Drive-by-pick up
Next on the agenda was Orland, an island off the east coast of Sweden. This would be my third trip to Orland, the adventures there started thirty years ago when my great friends Lena and Joakim invited me to one of their family’s summer homes. To get to Orland is easy, a scenic bus ride from any major point will drop you off at various points on the island. I was fully prepared to use public transportation but my other great friends, Anna and Matts, had other plans; they told me that they would pick me up and we would go together to Orland – they would do a drive-by. This was no ordinary drive-by, this was one for the ages, it was heroic. Anna, Matts and their son Jakob, began in Stockholm – they swung by Ystad 390 miles and seven hours later to pick me up from Catarina’s, then we drove 180 miles and arrived four hours later in Orland. They did this all in one day! We arrived in Orland and were welcomed to a beautiful evening with drinks and dinner outside. My traveling companions spent the night and then got back in the car to drive 270 miles, a mere five hours, back to Stockholm. Unreal. I stayed in Orland for a week, details to follow, and then I took a bus to Stockholm to hang with my favorite road trippers, details to follow, but I am still in awe of their efforts and their unending hospitality….well, that goes for every person on my epic summer adventure. I am still in awe.
Next on the agenda was Orland, an island off the east coast of Sweden. This would be my third trip to Orland, the adventures there started thirty years ago when my great friends Lena and Joakim invited me to one of their family’s summer homes. To get to Orland is easy, a scenic bus ride from any major point will drop you off at various points on the island. I was fully prepared to use public transportation but my other great friends, Anna and Matts, had other plans; they told me that they would pick me up and we would go together to Orland – they would do a drive-by. This was no ordinary drive-by, this was one for the ages, it was heroic. Anna, Matts and their son Jakob, began in Stockholm – they swung by Ystad 390 miles and seven hours later to pick me up from Catarina’s, then we drove 180 miles and arrived four hours later in Orland. They did this all in one day! We arrived in Orland and were welcomed to a beautiful evening with drinks and dinner outside. My traveling companions spent the night and then got back in the car to drive 270 miles, a mere five hours, back to Stockholm. Unreal. I stayed in Orland for a week, details to follow, and then I took a bus to Stockholm to hang with my favorite road trippers, details to follow, but I am still in awe of their efforts and their unending hospitality….well, that goes for every person on my epic summer adventure. I am still in awe.
