The Other Way
by Malc
My wife and I have been on lots of coach trips - mostly days out, but not all. We have seen New England in the fall, most of Europe and the Southern States of the USA including Greenbow ALABAMA! (watch Forrest Gump in order to understand that one.)
And on every single trip, we have employed the same tactic when arriving at the destination. The coach pulls into the car park as the driver explains the stuff we can go and see, the same stuff he has taken every coach party to every time he has done that trip - the same stuff that every tourist sees. It’s well-rehearsed, it’s ready...and it’s boring. So the tactic is to wait for most of the bus to disembark, watch them being herded along to the pre-planned place-to-see, and then we get off - and go the other way. They go left - we go right. That kind of thing.
It’s not that we are anti-social. Quite the opposite. We love chatting with people on the bus and we have no problem at all making new friends. But the ‘other way’ is the way where adventure lies!
In theory, it could go horribly wrong. But it hasn’t happened yet. You see, in most, if not all cases, the tour company has planned the trip so that the customer is directed to places where there is money to be spent and money to be made. And that’s OK - it’s business. But it leaves little room for adventure.
One time we went on a four-day trip to Cornwall. On one of the days out from our hotel, we went to a lovely little village that comprised of a village green around which was a pub, a church, a little shop, and a large tourist-ready café with a garden full of chairs ready for those weary tourists. Nice, but as we climbed the hill into the village we had also spotted a little café with a garden facing the village green. So when the coach party came out of the car park and turned right - we turned left. I am sure they all had a nice time in the café. We had a fabulous time in our own (almost private) little garden, which was so quiet we could hear sheep bleating in the nearby fields. And, with fewer customers, we were given such wonderful and personal service. We could have stayed there all day. But when the coach party climbed back onto the coach we had to as well (or walk back.)
During our tour of the southern states of the USA, we were subjected to way too many visits to casinos. Unsurprisingly we almost always stopped for our lunch where the ‘best place to eat’ was conveniently the restaurant in the casino. Visiting a casino once was an adventure in itself but not every day ...please!!
So on this day, we went on a day out to see a paddle steamer on the Mississippi. Oh, and it has a great restaurant (and a casino….) Ugh!
But as ever, we had our eyes peeled as we approached the place we would stop. We came down a steep hill in the town down to the river edge to the paddle steamer. And on the way down we spotted a sign pointing to the ‘Pig-out.’
“Let’s go take a look at that,” I suggested. So we went left when they all went right. Now, I admit, it was a bit of a trek back up the hill to where we saw the sign, but boy was it worth it! The pig-out was no tourist spot. Local people had food there. Very basic and non-tourist food. Very rough wooden platters filled with beautifully cooked pork, great big chunks of freshly baked bread just dripping with butter, and big ol’ jugs of cold beer. And cheap. Pig-out it was and pig-out we did. There is nothing like mixing with the locals to really get a flavour for the place. It was fantastic, and when we made our way back to the coach (happily downhill all the way) we were met with “Hey, where did you two get to?”
“Oh, just for a spot of lunch.” We replied.
And speaking of Forrest Gump, as we did in the intro, we actually found a restaurant on one of our little adventures named ‘Bubba-Gump’ - just like in the movie. Once again - no tourists - just us and the locals.
Can’t recall if we had any shrimps……
I am reminded of the scripture which speaks of something far more important than food. It speaks of life. And when it comes to moving with the crowd or the other way it says:
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
If you are not sure that you are going the right way - if you are not absolutely certain you have a home prepared in heaven, you can be.