Strenuously in Search of People

Toss the travel guides away. Break away from their advice about where to go and what to see. Adopt an active search for people. Talk to the locals.Starting conversations with a tour bus driver or a park ranger may be limited to an exchange of greetings but might also be the beginning of unforgettable experiences. The driver could provide a tour of his workshop with custom-made items for Hollywood celebrities, and the park ranger could set the wheels in motion leading to special...
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Toss the travel guides away. Break away from their advice about where to go and what to see. Adopt an active search for people. Talk to the locals.Starting conversations with a tour bus driver or a park ranger may be limited to an exchange of greetings but might also be the beginning of unforgettable experiences. The driver could provide a tour of his workshop with custom-made items for Hollywood celebrities, and the park ranger could set the wheels in motion leading to special recognition at a gathering of shape-note singers. The author presents details about these adventures and others that followed his interest in talking to people in the course of his and his wife's six-year travel around the country. No travel book contains lists of people to meet or how to find them, but the author encourages the traveler to begin searching for other special people; they are all around. Break away from collecting photos of places and begin hoarding memories of people.