Get Out of Town by Catharine Bramkamp

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp as she shares with us “Get Out of Town.” Enjoy!

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“To be a traveler — and novelists are often travelers — is to be constantly reminded of the simultaneity of what is going on in the world, your world and the very different world you have visited and from which you have returned home.” —  Susan Sontag, Writer.

Art can inform your travel. 

And travel will inspire your art.

I have many ready excuses to travel, but wow, traveling for art is bulletproof.

Since I had children early, I missed out on traveling through Bhutan with little more than a backpack and a good attitude.

I forgot to learn to water ski, or even snow ski.

Early adulthood seemed to circle around hard choices and missed good times.

It seemed a zero-sum game. 

And maybe that’s how you feel, but there are options for us to travel, even if it’s just a walk down the street.

Rethinking What Counts as an Adventure

Approach life as an adventure.

Often, we believe that the only adventure, or even vacation, must include flights to exotic islands, umbrella drinks, sand.

Or to be considered a worthy adventure, you must spend a week in a Mongolian yurt, or hike the whole of the Pacific Coast Trail.

For years, I lived with that assumption, and cocktail one-upmanship doesn’t help.

When a friend regales you with stories of her six-month stint in Antarctica, you may feel embarrassed that all you did last year was travel back and forth to Home Depot.

First, Antarctica may not be for you as you like the beach.

And second, Home Depot can be a creative and artistic experience.

Finding Inspiration in Everyday Places

Just as we photograph all the major sites in any city, because that is the point.

A place like Home Depot can be like a foreign country (for many of us, it’s just as confusing as a modern art museum).

Treat it as such.

Photograph the odd equipment or tools and use them later in a digital collage or as an inspiration for a poem or short story.

People watch.  

Wander into the garden department and photograph the flowers in a way that makes it look like you visited an odd garden.

Approach where you are as if you’ve never been.

Making Travel a Creative Experience

And if you do get a chance to board a plane, how can you maximize your trip and make sure it’s a creative, enriching experience?

Because if you are a creative person, just ticking off popular sites will be oddly disappointing.

When you take your popular site photo — the sunset, the cathedral, the famous street.

Turn around and photograph what’s behind you.

I learned to do this in Giza; I dutifully photographed the Great Sphinx, then turned around and photographed the KFC yards away.

When you land in a new town, look up art opportunities.

Is there a concert, play, or local film festival you can attend?

I know you can do this at home, but you don’t.

Going out at night is a big deal; it’s a school night, you are too tired, and parking is a hassle.

But an overnight in a new town means you have nothing to do in the evening, and you have more time to manage all the above plans as part of the adventure.

Buy tickets to the weird comedy show during Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival.

Slide into the back section of the theater for the local high school presentation of Our Town.

Walk into the local history museum.

Visit the street fair. 

Travel is discovery.

And those offbeat, off-track moments will become more memorable than a photograph of the Eiffel Tower.

Exploring Museums on Your Own Terms

You may be traveling with a tour company, which is very helpful in that all the big must-sees will be covered.

But you don’t need to love everything. 

On a tour through Spain, the group was discharged from the bus (I was traveling with my mother) at the entrance to the Prado.

Must see.

All of it. 

You have three hours.

It only took about fifteen minutes to slake any thirst I had for Goya or El Greco.

I plopped down at the museum cafe, and people watched, eavesdropped, and journaled.

When I met back up with the group at the appointed time, I could honestly say I enjoyed a lovely afternoon.

Pro-hack: when you are confronted by a new museum, visit the gift store first.

Count how many scarves, umbrellas, pencils, and earrings are decorated with a Klimt, a Van Gogh, or a Monet.

What are the most popular selling items? 

Socks decorated with the Rosetta Stone?

Pencils wrapped with Starry Night?

A full set of the Lewis Chess pieces?

What item is worthy of a reproduction key ring?

Now, you’re armed.

Get the museum map, find the art that inspired the mugs and the T-shirts.

Photograph them.

Now, you can nod and tell friends you did see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace (the hits at the Louvre).

They will either stop asking what you saw, or they will come up with an obscure item (the Egyptian wing, a copy of the Rosetta Stone the French were allowed to bring home, or another Da Vinci she thinks is better than the Mona Lisa).

It’s a never-ending game; do your best.

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

If you can’t travel far, what local site have you always wanted to visit, but career and obligations have always blocked the way?

Be a tourist in your own town. 

Eat at the cafe you’ve passed by a hundred times.

Attend a dance concert.

Scroll through the Chamber of Commerce site for local events.

Professionally produced concerts and performances are inspirational, but amateur performances will give you hope.

If those talented locals can perform, so can you.

Plus, there is nothing better than the exuberance and joy in an amateur performance, particularly if the event is just covering expenses.

Because it’s not about raising money; it’s about sharing art with others.

I know it’s easier to mow the lawn, rearrange the spice rack, watch videos, or rabbit hole down Instagram or YouTube, but those activities are like drinking water out of your hands.

After a couple hours, you will still be parched.

But a picnic in the park during the afternoon pop’s concert?

That will quench your thirst.

Drag your sorry ass to something new. 

Big, small, doesn’t really matter, but it will be more satisfying than just another visit to a medical specialist.

And you can say when someone asks how are you?

I’m great, just attended the High School Marching Band practice.

I think I’ll sign up for flute lessons.

Want to join me?

Learn More

Look for my new book  — Take Up Space — Art is Your Second Act.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catharine Bramkamp is a successful writing coach, Chief Storytelling Officer, former co-producer of Newbie Writers Podcast, and author of a dozen books including the Real Estate Diva Mysteries series, and The Future Girls series. She holds two degrees in English and is an adjunct university professor. After fracturing her wrist, she has figured out there is very little she is able to do with one hand tied behind her back. She delights in inspiring her readers.