Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road – Elma – In memory of Geri

On The Road – Elma – In memory of Geri

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

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First Timers Week

It’s Day 2  – let’s give a warm welcome to Elma!  We’re still at 6 first timers, so it’s not too late for you to send your photos in and be published next week.  Today’s On the Road is as much about the beauty of friendship as it is about the beauty of the world around us.  ~WaterGirl

Elma

2019 was a bad year for death. One who was lost was my treasured traveling companion Geri. We met on a trip to Rome sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association. My husband did not like to travel and hers was done with long plane flights. So Geri and I ran away together to explore the world. And we saw a lot of it, Russia, China, South Africa, South America, Greece. Our last trip was on the Danube in Eastern Europe. We always booked our next trip while on the current one. When there was no discussion of a next trip while on the Danube, I knew we were done traveling. She was dead in less that 6 month. Here are a few pics from our trips as a little memorial to a very plucky lady.

On The Road - Elma - In memory of Geri 6
St. Petersburg RussiaJune 21, 2012

We were in St. Petersburg for the White Nights. Taken at about 11pm

On The Road - Elma - In memory of Geri 5
Forbidden City Beijing ChinaApril 8, 2014

Protecting the Forbidden City.

On The Road - Elma - In memory of Geri 4
Chobe BotswanaApril 18, 2013

Bathing elephants at the Chobe Reserve in Botswana Africa

On The Road - Elma - In memory of Geri 3
Urubamba PeruJune 25, 2015

Looking down into the Sacred Valley from the road to Machu Picchu.

On The Road - Elma - In memory of Geri 2
Budapest HungaryJuly 22, 2018

The Freedom Bridge in Budapest, from the evening cruise on the Danube.

On The Road - Elma - In memory of Geri 1
One of the Greek IslandsJune 15, 2017

Cats everywhere in Greece

On The Road - Elma - In memory of Geri
RhodesJune 13, 2017

A plucky lady, sorely missed.

Reader Interactions

39Comments

  1. 1.

    Mary G

    Those are beautifully composed, Elma. You and Geri made some wonderful memories together. Thank you for sharing them with us.

  2. 2.

    p.a.

    Wonderful memorial. Thanks, and condolences. I always try to remember what psychologists point out; happiness rests more with experiences, memories, than with material things, ‘stuff’.

  3. 3.

    MagdaInBlack

    How wonderful to have had a friend like that. Thank you for sharing your travels together.

  9. 9.

    Doug

    Nice pictures from amazing trips!

    (That’s the Freedom Bridge in Budapest; the Chain Bridge is just a little bit upstream and has white-ish stone towers.)

  11. 11.

    Gin & Tonic

    Nice photos, thanks. I am lucky in that my favorite traveling companion is the same person who sleeps next to me every night. Several times since the Covid-19 outbreak we’ve commented on how fortunate we have been to have visited many places in the last decade or so – because who knows how international travel will look in the future. Those memories sustain us.

  14. 14.

    Eric NNY

    Thanks Elma.  I’m so glad you found a wonderful traveling companion.  I’m sure she treasured your travels together.

  15. 15.

    Elma

    @Doug: Thank you for the correction.  I did not realize, until I was trying to put this submission together, what a bad record keeper I was with respect to my pictures.  Identifying when, where, and what of some pictures was really a struggle.

  18. 18.

    MelissaM

    Lovely memorial. Having a simpatico travel buddy is special. My mom had her cousin for a bit, they went to Scotland and traveled to family together, but the cousin quickly got unable. And she also had a good friend she went on two trips with, but my mom couldn’t afford the level good friend wanted.

  19. 19.

    arrieve

    What a beautiful tribute to your friend. I’m so sorry for your loss, but how wonderful that you were able to have these experiences together.

    I especially love the picture from Botswana — I was lucky enough to visit Chobe many years ago. Being surrounded by elephants who had never been hunted and had no fear of humans was magical.

  20. 20.

    spudgun

    Thank you for sharing these – they give me the wanderlust something awful…

    I’m so glad you had such amazing adventures with such a great friend – I am sorry for your loss.

  21. 21.

    HinTN

    The photograph from the Forbidden City is stunningly beautiful. I struggle to resolve it into a roof when what I continue to see is a reflection in water.

    I second all other comments, too.

    Thank you for sharing.

  25. 25.

    Auntie Anne

    Your pictures are wonderful – I especially like (and am jealous of ?) the one from the Forbidden City!  A travel buddy is a special friendship . . . I am so sorry for your loss.

  27. 27.

    Kattails

    Thank you for sharing these wonderful memories, what a blessing to have such a traveling companion. Now I need a tissue, must be a lot of pollens out today…

  28. 28.

    RoonieRoo

    This is such a beautiful memorial and photos to a beautiful friendship. Thank you for sharing this with us.

  30. 30.

    Miss Bianca

    Wow. That’s all I got. Thank you for sharing your photos and memories of your friend.

  31. 31.

    WaterGirl

    @scribbler: The date can’t be right on the cat because she submitted this to On the Road on 6/12!

    Unless someone actually got time travel to work, in which case 2020 turns out to have some redeeming value after all!

  32. 32.

    Elma

    @scribbler:  The trip to the Greek Islands was actually 2017. Not sure how the date got messed up. I would love to be there now. Just got a phone call from my sister, another traveling companion, that our transatlantic cruise scheduled for September has been officially canceled. Nothing to look forward to. . .

  36. 36.

    TEL

    What wonderful adventures you and Geri had together, Elma! It’s a beautiful tribute to your friend and friendship.

  38. 38.

    stinger

    Stunning photos of some remarkable places! Thank you for including a picture of Geri. You were a good friend to her, enabling all those adventures in the last several years of her life, as she might not have traveled like that by herself. In her last six months she was sustained by magical memories.

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