Wonderful little places exist all over the world

Published 3:10 pm Thursday, September 2, 2010

Over the past several months, I’ve been corresponding with a good friend from the neighborhood where I was raised.

In one of her notes, she mentioned that she’d recently been on a cruise and that she really enjoyed the sea and going to places she’d never been before.

And that’s what’s led to this column.

I’m writing it because I want to tell her to do it again. Not for the food or the onboard entertainment, but for the opportunity to go ashore and find the great little places that exist all over the world.

Trust me, they’re out there, but they take a little effort — and some luck — to find. That’s because, even when you see them, you might pass them by because, often, they don’t look like much of anything other than an old shop, store, restaurant, pub, theater or what have you.

Too, not knowing the area or the people, you might find yourself feeling a bit awkward and a trifle anxious.

It’s normal.

But if you’ve reached the point where you’ve found that the big boutiques, shops and restaurants in some places all have a certain sameness to them and look as if they were were designed solely to provide “local flavor,” then you might try a bit of poking around.

(I knew I’d eventually find a period and put a stop to that sentence.)

Yes, be careful, but listen for laughter or music. Look around for families. See if the people are smiling. These are usually good markers of a place you might enjoy. Then, go in because such places have the makings of memories.

I found one such place when we were anchored in Scotland’s Firth of Forth. Edinburgh wasn’t that far away and, there, I came across a small pub on a narrow street that looked like the perfect place for “a quiet beer.”

I went in, found a booth, sat down, and waited to order.

When the waitress asked what I’d like, my accent announced to the locals that I was “a Yank.” This led to my being invited over to a crowded table for several hours of conversation regarding things to do and places to see while I was in town.

When I got up to leave, I was accompanied by an older gentleman who’d served on British destroyers in WWII. We walked and talked for some time and finally ended up at Edinburgh Castle watching the evening colors ceremony.

Tough to beat a memory like that, but others do crowd in.

On an empty road just outside of Juneau, Alaska, there was a hole-in-the-wall establishment that looked like a good place for my chief engineer and I to stop for a hamburger. Which we did.

Once inside, we took a table and ordered. While waiting, we walked over to the jukebox and discovered that it had nothing on it but songs by Webb Pierce, Ferlin Husky, Hank Williams Sr., Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, and others like them. This led to us changing about $20 into quarters and playing every song at least twice.

Best hamburger I’ve ever had and I’ve never been able to find a jukebox half as good since.

In Guayaquil, Ecuador, I hired a taxi and had plans to see some of the sights. The taxi driver spoke English and we got to talking.

We soon found out that we both had sons who played baseball. He mentioned that his son was playing a game that afternoon. Shortly thereafter, my initial plans were scrapped and we ended up at a small ball field.

There, I met Mama and Grandmamma and Grandpapa and Uncle this and Aunt that. And, after the game, I had dinner at a very small home in a very small village outside of town — never having gotten to wherever it was I was initially going.

But I didn’t really mind because I’d been lucky enough to find another small place and meet some great people who seem the same the world over.

And to do the same, as Rick Steves often points out, all you have to do is go a bit beyond the tours and save room for the memories.

Because they’ll stay with you for the rest of your life.

Promise, Gaynell. Promise.

Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to larrysim@clearwire.net.