Fourth of July Excursions, Final Notes

I boarded the train back the Richmond, spent the night and drove home the next morning. Nothing exceptional about the trip home. But looking back, this trip was good. There were many places that I could visit on a future trip. The heat was exhausting, however, but I found ways around it. July 5 was not a real good day to visit Washington since they had not got back to normal after the 4th fireworks. It might have been better to visit the museums and sites of interest, not on the National Mall. The trip home was normal. I thought about this past trip and begin thinking  about the next. I have many prospectus of trips, including a replay of the Boston Trip.

SOUVENIRS  AGAIN

Back a few years ago, I had talked about souvenirs of vacations and daytrips. Any number of perimeters can be used in selecting souvenirs. One is just random, something that catches the fancy. Another form of souvenir is one that is representative of the location, something out of seashells, from the beach trip, mountain craft item  while in the mountains, etc. The best way is to buy a type of item. It might be snow globes, figurines, or the like. When I was 10 or 11, I collected postcards as souvenirs. I chose two from each destination plus one of the motels we stayed in. They were very available, even in drug stores and malls and in lobbies of motels or even in the rooms. When I was in past high school, I lost interest and my brother took it over. I had added cards from friends and family, as well. A few years ago, I found the collection in my parents basement. I took them and organized them, scanned them into the computer. My hope is to get a digital frame and display them in a slide show.

After High School, I was not much of a souvenir collector. I worked in the tourist industry and lost interest, for a while. I next started collecting patches. However, patches are not found everywhere. I now collect mugs and patches. Patches are for parks and memorials and mugs for everywhere else. I will not collect duplicate destinations or from places that I just pass though.

Souvenirs may not be easy to buy on a trip, because you do not stop by a gift shop. I have been known to mail order souvenirs after getting home. I could have them shipped, to make my luggage lighter or to remove the responsibility for breakage. On a tour to the Holy Lands, there was a couple that packed a collapsible suitcase to fill up with souvenirs, until it was needed it was packed in a suitcase.