The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine
When I was in eighth grade our big school trip for the year was to New York City. I had been there many times before, it wasn't too far, but this trip was different; I would be with my classmates and our tour leader, a nun who grew up in the city was directing the tour. New York City in the early '80's wasn't the shiny cleaned up city it is today, it was gritty, tough, dirty and a little bit scary for a 12-year old girl. A tough-talking nun in a habit led a group of eighth-graders through Battery Park, Harlem, and the Financial District but it's the trip to the top of the World Trade Center that is etched into my mind. I wonder how many of my fellow classmates remember that day as clearly as I do, the speed at which the shiny brass elevator took us up, the uniform of the tour guide, the girls clutching each other as we dared each other to stand closer to the edge and then picking out a souvenir of the special day in the gift shop. My favorite book at the time was Harriet the Spy, that day I felt like I was living in Harriet's world and it was pretty amazing. Subsequent trips to New York felt different, the city was changing and I was growing up. Each time I went there I had a unique experience that I added to my memory box.
Those moments in a big city are what memories are made of, it's those details you can't get when you're watching a movie about a city or most times when you're reading a book. But it's those details that are going to draw your reader in.When traveling make sure you bring a journal to jot them down, adding a little sketch to your words can spark your memory when you're trying to remember the details.
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Lovingly,
The Writing and Wishing She Was Sightseeing Nag
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