By Jeffrey Bibbee, Ph.D.
I like to think of myself as an experienced world traveler. My passport lives in a drawer near the front door and I keep a leather weekend bag in the bottom of the closet. It is possible that I could jet off to an exotic tropical location or a luxurious European capital with just a moment’s notice. It never really happens but I do dream about it.
pandemic travel adventure.
The reality is that my real life, my dream scenario and my curated Instagram feed are not in sync.
I am lucky to be able to travel quite a bit but it is mainly associated with my job as a professor of history and the director of the University of North Alabama Centre for British Studies. Despite the posted pics of beautiful vistas and jaw dropping locales, the glamour of traveling with 20 students on an education-abroad trip is not what some might think.
Despite all of this, it is strange to not be traveling this summer with students from UNA for the first time in nearly a decade. It is weird to not be participating in the ritual of travel: packing the bags, buying tickets, boarding the plane and the exhilaration of being in a new place on the cusp of a great new adventure.
What do we do in the wake of the pandemic?
Just because we cannot travel to a far-off land, bumble our way through ordering food in a foreign language or experience sites of which we have only dreamed does not mean that we cannot still have a great adventure.
Adventures are all around us.
Get out and explore our heritage area. We are so fortunate to have an abundance of great places right on our doorstep. From the Rosenbaum House in Florence to the Old State Bank in Decatur to Ivy Green in Tuscumbia to Pond Spring in Lawrence County, we have so many historical and cultural sites to visit. Many are just now reopening to the public and are eager to share their stories. Visit our local art museums like the Carnegie Visual Arts Center, in Decatur, or the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art, in Tuscumbia. Explore our natural wonders at the Cook Natural Science Museum, in Decatur. Walk UNA’s historic campus. Float Cypress Creek or the Flint River. Drive the Natchez Trace Parkway. Visit Tom Hendrix’s Wall. Explore your own home town. What we see every day can be new and exciting when we change our perspective, put on our walking shoes and see things from a different angle.
If the exotic and far-off are more your pace, museums and cultural institutions are going digital in unprecedented numbers. Pick a city and explore it. Look for exhibits online, visit the major attractions, watch YouTube videos and read reviews from experienced travelers. Treat yourself to a cookbook so you can recreate the local cuisine and tune your Spotify station to the sounds of local artists and musicians.
Visit your local library. Watch travel programs. Pick up an old guide book from a used bookstore. Challenge yourself to a word a day in a new language. Venture down a new aisle in the grocery store, farmers market, or ethnic food store.
While this summer may not be one we planned and it might not have the envy-inducing selfies we hoped to share on our social media, it is one that can be adventurous – just in new ways. Adventure can be around the globe … or in your own backyard.
Jeffrey R. Bibbee, when not traveling the globe, is a professor of history and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Alabama. He lives in Florence.
