About this item
Highlights
- In Geography of Hearts, Jim Crawford records his observations and experiences as he and new wife, Cathy, trek across the U.S. on bicycles, camping gear and supplies packed in panniers.
- Author(s): Jim Crawford
- 304 Pages
- Travel, Special Interest
Description
Book Synopsis
In Geography of Hearts, Jim Crawford records his observations and experiences as he and new wife, Cathy, trek across the U.S. on bicycles, camping gear and supplies packed in panniers. The mission of their 1996 honeymoon excursion is to travel at a leisurely pace, allowing the wonder of this country to authentically reveal itself.
Fast-forward twenty-six years. Jim and Cathy retrace their route in a 2014 Prius, accompanied by their 12-year-old Airedoodle, Jetta. This time, Jim journals on his reflections and comparisons between the two trips.
While revealing the vast countryside and introducing the reader to people they meet along the way, Geography of Hearts is more than a narrative about bicycling. It captures a spiritual essence of acknowledging and succumbing to the beauty of each day's here-and-now. It speaks to a couple's love of life, each other, and the country they encounter. It is their snapshot of America, as they mark milestones, joy, conflicts, and epiphanies along their journey.
Review Quotes
"The why of our travel is curiosity, to experience new places, new people. It is not based on the physical, in fact physical holds only a minor part in this play. This travel is the geography of hearts, the vital center and source of our beings, emotions, and sensibilities."
"I contemplated the future and regarded the past. It amazed me how 26 years had flown by. But how much had changed, really? How much had stayed the same? 'Never go back, ' my grandmother tearfully told me a long time ago. Her comment was upon visiting the home where she had grown up, a place she had known intimately. Our going back, our retrace, would be to places we had glimpsed for mere moments, rarely more
than a few hours, but places that touched our hearts. I wondered if we would feel the same way."