Southern Comfort

We've been enjoying southern hospitality over the past week in Greenville and Clemson, home of the champion Clemson Tigers football team. This experience mirrors the welcome I enjoyed as an exchange student in a town where everyone owns something orange.

Ian and David

In Greenville, it was great to catch up with our friend Ian and his wife Lindsey.

We soaked up the foodie experience, enjoyed the BMWs, and walked around the revitalised centre of town.

We tested out the lattes at Due South, a place hidden in the old printing district and discovered the coffee highlight of our trip so far. Congrats Due South!

Testing out the i8

Next time we have some spare cash we'll wish we were in Greenville where BMWs are churned out at an astounding 1450 per day. Perhaps they do mail order??

Clemson Tiger and Chris

In Clemson we stayed with my schoolfriend Chris, caught up with a 'herd of Tims' as well as Patrick, Steve and various family members. Remarkable after so many decades...they haven't changed a bit!

Apart from checking out the changes around town and around campus, we picked blueberries, walked to a waterfall and enjoyed a visit to the new DW Daniel High.

Carolyn and Chris

On that note, I'd like to also thank Carolyn Culhane and her family for hospitality last week, rounding out the Clemson retro experience.

Time Travel

What if you lived your life backwards? You would be able to grasp the end of that piece of string and follow it to those inconsequential things that were actually setting the foundation for something amazing later.

In the last few days the beginnings of a string that commenced in 1988, and which has been winding along through Australia, Uganda, Canada and a dozen other places, finally wrapped itself around a group of us who had, perhaps, never thought to meet face to face again.

Reunion in Toronto

So when 'global community' is mentioned, think not only of the technology that facilitates modern travel and communication, but also of the strands that bind us, and join our common humanity across race, gender, language and citizenship. Deep down we all know this is more important.

Fred-heads

It all began on a freezing day in Canberra when Fred Eaglesmith, who had been keeping us company on road trips for years, 'popped in' to say hello.

On this occasion he wasn't singing about big trains, big cars, big hair or other big catastrophes. He was selling tickets for his show at King Eddy's in Calgary and we decided to skip the long distance conversation for a chance to hear him in person.

In Calgary they only let you into the venues if you're wearing a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and a western shirt, or are accompanied by a responsible adult.

Under adult supervision at King Eddy's

Luckily for us, fellow 'Fred-head,' Jackie and her friends were happy to escort us to a front row seat and provide the adult guidance necessary for this type of show.

Those familiar with Fred will appreciate his straight-talking as well as his music. Those with man-buns probably won't. Fred was unable to identify any of these trouble makers in the crowd, so the night progressed as expected.

We kicked back with a few locals, a few laughs, a few tips from Jackie and her like-minded friends, and a few local beverages.


In keeping with his rock star status, Fred was happy to pose for autographs and photos. We were lucky to get away with a T-shirt.

Rock star and groupie

If you've never heard the word 'Fred-head' before you'll be pleased to know we are waking up with one this morning!

Hope and Dreams

The Maple Mobile is on the road! We were dreaming of a VW Combie but settled for a RAV4 that will take us across the continent over the next few weeks on our quest for maples and a drinkable coffee.

In our dreams

Windscreen full of Hope

While we already had the dream sorted, we knew we were heading in the right direction when we saw this hopeful sign. The auguries amongst you will be as happy as we were!

British Columbia is in a heatwave that had us enjoying the cooler mountain drive from Vancouver to Kelowna through spectacular scenery with 'Beware of Avalanche' signs. Why Kelowna? Not only is it one of Canada's premier wine districts, it is also home to our friends Rick, Flo and Alana who have generously agreed to host us for a couple of nights.

David explains to Rick how the Maple Mobile made it this far

Naturally, Maple has some tips about staying cool (and being cool) on road trips.

Tip 1: Head for the cool places such as Coquihalla Summit 1244m and a refreshing 18C with splendid views.
Tip 2: Drink plenty of cool liquids like those on offer at the Mission Hill Winery tasting session. It was air-conditioned - the room, not the wine.
Tip 3: Hang out with cool people (see Tip 2).

Our favourite sign for the day was to the 'Bridal Veil Falls Tourist Attraction' - we bet it is!

And just to 'round out' this post, we'd like to make a special mention of:

• The homemade (vegan) vegetable samosas at the Merritt Visitors Centre Snack Shack
• Flo's Asian Buffet that continued the home cooked theme
• Flo's authentic Canadian Pancake and Maple syrup - just the one but it could easily feed a family of six for a fortnight.

Time for a short hibernation until dinner....

Baggage Check

I was standing next to a baggage trolley at the airport when the person next to me asked where my baggage was.

"I left it behind," I told them.

Before I could even whistle Dixie, they were pointing out the customer service desk and trying to take my photo for their social media feed.

"The thing is," I said, "you don't need to bring your social baggage with you."

The lists, the timesheets, the twenty requests from the kids and their tennis coach, the password for your cat's Instagram account, can all be left at home.

Surely the point of travelling is to find new things along the way? Where would these go if you were already overloaded?

Standing Out

Have you ever noticed that most travel luggage is black? Not only that, each piece is a regulation size, comes with an airline luggage tag and, if you're lucky, a priority sticker.

There are other similarities too. The owners have been programmed to wait by the luggage carousel until the last piece has been thrown onto the circulating belt. This ensures that they don't take luggage belonging to one of the others. No wonder they all have hangdog faces.

Advice for travellers these days is to tie a ribbon on the luggage handle. You could also put a sticker on the side, or stencil on your initials (think recycling bin and you'll be fine).

Some travellers opt for a decorative cover. Others decide a bold colour is best.

Whatever you choose, the key thing is to stand out from the crowd!

Maple Dixie's Packing Tips

Whenever I'm going on a big adventure, I make sure I take the essentials with me.

If it's been so long since you ventured out that your suitcases are the kind that will bump against your leg and rip your stockings, go get yourself one on wheels. You can pull it along while talking on your phone or drinking that last latte before the flight.

Some people pack dresses and matching shoes. Others like to have a separate make-up case. You can try that if you want to. I don't usually bother.

Whatever luggage you have, here are my top packing tips:

1) Pack your curiosity - but don't fold it up too tight. You'll need it most days.

2) Dust off your sense of humour and tuck it into your hand luggage. You don't want to be looking for it when the unexpected happens. Who knows, you might even need it as you disembark.

3) Roll a little courtesy up with your clothes and remember to put some on every day. It's a small thing, but it can go a long way!

Hi, I'm Maple Dixie. I'll be reporting on the extraordinary, the imaginative and the homespun as I take a road trip across Canada and the Good Ol' US of A.

If you have a question, leave it in the comments and I'll answer it in a subsequent post. So start packing and come along for the ride.