"Welcome to Goner's World" Goner's Profile

When I was in grade school, our geography book was titled "Other Lands and Other Places" (if I remember correctly) and inside was an introduction to the whole world. With the turning of each page, I became more intrigued. This book lead me into a fantasy world that has become reality in my adult life as now I am able to travel to these other lands and places. The other reality is that I need more vacation days and more vacation money. I 'm a budget traveler so no fancy hotel addresses and only an ocassional gourmet restaurant will grace my pages, but I have met so many wonderful people while traveling on trains and staying in bed and breakfasts, homes, and inns. Each country, state, or province is a new adventure and meeting and talking to the people who live there is a very special part of the trip.

Notre Dame Paris

My earliest travels were through the the US with short visits to Mexico and Canada, then came the month long trip to Europe - that dream finally came true. Now in my later adult life I've added more trips to Europe and to Israel. In 2008 another dream has come true; I visited Australia and New Zealand. My 2010 big trip was to South America. I'm looking forward to visiting the Baltic countries, Greece, Turkey and Peru in the next two years.

I'll only stop traveling if I run out of money or I'm too old to get to the plane!

Nearing Igauzu Falls

One of the most recently exciting travel events was the trip under Igauzu Falls in Argentina. It certainly created a bad-hair day with tons of water pouring down on us from several hundred feet. I would recommend it to anyonewho likes speed and water. If it weren't for our life jackets, the third trip under the falls would have disrobed us!! The really smart people brought a change of clothes instead wearing soggy clothes in the Sheraton dining room and on the flight to Buenos Aires

So long Lisbon

Well, this cruise didn't go as planned.

We had two sun filled days in Barcelona and enjoyed the "Gaudi" and other architecture. Walked the famous La Rambla down to the sea, ate tapas and paella.

The next port was Magala, Spain on the Costa del Sol. A lovely Mediterranean port. We climbed the majestic fortress and enjoyed the views of the sea and the colorful city.

All was well until we reached Casablanca on September 12th. My travel companions Kathy and Sarah and I walked down the stairs to disembark for a tour of Casablanca and Rabat. My shoe caught in the aluminum scored stair tip on the last stair and I landed on the side of my right foot. I saw my ankle break or at least move in a abnormal direction. I urged Kathy and Sarah to take the tour as there was really nothing they could do for me. The ship's doctor confirmed with an Xray my foot was broken, gave me crutches, wrapped my ankle and advised me to get off the ship to a hospital. I wasn't going to get off in Casablanca and the doctor agreed. I waited until the next day and went to an emergency hospital in Cadiz, Spain. Very little English spoken here. The doctor confirmed my broken ankle and advised me to have surgery and I would be confined there in the hospital for two weeks. I WANTED TO GO HOME!! They gave me a splint, pain pills, anticoagulant shots and a plastic protector for my plane ride home and advised me to have it operated on within 5 days.

At 8:30 p.m. I was getting a little anxious about Kathy and Sarah being late returning from the tour. I had visions of them being held hostage in a Muslim country. At about 8:45 Sarah hopped into the room, me thinking she was imitating me - no, Sarah sprained her ankle at the mosque and was unable to walk on it.

Poor Kathy now had two invalids on her hands.

Since Cadiz does not have an international airport we elected to stay on the ship until we reached Lisbon the next day and make arrangements from there. Kathy did most of the work on the Internet as the ship wasn't that much help. I did get wheelchairs ordered from my bunk and the next day the ship sent us off to the airport in a limo the second day in Lisbon. The airline employees of British Airlines (from Lisbon to Heathrow) and American Airlines (Heathrow to LAX) are to be commended. They cheerfully transported us by wheelchairs to and from the planes. One transfer was a hydraulic lift (felt sorta like baggage) into the plane in Lisbon. The people in Lisbon are so kind and friendly we plan to return one day and see more of the country.

After 17 hours of flying and transfers I was home. Sarah had yet another flight to San Francisco. The next morning I went to emergency and was admitted for surgery which I had on 9/17. I was released from the hospital on the 25th and am hopping around with a walker. I'm still trying to get past the fact I can't drive for two months!!

I do thank God I didn't break my neck or both ankles...

Rosie in California

Rosie and I have been writing via Virtual Tours and other email for several years. In 2007 I was fortunate to visit her in Christchurch, but only for a day while she showed me all the sites in her lovely town.

I was delighted to have Rosie come visit me for four days in October '08. I was housebound with a broken ankle (on cruise ship - that's another story) Much of the four days was spent talking and her wheeling me around in a wheelchair to local coffee houses and local strip-mall shopping. Not very exciting time for her, but it was such a delight to have her spend some special time with me. Thank you Rosie.

Virtual Tourist Cow

As you see in the picture, VT has bred a cow with a map of the world to help you in planning your next trip, just click on the cow to enlarge the map.

Dog Gone

In August of 2003, the Virtual Tourists gang put on the first "bash" open to all those VTR's around the world. It was a weekend of fun with food, drink and included a festive volleyball tournament (Surf Festival 6-Person Volleyball Tournament) in Manhattan Beach, CA. They outdid themselves again with a repeat of this extravaganza in August of 2004.

There have been a few since which I'm sorry to say I didn't attend.

The VT staff I've met:
Stephanie, Giampero, Tilman, Supune

Some of the VTR's I've been fortunate to meet are:
Kiwi
Tasmania
Sharrie
Sky820
Waalewiener
Beach_Dog
Carmela71
Campy012
Adventuregirl
SoCal_Chick
Jen_D
Kristara
TinKan
Jillikins
AnnK
Mattcrazy1
Blewjay (Spartan & Lauriejean)
Yubert (but who hasn't met Yubert)
Jen75
Dionosaur
Travelmad478
Worldtrekker
Soulanjili
Imkluge
Phalaenopsis03
RowanGBR
Expresso
Oldmonk_92129
Rozehill

Williamsburg, VA

This is for those people in other countries around the world who have mastered the very difficult English language.

Read each line and notice the same word with a different meaning..

If you ever feel stupid, then just read on. If you've learned to speak
fluent English, you must be a Genius!

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to
present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine
in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French
fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't
sweet, are meat.

Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig isneither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write
but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?
One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? If you have a bunch of odds
and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it
an odd, or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats
vegetables, what does a Humanitarian eat? In what language do people
recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by
ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and
a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your
house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by
filling it out, and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the
creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.
That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the
lights are out, they are invisible.