Sunday 9 May 2010

further or beyond

Happy Mothers' Day to all.  H and I spend the weekend leading up to it on a quest with my parents to retrieve our newly secured Volkswagon camper.  We made a round trip of nearly a thousand kilometers to Lake Constance and back and had a fun adventure, but we considered that most people choose Lake Constance as a vacation destination and spend a little bit more time there.  Owning a camper I think represents a major paradigm shift in the way we vacation, but I am really looking forward to it, especially considering that parts of European airspace are again shut down due to abrasive volcanic ash. 
Flying is faster at the end, but taking into account the time spend on research, price-comparisons, making reservations (for hotels, as well), driving to the airport to arrive there at minimum two hours before a flight, flight-time, security and then coming back again, puttering slow but steady down the road seems like a winning alternative.  Of course, the camper will be christened something--we'll have to break a bottle of champagne over the bough.  My father suggested naming it "Further" or Furthur (sic) after Ken Kessey's school bus.  The placard for the destination, the next stop reads simply further.  My mother suggested that we call it "Beyond."