TDG #028: A Welcome End to Summer
Creative ruts, lamenting Summer, and annoying American tourists.
I had big plans. Once the wheels touched down in the U.S., I would be a content machine. I would sit down and start chipping away through the copious amounts of thoughts, notes, scribblings, photos, and videos collected over the past 58 weeks. Instead, this is an accurate depiction of my life choices:
I’ve struggled to assemble a coherent string of at least 500 words in the last few weeks. It feels like some post-trip hangover that I’m slowly recovering from. But one of the best decisions Steph and I made was to pre-order a ton of wine using discounts from wine.com before we got back, so we didn’t have to deal with the sticker shock of wine prices in the U.S. (at least for now). Great for us, but not so great for Steph’s parents, who had to deal with 34 bottles of wine being delivered across a few weeks. Oops.
On the bright side, Summer is winding down. One of my unchangeable opinions is that Summer is by far the worst season. The last time summer was truly enjoyable was between high school and college. Otherwise, it’s just hot. Everyone is too happy, but like, in a fake happy kind of way. And my extremely pale skin starts to sparkle with too much sun exposure. Give me some damp, rainy weather any damn day.
It’s been especially hot here in California, where I’ve been spending the last few weeks with family and friends before migrating up to Portland and, subsequently, Seattle. But fortunately, we’ve been spending a good chunk of the Summer at Steph’s family cabin on a lake in the Sierra Nevadas, which has been markedly cooler (and thunderstorm-y) than everywhere else in the state.
The Cabin. It’s an incredibly special place. Her family has been going there since the 70s (!!), so it’s chalked full of memories, history, and beauty. If you were to imagine a family cabin, this would probably be it - old photo albums, height etchings on the door frame, some old antlers in the rafters, a wood-burning stove - you get the idea. During the warmer months, various family and friends pop in and out and back in again. There’s always someone cooking, drinks being poured, or laughter being had.
Special.
But while I’ve been spending time in the mountains, it feels like the rest of the country has been taking their summer holiday over in Europe. By the sound of it, the usual suspects of Italy and France have been getting most of the attention. And apparently, the American tourists have been particularly obnoxious this time around - see example one and example two.
Look, I get it. This is the first Summer we’ve been let outside since nature put us all in one big collective time out. And now TikTok has made everyone an influencer, so it’s only natural things were going to get out of hand.
But the one that struck a nerve with me was this one.
Do you know the amount of times I’ve heard someone say Paris is overrated? Being disappointed by Paris is hardly a new concept. So maybe this is all just satire and lost on me? But I don’t think so. And neither does Joris, who provides a very eloquent retort to the TikTok offender.
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Every time I hear something like “X place is overrated,” I twitch a bit. It implies some arbitrary global hierarchy or checklist. And, of course, editors and influencers are happy to reinforce this idea with the likes of “50 best places to visit in 2023” or “5 things you must see in Paris” so you can ensure you have the perfectly optimized experience.
Here’s the thing - cities cannot be overrated or underrated. Of course, we all have our preferences, and a particular place might not reverberate with you at that time. But cities are complicated. They have problems. They’re constantly evolving, molting an old identity and growing into something new. Sometimes, that process takes years, and it’s not always pretty.
But more importantly, people live there. They go to work. They love. They go to the grocery store. They go on dates. They get married. They have kids. They struggle. They thrive. They call it home. These are living, breathing organisms that don’t need our validation.
And let's be real if you can't find something that you like about Paris, or any city of that magnitude, it's on you.
A few months ago, I was on a grueling hike to the top of Acatenango, an active volcano in Guatemala. The hike starts at ~7,000 feet, and you trek up to ~13,000 feet across about 5 miles of loose, slippery volcanic gravel. There were 30 or so of us on the tour, all simultaneously starting to regret every decision that led us to that point.
On such a hike, the only thing you can do is make friends and try to distract yourself from every brutal step. So I found a lovely British couple on a few-month holiday through Central America (it’s always sobering to realize just how much vacation other countries get). During our conversation, it came up that the woman, Rosie, had made a conscious choice not to look at any social media about Acatenango (or Guatemala in general) before going there - she wanted to be completely free from expectations.
How profound! Let’s face it, in 2023, most people get their travel inspiration from social media. The algorithms know where you want to go before you do. So once you even think about going somewhere, the algorithm gods will start serving you that sweet, sweet content.
But do we lose something when we consume so much of it? Do we lose the anticipation, the imagination of what might be? I think we might. Or maybe worse, we start developing weird expectations that can never really be fulfilled. Perhaps it’s similar to how the false sense of abundance in dating apps has made us more anxious and less happy.
So, for the traveler, maybe the antidote to all of this is to be like my friend, put down the phone, stop scrolling, and touch grass again. Relieve yourself of any expectations. Be empathetic. Embrace the places as they are, not how they should be.
Maybe I’m overreacting. Perhaps it’s all fine, and we can chalk it up to some water cooler/barbershop banter that provides some sort of broad cultural discourse.
But it’s still Summer, and I get cranky when I’m hot.
Summer Culinary Recap
What I’ve been drinking: Summer at The Cabin is a place for no-fuss drinking. Some gin, a little soda, a healthy squeeze of lime, and whatever fresh (or frozen) summer berries you can find. Muddle it all together and enjoy.
What I’ve been cooking: There’s a rotating menu where everyone pitches in at The Cabin, and my go-to contribution is shakshuka. That said, a little experimentation up there is pretty fun, and occasionally some dishes will make it into the permanent rotation. Like homemade crunch wraps - yeah, you absolutely need those in your life. Comment below, and I’ll give you the recipe.
Some Other Stuff to Read
What in the actual hell is going on in the PNW
A LOT is going on in Ecuador, both good and not-so-good. It should be pointed out that I was in Ecuador for six weeks between June and July. I never felt unsafe or threatened at any point during my time there. I only met kind, caring people who have just as much heart as anywhere else I’ve been. It’s an incredible country with so much to offer the world. So don’t take some of these recent headlines as representative of Ecuador.
Tiny Forests with Big Benefits
A cool story about the few remaining internet cafes
A study of the ticket price differences between planes vs. trains in Europe
Last thing. I’ve recently picked up a pair of these for camping and cabin-related endeavors. They’re comfortable, convenient, and just as practical as I expected. But I’ve found myself wearing them a little too much lately, forcing the uncomfortable question of “Am I a slip-on shoe kind of guy now?” Yikes.
See you next week.
-SR
My husband has those shoes! He Ioves them and since I love him, I mostly keep my comments to myself. My daughters find them extremely cringey.
I totally understand the "this place is overrated bit." But I think a lot of that stems from our preconceived notions of what the place will be like, or what experiences we will have when we get there.
I think the best way to really enjoy a new place is just to live and let live. You will probably have more genuine and beautiful experiences this way.