May

Travel Adventures in the Friendly(?) Skies

by Meredith Mullins on May 15, 2017

Plane flying through clouds, offering travel adventures and air travel stories of the memorable kind. (Image © Artem Tryhub/iStock.)

Travel adventures of the aerial kind
© Artem Tryhub/iStock

Air Travel Stories to Remember

Air travel customer disasters have peppered the news lately.

A passenger was dragged off an overbooked United flight, a fist fight erupted between two Southwest Airlines passengers, a woman was hit with her baby’s stroller as an American Airlines flight attendant tried to wrestle it away from her. The flight attendant later said “Bring it on” to a passenger who tried to intervene on the woman’s behalf.

We tend to remember the horror stories—the headline makers as well as the travel adventures we have suffered through personally.

Man yelling at checkin, showing that travel adventures are not always pleasant and air travel stories do not always end well. (Image © Eyecandy Images.)

Haven’t we all felt this way at one point in our air travel lives?
© Eyecandy Images

There is no shortage of such tales in a world where millions of people fly each day. There are bound to be some hitches.

What comes to mind when you’re asked to recount your worst air travel stories?

For me . . .

The time I was captive at Chicago’s O’Hare for three days (sleeping on the baggage claim conveyor belt) because a storm had halted all air traffic (and, for that matter, all traffic to and from the airport) and the airport hotels were full.
The time I raced for a connection on Christmas Eve only to see my plane slowly backing out of the gate without me.
Or the time I was halfway across the Atlantic from Europe to the U.S. when a passenger fell ill and the medical decision was made to retrace our path back to Europe. “What about Iceland?” I thought. “Why go backwards, not forwards?” But I could not argue with the idea of making a sick passenger the priority.

Flight Departures Board, showing the potential for travel adventures and air travel stories. (Image © AdaptDesign Advertising/iStock.)

The departure board that strikes fear in the heart
© AdaptDesign Advertising/iStock

The travel truth is that we depend on the magic of the airplane to take us to far-flung corners of the world. It is often our chariot to great travel adventures. And quite often the adventure begins on the plane.

The Glass Half Full

Instead of remembering the nightmares, let’s remember the best of times—the “Oh, I See” moments that have lasting meaning.

Girl by mother looking at pilot, showing how travel adventures and air travel stories begin. (Image © David De Lossy/Photodisc.)

There are many ways that airlines make children feel at home.
© David De Lossy/Photodisc

For example, the crew who went out of their way to make the children on board feel comfortable, the steely-eyed pilot who greeted us at the door whom we know will get us to our destination safely, the awe-inspiring moments looking out over the majesty of the planet, and the sheer miracle of human flight.

As comedian Louis C.K. put it, “Everybody on every plane should be going OMG! Wow! We’re sitting in a chair in the sky!

View of Alps from airplane window, offering travel adventures and air travel stories that inspire us. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The grandeur of our planet (flying higher than the Alps)
© Meredith Mullins

Favorite Air Travel Adventures

What comes to mind when you think of your favorite air travel moments?

My most treasured air travel adventures span the globe—from Nepal to the Seychelle Islands to the California Coast.

On a Wing and a Prayer

When flying out of the Lukla airport, the nearest airstrip to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal, you learn the meaning of fear. (If you’re trekking into Lukla, you must step over the wreckage of a plane embedded in the land; but, in reality, plane accidents have been rare.)

The airport, which dangles on the edge of a mountain, is considered the most dangerous in the world. The runway is only 527 meters long (about six football fields).

Tenzing-Hillary airport in Lukla, offering travel adventures and air travel stories of a lifetime. (Image © Vernacht/iStock.)

The most dangerous airport in the world
© Vernacht/iStock

On landing, the pilots of the twin-engine planes must be perfect in their approach. On takeoff, you just hope that the engine doesn’t stall at the end of the runway, because it’s a Himalayan drop to the chasm below.

Plane landing at Lukla Airport, offering travel adventures and air travel stories to remember for a lifetime. (Image © je33a/iStock.)

Landings at Lukla must be perfect. There is no way to abort if something goes awry.
© je33a/iStock

When the weather clears for flying (a somewhat rare occurrence that high in the mountains), the small planes come in quickly from Kathmandu, one after the other. The landings and take-offs are orchestrated to take advantage of the narrow window of good visibility. Clouds, rain, snow, and fog can come at any moment.

The nervous crowd at the airport waits in anticipation, hoping that they will find a seat on one of the 14-seater planes of the day (and trying to keep their mind off the short runway).

Once the action starts, there is barely time for passengers to generate the appropriate amount of anxiety. Things happen quickly.

Runway at Lukla airport, offering travel adventures and air travel stories to remember for a lifetime. (Image © Photon Photos.)

All clear, for one brief shining moment
© Photon Photos

On the morning I was leaving, after a fog delay of several hours, the weather miraculously cleared. I was hurried to my plane, wrapped in a prayer scarf for good luck, and whoosh! We soared off the mountain into the sun and the glory of the Himalaya.

It was an experience of a lifetime.

The Himalaya from a plane to Kathmandu Nepal, offering travel adventures and air travel stories for a lifetime. (Image © Dutourdemonde/iStock.)

There’s nothing quite like soaring through the Himalaya.
© Dutourdemonde/iStock

Thumbs Up

Pilots can often be friendly, but when you’re on a six-seater hopping to the smaller islands in the Seychelles, you are part of a select crowd.

I have fond memories of my travel in those paradise islands, particularly a flight to Fregate Island. The check-in and boarding process was simple. It was all done by the pilot.

I was weighed (together with my luggage). I walked to the plane with the pilot.

Seychelles Island cockpit, offering travel adventures and air travel stories for a lifetime. (Image © Lehnhoff/iStock.)

Just me and my pilots on the way to Fregate in the Seychelles.
© Lehnhoff/iStock

I sat just behind the cockpit, so it was easy to keep tabs on him (and the co-pilot) as he went through the checklist. And just before takeoff, he turned to me and gave me a thumbs up and a smile.

I knew I was in good hands.

A Whale of an Adventure

I often make the trip on the smaller planes that fly from the Monterey Peninsula to San Francisco. These commuter flights are part of the normal rhythm of the area.

View of Monterey Bay, California, offering travel adventures and air travel stories to remember. (Image © Santalechuga/iStock.)

Monterey Bay, California
© Santalechuga/iStock

But on one of my travel days a few years ago in January, the pilot made an unexpected turn over the Monterey Bay. It appeared we were headed back to the airport. I cursed under my breath, immediately thinking of missed connections and everything else that follows from a delayed travel start.

Instead, the pilot was making a quick detour for a marine biology expedition. He had spotted a pod of whales in the Monterey Bay and wanted us all to take a moment to appreciate the grandness of nature.

Gray whale in the Monterey Bay, offering travel adventures and air travel stories to remember. (Image © Raingirl/iStock.)

A whale of a detour
© Raingirl/iStock

Travel Adventures of the Memorable Kind

The best travel adventures remain in our memory and heart for a long time. The details stay vibrant, even as time passes.

Flight attendant adjusting a pillow for excellent customer service, offering travel adventures and air travel stories worth remembering. (Image © Digital Vision.)

Is this a dream, or does this really happen these days?
© Digital Vision

Now, every time I hear of an airline customer-service disaster or experience one myself, I will let my mind visit for a moment the Lukla airstrip, linger with the smiling Seychelle twin-engine pilot, and imagine again the grandeur of a pod of whales swimming far below as the miracle of human flight unfolds.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins Comments

Adventure Travel/Africa/Nepal/Rides (Land, Sea, Air)/USA

May

All Aboard for Aha Moments!

by Joyce McGreevy on May 9, 2017

The Amtrak Station in Salinas, California leads to aha moments, thanks to Trails & Rails, a partnership with the National Park Service. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Catch a train in Salinas, a town made famous by John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden.
© Joyce McGreevy

Time-Traveling on Trails & Rails

Unsteadily hiking the path, I meet a National Park Service guide. She tells me that “Spanish explorers traveled this historic California trail, named for Juan Bautista De Anza.” This was the land of the Chumash, Pima, and Quechan peoples. Wait—I’m in a moving train. But as I’ll discover, I’m “right on track” for aha moments.

“Believe it or not, you’re in a national park right now,” says guide Kathy Chalfant, as the Coast Starlight rolls southward. We’re following California’s coast and time-traveling to the 1700s. Oh, I see: Sometimes a train commute becomes a journey into history.

This serendipitous Anza Trail tour is part of Trails & Rails, a nationwide partnership between the NPS and Amtrak. Each of the 17 tours is designed to encourage travel by train to natural and cultural heritage sights.

Earlier, boarding the train in Salinas, I had opened my laptop, clamped on my noise-canceling headphones, and immediately set to work as a JMD: Juggler of Multiple Deadlines.

It’s our new American tradition, this habit of tethering ourselves to technology. It’s as if we humans were no more than plug-in peripherals.

Visual Feast of Eden

Ah, but the magnificent Salinas Valley keeps distracting me. The scene changes of nature’s theatre present captivating visual dramas. Then the conductor announces that two volunteer guides from the National Park Service will shortly begin a guided tour. Huh? I’m up like a shot.

National Park Service guide Kathy Chalfant, seen here with passengers on the Coast Starlight, inspires aha moments with Trails & Rails tours. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

NPS volunteer docent Kathy Chalfant inspires passengers to look beyond
their mobile devices and notice where they are.
© Joyce McGreevy

“You’re probably wondering why National Park Service volunteers are guiding a tour onboard a moving train,” Kathy says, as I totter into the observation car. It’s a skylight- and window-filled carriage with seats that swivel toward views on either side of the tracks.

Unsociable Media

At first, though, it appears that only a handful of us are wondering. The observation car is packed all right, but most passengers stare deep into their mobile phones and tablets.

Granville Redmond's oil painting, A Field of California Poppies (1911), inspires a California traveler with aha moments. (Public domain image)

A Field of California Poppies (1911) by Granville Redmond, who often acted in movies
with his friend Charlie Chaplin, reflects the visual contrasts of the Central Coast.

All around us vast fields and valleys unfurl, streaked with purple lupine, chrome-yellow mustard flowers, and orange poppies. The wildflowers appear to race each other through the golden oat grasses.

The Power of Live Narrative

Unfazed by the tech-tethered, Kathy’s husband Don begins telling tales—by turns thrilling, heartbreaking, and humorous—of diverse families who “scratched their way through Alta California, and carved a trail into American history.”

When this hardy band of 250 people—mostly children—reached San Jose, says Don, “It doubled the European population of Alta California.” Today, San Jose alone is home to 1.2 million people.

National Park Service guide Don Chalfant, seen here on the Coast Starlight, inspires aha moments with Trails & Rails tours. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

An expert on Central California’s historic lands, NPS guide
Don Chalfant has also crossed the country by bicycle.
© Joyce McGreevy

The Magic & the Tragic

As mile by time-traveling mile goes by, the portable devices loosen their grip on passengers. Soon, everyone is riveted by the Chalfants. They expertly interpret the land to reveal:

Engineering magic: Highway 101 and the train tracks switch sides with each other a dozen times before we reach Santa Barbara, an engineering process that looks more like movie magic.
Where to catch a train back to the heyday of Elvis: Two 1947 rail cars once rolled on the “Orange Blossom Special,” the rail line made famous in song by Johnny Cash. They’ve found new life as the Rock & Roll Diner at Pismo Beach, located on—where else?—Railroad Street.
A Lost City, whose artifacts are hidden deep under sand dunes: In 1923, this meticulously constructed faux “Ancient Egyptian” city was the biggest set ever built for the biggest movie ever made, Cecil B. DeMille’s silent epic Ten Commandments.
The city mysteriously vanished after filming. This triggered a 30-year battle to excavate it, chronicled in a 2016 documentary. Why the obsessive search? Keep in mind that 95% of silent movies have been lost forever, leaving a massive gap in cinema history.
No longer ready for its close-up: Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 movie set is buried
under the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes.
California Historical Society Digital Collection
A tragedy at the ocean’s edge: In 1923—before sonar and radar were standard—seven naval destroyers steaming south from San Francisco Bay to San Diego ran aground on rocky Honda Point. Twenty-three men died in the largest peacetime loss of U.S. Navy ships.

The Point Honda shipwreck site on September 8, 1923, in Santa Barbara Co., California features in Trails & Rails, a partnership with Amtrak and the National Park Service designed to educate train passengers about America’s history and heritage.

Point Honda shipwreck site September 8, 1923, Santa Barbara Co., California

Monarchs in the Trees

We roll through Nipomo Mesa, a place where monarch butterflies winter, roosting in the tall branches of the eucalyptus trees. Don tells us that when eucalyptus was introduced into California from its native Australia, people thought it would provide the wood for telegraph poles and railroad ties.

“Just one problem,” says Don. “As soon as the lumber dried, it cracked. They’d brought over the wrong species of eucalyptus. Makes a great windbreak, though.”

As for the monarchs, their annual migration from as far north as Canada circles to the volcanic mountains of Mexico.

A monarch butterfly and its migration inspire aha moments, as described by Trails & Rails, a partnership with Amtrak and the National Park Service designed to educate train passengers about America’s public lands. (Image NPS)

Monarchs don’t ride rails—they just wing it.
National Park Service

Later, as the train sweeps down to gasp-inducing views of the Pacific Ocean, passengers catch a tantalizing glimpse of a whale. We learn that it’s a California gray whale, likely a mother guiding her calves to the Arctic. There they’ll feed on sea-bottom organisms for the summer.

Passengers on Amtrak's Coast Starlight gaze at the Pacific Ocean, as a Trails & Rails tour guide's commentary inspires aha moments. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Checking email can wait: All eyes are on the ocean as the Chalfants share stories
of the California coast.
© Joyce McGreevy

Next Stop, Antarctica?

An area Don calls “California’s elbow” points in the opposite direction.

“There’s 6,000 miles between here and the next major land mass, Antarctica,” says Don. The reason for this is sobering: we’re passing through Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is oddly devoid of airplanes, because it’s a site for testing missiles and launching satellites.

Eerily beautiful as the base is, I welcome the return to nature’s drama farther south. We gaze east, where striated sandstone mountains are the legacy of the ocean’s plate tectonics.

California's coastal mountains inspire aha moments when seen during Trails & Rails train journey, conducted by Amtrak with the National Park Service. (Image © Christopher Baker)

California’s coastal mountains span 800 of the 840-mile coastline.
© Christopher Baker

Transported in Time

We see fields of strawberries and broccoli. We pass a cluster of Airstream trailers. They mark the surfing hangout of James Cameron, filmmaker of Titanic and a National Geographic Explorer. We watch as pelicans wheel and windsurfers glide from rainbow kites over the ocean tides.

An old structure in San Miguel, California, seen from a train during a Trails & Rails tour, inspires aha moments. (Image© Joyce McGreevy)

Traveling by train takes one back in time. (San Miguel, California)
© Joyce McGreevy

After the Chalfants offer stamps for National Park Service passports, I reflect on time-traveling by train. Trails & Rails has transported us millions of geologic years, to Native America and New Spain, the Golden Ages of Hollywood and Rock ‘n Roll, John Steinbeck’s era and the Cold War, and, best of all, to many aha moments.

A National Park Service booklet, map, and passport stamp are souvenirs of aha moments during a Trails & Rails talk on the Coast Starlight. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Histories, maps, and passport stamps turn an ordinary train ride
into an adventure in learning.
© Joyce McGreevy

Find out more about the Coast Starlight tour here.

Discover the 17 U.S. Trails & Rails programs here.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 2 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Rides (Land, Sea, Air)/USA

Mar

Different Cultures Share a Supermarket Dream

by Meredith Mullins on March 6, 2017

Man with shopping cart at La Louve, the new Paris food co-op that unites different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

La Louve: A new Paris food co-op is born from a cross-cultural dream.
© Meredith Mullins

La Louve: A Paris Food Co-op Innovation

You wouldn’t expect a supermarket to grab newspaper headlines. But La Louve, a new food co-op in Paris, has been doing just that.

What makes it newsworthy? It’s the first cooperative supermarket in Paris—a social experiment where members are responsible for the direction and daily functioning of the enterprise.

It has the added unique quality of being modeled after an American food co-op and creatively sculpted to work in France. An intriguing blend of different cultures.

Child shopping at the Paris food co-op La Louve, showing a successful blend of different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A supermarket for all ages
© Meredith Mullins

Realizing a Dream

France is not new to the concept of cooperatives and is certainly not new to the advantages of blending the best of distinctive cultures.

There were some challenges, however, as Americans Tom Boothe and Brian Horihan dove into this adventure.

Both Tom and Brian were residents of France interested in quality food, the protection of the planet, and an alternative to a profit-oriented commercial approach to food shopping.

And both had experience with the successful Park Slope Co-op in Brooklyn, New York—an exemplary prototype for their dream.

Shelf of olive oils at the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in blending different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The mission was simple: to offer quality products at a reduced price and to be able to pay the producers a fair price for their products.

The question was how to fit this model into France—to work within existing laws, gain government support, and respect cultural preferences.

La Louve sign in the window, identifying the Paris food co-op and recognizing a merging of different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The She-Wolf Approach

La Louve in French translates to she wolf. A strong alpha-female animal that protects and defends and does not stop until the work is done or the goal is reached. Family is paramount (as is survival of the pack).

The name seemed fitting as the seed of a dream for this experimental food co-op designed to build community around a common goal.

Tom and Brian met each challenge with cross-cultural intelligence. Six years of hard work and perseverance later, La Louve opened its doors.

Cashier line at the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in the blending of different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Values and Principles

La Louve functions via two primary concepts. It is a not-for-profit association whose members, as in all co-ops, participate in the governing and functioning of the supermarket. Members vote, as co-owners, on decisions that need to be made.

In addition, as in the Park Slope Co-op model, each member dedicates time each month to work at the co-op.

Woman marks prices at the refrigerator in the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in the blending of different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

For La Louve, members work three hours every four weeks. This requirement proved more difficult to implement in France, since it is unusual for someone to be required to work for no pay, even a modest three hours every month.

The work tasks for the co-op members range from cashiering to receiving deliveries, stocking shelves, cleaning, and managing administrative duties.

Three people discuss wine at the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in the blending of different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

As more members join the co-op, more jobs will be created. Since the Park Slope co-op was founded in 1973 and now has more than 16,000 working members, many different jobs exist there.

In addition to standard supermarket-type jobs, Park Slope members can accompany shoppers home or to the subway to help them with their packages; write for the LineWaiters gazette, a co-op newspaper to read while waiting in the cashier line; or wash the toys in the children’s center, since childcare is a service provided to shoppers or workers.

The member workforce provides a customer-oriented shopping experience, a spirit of community, and the low overhead needed to keep product prices at their lowest.

A man selects from the produce shelves at the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in blending different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

What’s on La Louve’s Shelves?

With brands such as Naturattiva, BioNaturae, Artisinale, and Naturata on the shelves, the underlying focus of the co-op is evident. Although there is not a requirement that products be organic (bio, in French), each offering is carefully selected to be the best and most healthful choice available.

The purchasing group (le groupment d’achats) invests time in researching each product. They conduct taste tests when needed to maintain their goal of quality—for example, sampling a variety of olive oils or chocolates or teas before deciding which to carry. (Put me on the wine team, please.)

Wine shelf at the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in blending different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

They also strive to source products from local, planet-friendly producers who share the same values and ethical and environmentally sound work practices as the co-op.

The products are selected based on group decisions and will evolve according to the wishes of the co-op members.

Shelf of potato chips at the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in blending different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Do you want a snack while you’re watching that soccer match? Reach for organic chili- or sour-cream-flavored chips. Do you have a chocolate craving? Try a Chocolate and Love bar.

Shelf of chocolate bars at the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in blending different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Are you looking for warmth during a cold winter? How about the popular lambswool socks. Do you depend on fresh organic fruit and vegetables? Local producers will deliver what’s in season.

All of these choices can be found at 15–40% less than at the major supermarket chains.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, talks with the diverse members of La Louve, the Paris food co-op that recognizes different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo (orange scarf), and the Mayor of the 18th arrondissement, Eric Lejoindre (behind her to the left), visit with members of La Louve.
© Meredith Mullins

What’s in La Louve’s Heart?

The diversity of the co-op members creates a vibrant dynamic. Although the store has been open only four months and is still in its test phase, there are more than 4500 members (with 42% living in the 18^th arrondissement where the store is located).

This neighborhood was chosen, with the support of the City of Paris and the Mayor of the 18^th arrondissement, because of the heterogeneity of the population and the need for a place where quality food could be purchased for a reduced price.

Two people chat at the food co-op La Louve in Paris, showing a successful blend of different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The project inspires a spirit of community. As one of the co-op members said, it’s great to see people really talking with one another in a supermarket. Another member mentions that she enjoys shopping with a smile. The camaraderie is a large part of the experience.

The project has also led to other new co-ops in France. Cities such as Lille, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Toulouse, Montpellier, and Marseille are following the same processes that La Louve implemented to reach a successful outcome.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo talks with members of the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in the blending of different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The “Oh, I See” Moments

There are many “Oh, I see” moments in La Louve’s six-year road to reality. For me, as co-op member #6 (an early adopter), there was much to learn from the dedication of the original visionaries.

They were committed to their core values. Their hard work offered them little immediate reward other than the hope that the dream would someday become reality.

They rose to the challenges that molding an American food co-op concept into a French reality presented—different cultures uniting in a productive way.

And now, members reap the rewards of being able to shop with a smile.

Shopping cart at the Paris food co-op La Louve, an experiment in blending different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

For more information, visit La Louve Food Co-op, Park Slope Food Co-op, Food Co-op, the film by Tom Boothe, and City of Paris.