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Saturday Snapshot--March 26, 2011

This meme is hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books

To participate in Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken. Photos can be old or new, and can be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. All Alyce asks is that you don't post random photos that you find online.

You're going to have to stick with me on this one (tons of segues). My dad has been in Venezuela for 2 weeks on a birding trip and comes home later today so I've been thinking about him and birding. That made me remember that when my family spent three months traveling through Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur (yes, an awesome trip) my parents did a lot of birding. Not to be left out, my brother and I did "fake birding": we made bird books filled with fake birds that we pretended we saw. The book was full of statistics, drawings, and maps just like a real bird book.

So, this is my brother and I in 1978 in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya. Notice the binoculars (all the better for seeing fake birds with) and the all-too-groovy Chairman Mao hats.

14 comments

Unknown said...

What a fantastic trip ypur family took! It's probably one of those things you appreciate more now than you did then. I remember a family trip to Ireland which I wish I could repeat today!

Love the fake bird and bird books you and your brother created. Great sense of humor.

This is a great photo, you two leaning on the car and all! Thanks for sharing.

Carol said...

Great Pic!
I love the idea of making a book of fake birds. Great imagination.

carol

Lee said...

Do you still have those bird books? Great story & photo.

Trish said...

What an amazing experience! I imagine there were a lot of exotic birds to see in those parts of the world. (even the 'fake' ones - haha)

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Wow, what fun! And it must be such a thrill to have the photos to remember the trip.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Alyce said...

That is hilarious - I love it! You guys were so creative, and it sounds like you had a wonderful time. I'm glad you mentioned the hair because I was thinking that you and he looked astonishingly alike, especially in hairdos! :)

Helen's Book Blog said...

Amy--The trip was amazing. My dad is a professor and got a Guggenheim so we traveled for 3 months. This shot was taken on the only day we did an official "safari". The other days we drove ourselves around the game reserves.

Dizzy--Our teddy bears also had passports where we copied our international stamps

Lee--Sadly, we do not have the books anymore. That would be awesome.

Trish--The (real) birds were amazing as was the wildlife!

Laurel-Rain--The photos from the trip are fun and funny given the era

Alyce--I must say that I had a short hair cut that year (7th grade) and was mistaken for a boy on most of our trip

Leslie (Under My Apple Tree) said...

I absolutely love this! And the fake birding too! I do real birding but rarely get beyond my local area. Someday I will go on a real birding trip to an exotic place.

Angie said...

Wow! I could only dream of taking a trip like that! My dad does not like to travel and neither does my husband! Guess I'll never see the world :(

Helen's Book Blog said...

Leslie--My parents are avid birders, doing the Christmas Count, birding in whatever country they are in, etc. I wish I was in to it; it gives them real purpose on their vacations

Angie--It sounds like you need to find a good girl friend and plan a trip!

Marie said...

I love looking back on old photos taken on family trips. Nothing as exotic as Kenya in my past, though.

Fake birds...that's priceless.

Helen's Book Blog said...

Marie--Families photos are great and some are really scary depending on the era!

Bev Hankins said...

That's a great story and photo...Now I want to see a picture of one of your "fake" birds! Lol.

I am running late this week, but here is mine if you'd like to take a peek: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/03/saturday-snapshot-on-sunday.html

Helen's Book Blog said...

Bev--I so wish I had kept our fake bird books, it would be great to see them, but alas. I did not.