?
Happiness is watching the sunrise over Mobile Bay. And what
better time to visit the city by the bay than Mardi Gras, when
the historic city puts on it's party face. This traditional
celebration was brought to Mobile by the French even before it
was established in New Orleans. That history is preserved at the
Mardi Gras Cottage Museum located on the grounds of Oakleigh, an
antebellum mansion located in the historic section of this fun
city. Centuries of Mardi Gras history are packed into this
little cottage. Be sure to visit Oakleigh while you are there.
In fact Mobile is packed with great historic sites from the
French Fort Conte to the U.S.S Alabama, These sites have been
carefully preserved or restored
Take time away from the celebrating to visit Bellingrath Gardens
and home, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Weeks Bay Preserve, and Mobile
Botanical Gardens (which will introduce you to the ecological
diversity of Mobile as well). Then there are all of those
parades. All of which are guaranteed to make you feel good.
MACON GEORGIA: SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
For some people, sports equate happiness. The Georgia Sports
Hall of Fame's 46th Induction Class, which will be held February
7-8 2003, will includes two female pioneers, arguably baseball's
greatest home run hitter, one of football's best place kickers,
a Peach State high school coaching legend, and one of Georgia's
most celebrated golfers.
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is the newest of Macon's attractions
housing memorabilia of pro and amateur athletes in all fields.
You can even experience the thrill of driving in a Nascar event
without the danger. Climb into a racecar and take the wheel in a
fast paced race. Hear the sound when you ram the fence.
Experience the thrill of the track. Then get the results of your
foray into professional racecar driving. Depending on how well
you drive, the results may or my not make you happy. The museum
is sure to be a crowd pleaser for sports fans and non-fans alike
FORT VALLEY GEORGIA: FESTIVALOF CAMELLIAS
Flowers are a sure mood lifter, so don't miss the Festival of
Camellias at Massee Lane Gardens in Fort Valley Georgia
encompasses the entire month of February when camellia blooms
are at their peak.(Something is out of place in this sentence.)
The flowers begin to show color in October and continue through
late March.
Not only camellias show their beautiful faces here. Each season
provides a new delight for the eyes with roses, flowering bulbs,
day lilies and much more. Even the path winding throughout the
gardens is unusual. Scattered randomly through it you will find
ancient millstones gathered from middle Georgia. Also along the
path you spot granite mile stones from the Old Wire Road witch
ran from New Orleans to Washington, D. C. The road was so named
because it was the route of the first telegraph lines in the
southeast.
After you have absorbed nature's outdoor offerings, visit the
two museums housing the largest public collection of Boehm
Porcelains. Here you will find nature reproduced so exquisitely
you will sometimes think you are looking on a live bird or a
blooming flower.
ATHENS GEORGIA: TASTE OF ATHENS
Food is sure to make everyone happy and Taste of Athens, a
community fund raiser, is sure to make you feel good all over.
You get to sample all of the exotic restaurants Athens Georgia
abounds in all under on roof and contribute to a good cause at
the same time this February 23th.
Athens' restaurants are hard to beat both in number and in
excellent cuisine. Harry Bissett's New Orleans Cafe and Oyster
Bar, where you experience the ambience as well as the authentic
food of "The Big Easy". It's housed in an old bank building and
the mellow brick walls are reminiscent of some of the French
Quarter's courtyard restaurants. The majority of the food served
here is spicy, for example The Blackened Redfish, gumbo and
Crawfish Etoffee, but there are enough less heated dishes to
suit any taste. Any festival that brings all of these culinary
delights together makes me happy.
It looks like for David, happiness is scenery, and for Kathleen,
it's festivals. Whatever it is about traveling that turns you
on, now's the time to hit the trail. So "Happy Trails to you
until we meet again."