Despite having family and friends, many people choose to travel alone. I am one of them, mostly. Professor Constanza Bianchi, from Queensland University Business School in Australia studied the matter. She reported that when solo travelers leave home they are choosing “freedom, uncompromised fun and meeting new people” over the companionship of a friend or spouse. I have just returned from a trip to Austin, Texas with a friend to see a friend. My travel companion Joan and I have been friends since childhood. We met Susanne while in college. She lived in the Chicago area, but now lives 30 miles south of Austin with her husband, Randy. They have been Texans for only a few months. Joan and I promised to visit when they got settled. Due to time constraints we didn’t take the train. Before leaving I ruminated about why I like solo travel. I questioned how the Austin trip would go and how it might be different if I traveled solo.
The difference started at the airport security line. I have TSA PreCheck, meaning I can go in the shorter line and don’t have to remove my shoes. Joan has no such clearance. We marched to the longer line and waited as people moved slowly towards the security scanners. Joan is not the most agile person. She clumsily removed her laced shoes while balancing her bags that began leaking a make-up compact, keys and a few coins. She failed to mention her metal knee replacement to the security officer. She got pulled out of the line and waited to stand spread eagle while a female attendant searched her body head to toe. She was giggling during the body search and mouthed to me, “Take a picture.” I didn’t take a picture.
“They don’t like people taking photos,” I told her. “They have authority to detain us for whatever reason.” I viewed her actions as folly to keep any frustration at bay.
Traveling in a motor coach
Where have you been? That’s the first thing I want to know when I meet people. What were the moments you most remember while traveling? How did travel change you? However, I live in a part of the world where most social encounters begin with a person’s name, their occupation and place of residence. It’s awkward to fit my travel questions in. People are suspect. Why do I want to know this? These people have retained some semblance of a private life. People are hesitant. They’ve been bored listening to other people tell their travel stories. They don’t want to be boring. People are hurried. They don’t have time for something that requires them to pause and reflect. I understand, but still I want to know.
“It is better to travel well than to arrive” – Buddha
It was 6:45am when Susan McConnell and I stood on the corner of Haegers Bend Road and Lake Cook Road in Barrington Hills, Illinois. Sprinkles of sunlight hit the pavement. The air was cool and pleasant. The sky spread its blue hue for as far as we could see. It was a good day for a walk. Sometimes travel doesn’t need to include flights, trains or cars, nor exotic places and people. The walking journey, or spaziergang as the Germans call it, is a chance to slow down, observe, and refresh one’s outlook. As residents of Barrington, Illinois Susan and I had driven down Lake Cook Road thousands of times. Yet we had never walked its length and knew of no one who had. After traveling across the world this past year, I longed to explore my own backyard. 
I must see the total eclipse. “It’s life changing,” he said. “Everything you thought you knew is put into question.” Okay, he had been drinking when he said that but he is not one to sensationalize.
My 21-year old son Henry and I are ready to board the 10:10 a.m. daily Thirukkural Express at the Agra Cantt rail station heading for Jhansi. The train ride is nearly the same distance as Amtrak’s Downeaster that runs from Boston to Brunswick, Maine in the U.S.A. The timetables are comparable at about 3.5 hours.
Washington’s Union Station is across the street from the Capitol Building and the National Mall. You won’t need any transportation to get where you want to be. Signs will direct you to the event. There are still some 
If you want to avoid or join the planned demonstrations, marches and protests here is the