I love the word serendipity. First I think it’s a fun word to say. More importantly is its meaning. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it means: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. In other words finding unexpected good things. When that happens while traveling, it just makes the travel experience that much better. It can also offer moments of greater understanding or clarity about another culture or country. In this post I’d like to share some of the moments of serendipity I have experienced during my travel experiences.
A number of years ago we made it a point to travel during my spring break from school. Our children were finally on their own, and so we started exploring parts of the United States we had not visited before. At my school, spring break was always the week following Easter Sunday so for many years we were in different locations for Easter each year. This allowed us to attend Easter services in different parts of the country. However one Easter our experience went beyond just the church service.
We were exploring the southern Atlantic coast starting in Florida. We had spent Saturday night in St. Augustine. The following morning we attended Easter service in an old Presbyterian church where some of the pews actually had gates on them. However, we had more unexpected things to experience. As we were wandering around town later, we saw a group of people wearing wild and crazy Easter bonnets. Both men and women had on these colorful hats. Well this was something we had never seen in our part of the country.
A little bit later we chanced on the town’s Easter parade. This was definitely a unique experience for us. It was fun to watch the Easter parade go by and see the various Easter costumes including the Easter bonnets on the horses. There were a variety of interests represented. However, I think the most fun part was the Star Wars Stormtrooper with his bunny ears. All around it was a very unexpected but fun experience and made for a memorable moment, our Easter Serendipity.
We saw a parade of a different sort in Dublin, Ireland. We were exploring the city and had stopped to rest at a local Starbucks. As we were sitting there, we noticed a parade seemed to be going by. On this occasion it was not a particularly happy moment as it was a funeral parade for someone who was well known in one of the local political parties. It was fascinating to watch the parade of people with their music and various uniforms walking together. There was also a horse drawn cart carrying the coffin of the deceased. While this was not a moment of great joy for the people, it was an unexpected opportunity for us to observe the tradition of an Irish funeral.
Sometimes moments of serendipity are not big moments, but can be little moments that make us take notice. My wife is from Brazil. One of the things that can interest her is to see the Brazilian flag pop up in unexpected places. Such was the case when we visited Harvard University in Boston. As we were walking through the campus, we saw the Brazilian flag flying next to the American flag. It was quite unexpected. Apparently there was something connected to Brazil that was going on at the campus, but it was totally a serendipitous moment walking through that very historic, American academic institution.
New England offered another great moment of serendipity. It was in July 2013, and we were traveling through a number of New England states. During this time in our lives, antiques were pretty popular, and there were some antique shows we would watch on TV. One of the antique events that the experts would often refer to was the Brimfield Antique Show, supposedly the largest outdoor antique show in the US. I figured it was something we would never experience.
We were shopping in one of the towns in New England, and I happened to pick up an antique guide thinking I would see what antique stores were in the area. Much to my surprise I saw an ad for the Brimfield Antique Show. As I looked at it more closely, I noted that we would be going right by Brimfield on our way back to Boston the very weekend of the show. We made a few last minute changes to our plans and ended up in Brimfield.
It was a hot summer day when we toured the show, but it was certainly as large as advertised. In fact we didn’t cover the whole place as we were hot and thirsty, but it was definitely a fun and unexpected activity. We saw so many unique objects for sale. It was unplanned, but one of the most memorable parts of that particular trip.
While my wife and I aren’t strong sports fans, there have been a few instances where sports have provided moments of serendipity on our travels. The first time was in Spain in 2010. That particular year Spain had won the World Cup in soccer just before we arrived. It was, of course, big news. Since we were there, I thought it would be fun to buy a t-shirt celebrating the win. The interesting thing was the t-shirts were all alike. There was not really any variety of styles. The other challenge was finding one that would fit. Apparently most Spanish men are smaller than me. I finally bought the largest one I could find, but it was still on the tight side, and I didn’t wear it much. Fortunately I have lost some weight since then so now I can wear it to celebrate my moment of Spanish serendipity.
The other sports moment I described in an earlier blog post regarding Australia. In this particular case I realized before we had arrived in Melbourne that Australia’s annual Footy Festival (the finals for Australian football) would be during our stay in Melbourne. I was not aware of this when we scheduled our trip. When I discovered this, it was definitely a moment of serendipity. While we didn’t go to the game, we did go to the pregame rally the day before. We watched the parade of the players coming through and explored the various booths and activities surrounding the event. Again it gave us some insight into the Australian culture. I still can’t really tell you how to play Australian football, but I do have the t-shirt that shows I was there.
One final moment of serendipity I’ll note occurred just last year when we traveled around the Olympic Peninsula. On our last night we stayed at Pacific Beach. I went out alone to take some sunset pictures on the beach which seemed strangely busy. Surprised, I decided to wander in the direction where all the people were. I discovered they were out digging clams. The state only allows a few times each year when people can dig for clams, and I just happened to stumble upon one of those times. It was a lot of fun taking photos of the people with the sunset colors and seeing something I had never seen before.
These are just a few of the more memorable moments of serendipity we have experienced while traveling. Having a schedule and sticking to it can make traveling more predictable, but it’s often the unexpected experiences, the unplanned moments that can make a trip memorable. Have you had any moments of serendipity as you have traveled. I’d love to hear about your unexpected, memorable moments. Feel free to share them in the comment section below.