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Wakey, Wakey, Time for Breaky! – What Pegman Saw

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This week Pegman takes us to Saskatchewan Canada. You may use the photo provided with the prompt or take to Google maps and search within the borders of Saskatchewan for your own inspiration.

Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the prompt. You may contribute poetry, prose, or essay. Once your piece is polished share with others at the link up below. Reading and commenting on others work is part of the fun.

How can I resist when Pegman goes to my country AND I have been to said place – even when just driving through. So, sorry… once again, I have given you a “travel post” for this challenge.  Thanks to Karen and Josh for hosting this weekly party that I don’t attend often enough!  I shall strive to come by more often.

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Wakey, Wakey, Time For Breaky!

“Good morning, girls!  Time to get up, get breakfast and hit the road!”

“Aw, Dad! Do we have to get up at six o’clock every morning?”

“Yeah, Dad. Why can’t we sleep in a little. This is a vacation!”

“Oh, come on, you two, this is a fun trip.”

The two others, in unision:  “Shut up, Nicole!”

“Alright girls, that’s enough. Just get dressed so we can go eat. I need a coffee,” chimed in Mom.

“I’m having pancakes!”

“Me, too!”

“I’m with Mom, need coffee. This is so stupid that we have to get up so damn early,” grouched the eldest.

They piled into their Ford Econoline Super Van and searched for a diner as the motel had no restaurant.  They didn’t have far to drive.

Weird. No cars.  Sign indicated: ‘Opens at 6:00 am.’

“Dammit, Dad!!  Regina, Saskatchewan does NOT observe Daylight Savings Time!

You woke us up at 5:00!!”

Similar to the van we had to cross Canada back in 1983

*Sadly, a mostly true tale. I was 21 at the time; my sisters 18 and 15 (well, the following month) and it was the last family road trip we took together.  I moved out of the family home on my return.

 

Not Time to Sight-See – What Pegman Saw

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Being as it’s October, and in light of all the political hoopla happening in this neck of the woods, this week Pegman takes us to the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC, USA. (And also in Canada as it’s election time here and we get to choose between our own batch of monkeys.)

Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the prompt. Feel free to use the location supplied above, our take your own tour of Washington D.C. via Google maps and find a view that inspires you.

So, that said, I totally did NOT go to Arlington but decided to go down memory lane. December, 2009, to be precise. Yes, I am sorry, my peeps, yet another travel story 😉

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Not Time to Sight-See

“I really need to stop for gas, Babe.”

“OK. Take the next exit and I’ll keep a lookout for a station.”

“What the hell is wrong with this place? We are turning in circles and there ain’t a station in sight.”

“Think about it. This is D.C. Just like Montreal, you can’t find a damn station downtown.  Hey look, Babe!  The National Monument!”

“I don’t give a shit. You need to look for gas stations, not effing monuments! I need gas. NOW!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a station soon.”

“Not soon enough. Pulling this pop-up trailer sucks more gas, yanno.”

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe if you’d filled up when we still had a quarter of a tank we would not be in this mess. Oh! Look! The White House! How cool is that?”

“Jesus! So what?!”

“Look.  A station. Dunno how you are gonna manoeuvre yourself in there, though.”

“Watch me.”

 

Do You Speak Newfinese?

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This week Pegman takes us to the Newfoundland and Labrador province of Canada. Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the location. Feel free to use the photo supplied with the prompt, or roam anywhere within the province for your own view.

Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the link up below. Reading and commenting is part of the fun!

How could I resist the one province I have yet to visit? I was gonna go the Gander 9/11 route but changed my mind, though it is a worthy story to share.  Instead I went light.  Have you ever heard two Newfies speaking to each other? I think it’s as bad as two Scots! Indeciferable….

Do you Speak Newfinese?

We love to tease our Newfies – there is no shortage of jokes on attacking their supposed stupidity and enjoyment of beer (what’s wrong with that?). Not fair, really. No more fair than dumb blonde or Polish jokes, come to think of it.

Yeah, they can be really hard to understand. Their dialect is particular to their corner of Canada. A mix of Irish, French, English all turned into super-fast gibberish for most of us. Problem to them is we don’t listen fast enough!

“Stay where you’re at ’til I comes where you’re to.”

“Whadda ya at, b’y?”

“This is it.”

“Ow’s she cutting?”

“Oh, y’know, like a knife.”

“B’y y’don no nobody who don want nudding don, d’ya?”

“Sorry. Wait a fair wind.”

“Me nerves is rubbed right raw.”

“‘Ang on to yer draws. It’ll come.”

“What odds?”

“Do you want some takin up?”

“Not hungry. How ’bout a beer?”

 

Can’t have a Newfie post without Great Big Sea – one of many fabulous musical bands hailing from The Rock.

Here’s a link to Newfinese should you need a little aid 😉

 

 

Going Home Again – What Pegman Saw

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This week Pegman takes us to the capital of Latvia, in Riga’s Old Town. Your mission is to write up 150 words inspired by the location. Feel free to use the image supplied, or venture around Riga for something that inspires you. You may write fact or fiction, poetry or prose. The only only requirement is to keep your piece at 150 words or less, as a consideration to others.

Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the linkup below. Reading and commenting is part of the fun!

Thank you Karen and Josh for giving us the opportunity to go digging about places we might not know at all. It makes this challenge all the more worthwhile!

©Reinis Hofmanis

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Going Home Again

The three blocks from the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto to the waiting car were the longest Misha had ever run. He could feel the fear of missing his chance burn his throat, leaving an acrid taste on his tongue. He could not know the Soviet Union would respond so calmly to his defection or that his family would not suffer repercussions for his betrayal.

Born in Riga, Latvia in 1948, he took his first ballet lesson at eleven, and was called to the Kirov ballet by nineteen. His talents dazzled audiences the world over and he soon felt stifled artistically.  His defection was never about politics.  “I am individualist and there it is a crime,” he was quoted as saying.

In 2017, forty-three years after that run for freedom, Mikhail Baryshnikov was invited back to his now independent birthplace and granted citizenship.

“I am no longer an outsider. I feel I belong.”

Pick a Key – What Pegman Saw

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Today Pegman travels to the Florida Keys at the bottom of the United States. Like the other Torch Keys, it was probably named for the native Torchwood tree.

Stroll and around and see if you can find something that interests you. When you’re done, write 150 words and link to the prompt using the frog below. Remember, reading and commenting is part of the fun!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing!

Now, it has been remarked that I like to write travel pieces. And in this case, I find myself doing so again. Couldn’t help it, Pegman was short on views so you are stuck with my picture of 7-mile bridge 😉  And a memory of a couple of trips, too 😉 Sorry (not)!

Pick a Key

“So, take three on going to the Keys?”

“Whaddaya mean, take three?”

“Forgotten 2009, have ya? We were supposed to join my sister and gang in Bahia Honda Key but instead you wound up spending six days in the Celebration Hospital.”

“Um. Yeah. That was an epic fail on my part.”

“At least you did manage two days in Disney.”

“Yeah, that blows that I caused us to miss the rest.”

“But what a story you’ve provided me with!”

“At least in 2013 we made it to Long Key.”

“But getting there we got a flat in Key Largo!”

“That I didn’t even realise was us!”

“I swear, the guys looked like a team from NASCAR!  Zzzip! Zzip! Zzzip!”

“They were mighty impressive, that’s for sure.”

“That time we went down to Key West, too.”

“Yep.”

“And now you want to go to Middle Torch Key? I’ve never even heard of it!”

A quick change of tires on the road in Key Largo

 

A Drive West – What Pegman Saw

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This week Pegman takes us to Manitoba, Canada. Feel free to use the location/picture supplied with the prompt, our take your own tour of Manitoba via Google Maps and find a view to inspire you.

Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the week’s location. You may write poetry, prose, or essay. Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the linkup below. Reading and commenting on others’ stories is part of the fun!

Now, I find this quite humorous that Karen has chosen the whole province of Manitoba over a single region or city. (I tease you, Karen.)  That said, I am totally cheating and using my own photograph, taken in August 1993 when I went on my first honeymoon.  Yes, I had one of those starter marriages that was over before you could say Boo!  That said, we have remained friends and all is well and it was a wonderful trip.

Hurry up! I’m being eaten alive!

A Drive West

“We’re going to drive west, camping along the way till we get to Vancouver, stay a few days and drive back through the States.”

“Exciting honeymoon. Not.”

“Pffft! I drove across with my folks when I was 21.  We have a beautiful country.”

“If you say so.  You should fly over the boring Prairies. There’s nothing to see there!”

“Says you who has never been outside Quebec.”

“I hear–”

“Never mind, you hear. Until you DO, you’ve nothing to say.”

“You know what we should have done? Skip Ontario! Bloody hell. Three days to cross it seeing nothing but trees and rocks!”

“And what is this about the prairies being boring? It’s beautiful here. You can pretend you are in Tuscany with all these beautiful sunflowers!”

“Yeah. That said. In Tuscany, they don’t have skeeters big enough to take you away! What the hell? Are they fertilized to grow so big?”

Which Way to Sturgis? – What Pegman Saw

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There were so many things I was going to write about but hesitated to bring up yet another memory. It came real close, though! Instead, I figured I’d do a little fiction. Of course, no way in hell a biker would ever get lost, right?

This week Pegman takes us to the Black Hills in South Dakota in the West-Midwest, United States. Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the prompt. Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the linkup below. Reading and commenting on others’ work is part of the fun!

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Which Way to Sturgis?

Shit. I am completely lost. I probably should have joined the group in Rapid City. Instead I told them I’d meet them in Sturgis by August 1st so we could all participate in this year’s rally.

For the first time in years I took extra time for my holiday and figured I’d finally take that personal road trip through the Black Hills and see what I’ve been dreaming about. They scoffed at me for wanting to see Mount Rushmore. Too touristy and obvious. Oh, like the whole Sturgis thing isn’t, right? Whatevs, this is my trip and I visited what I wanted to. I wanted to ride through the Badlands and see Crazy Horse Memorial. I even wanted to ride through Custer State Park to see the wild bison.

I did and it was great. No regrets whatsoever. Time to make my way to my buddies.

Which way to Sturgis?

Bhutan Or Bust! – What Pegman Saw

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It’s been forever since I participated in a Pegman! Time is such a fickle thing. Or maybe it’s energy. Because part of the pleasure of doing these Pegman stories is that we (at least I) force ourselves to do some research.  And today, before going out to do nothing by the pool, I figured, why the heck not? Thank you to Karen and Josh for still hosting this wonderful challenge, even if the numbers are not all that high. I hope they pick up and you guys don’t quit just yet!

This week Pegman visits the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, on the Himalayas’ eastern ridge. As always, the Pegman mission is for you to write up to 150 words inspired by the location. Feel free to use the location provided in the prompt, or search Google maps within the borders of the country of Bhutan and find your own view. Contributions can be in the form of poetry, prose, or essay, or any form that inspires you.

Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the linkup below. Reading and commenting on others’ work is part of the fun! Click on the blue frog to add your 150-word story, inspired by this beautiful location

Bhutan or Bust!

“We need to sign up with a registered Bhutanese tour agency beforehand.

“And lots of money. Why don’t we go to go to Indonesia or Thailand or Cambodia? At least there you can do stuff on fifty bucks a day! What the hell kind of place forces you to pay two hundred and fifty dollars per diem or you can’t come even in? It’s ridiculous! And, on top of it, since it’s just the two of us, they are charging us an extra thirty bucks. Per NIGHT!”

“I know. It’s their way of keeping tourism to a minimum. They want to preserve their culture and beautiful nature. They figure if they charge too little, it will open the doors to too many. Honestly, when you realise that everything is included: accommodation, meals, guide, driver, fuel, fees for daily excursions; it’s not that bad.”

“Bhutan or bust! – open our coffers…”

 

 

Just the Bridge Then? – What Pegman Saw

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Given the… uh… excitement… going on in Alabama, it was hard to not do so, but I was damned if I was going to go there.  Had to lighten the mood somewhat.

This week Pegman is in Selma, Alabama in the US. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to write up to 150 words inspired by the location. You’re free to use the photo supplied with the prompt, or take your own tour of Selma via Google Maps. There are both streetview and photospheres at this location.

Once your piece is polished, share it with others at the link up below. Reading and commenting on others’ stories is part of the fun.

Click me to play!

Just the Bridge, Then?

“Was cool to visit New Orleans, wasn’t it? The music, the food. So good. On the drive home, we’re gonna cut across diagonally, driving through Alabama, then Georgia, before heading north.  What’s to see in Alabama?”

“All sorts of civil rights places – kind of ironic. That bridge in Selma. What’s it called?  Oh yeah, Edmund Pettus.”

“Sunday Bloody Sundaaaay!”

“Ha! Funny guy. You know, some of my favourite chick flicks take place in the muds of Alabama.  Let’s go see some of them! ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ – Title says it all, right?”

“Sweet Home Alabama! Girl, I’m coming home to you!  But, no, most of it was filmed in Georgia:  Fayetteville, Crawfordville, Rome.

“Damn. Wait! ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’ is in Alabama except when Idgie saves Ruth from Frank, in Valdosta, Georgia!”

“Nope. Juliette, Georgia.”

“Jeez. I know! ‘My Cousin Vinny’!”

“Monticello—”

“Lemme guess.  Georgia.”

“So, just the bridge, then?”

 

Route Nationale 5 – What Pegman Saw

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This week Pegman takes us to Madagascar., an island country in the Indian Ocean known for harboring cartoon zoo animals. Okay, just kidding. I’ll leave it to you to find the story in Madagascar. You’ve got up to 150 words, be it prose, poetry, essay, or a brand new format invented by you.

Feel free to use the location supplied in the prompt, or chose your own from the limited amount of photospheres and streetview in Madagascar.

Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the linkup below.

Raid RN5 – Off Road – @hiluxdago

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Route Nationale 5

“I’ve decided what our next adventure vacation is going to be.  Madagascar!”

“Land of the lemur, of the best vanilla?  Where my favourite Disney movie takes place?  I’m in!”

“I thought you might.  Now, while we are there, we shall participate in the RN5 Run.  It could take up to two-three days to complete.”

“Da hell is that?”

“It’s a route that you can only take by Four-Wheel Drive.  Only the most courageous take it.  We have to time it because it’s completely impassable in January and February.  The first leg is from Soanierana-Ivongo to Mananara and the second is from Mananara to Maroantsetra.  We’ll see sheer cliffs, deep sand, mud (lots of it), jungle, animals, beaches, palm trees.  We’ll cross rivers with man-made ferries, some using old oil drums—”

“Sounds dangerous and stupid.”

“Yeah. So, you in?”

“Hells yes, I’m in!  As long as after, we take it easy.”