The Original Virtual Travel Experience

The global pandemic we're now living through has disrupted our lives in so many ways. Zoom meetings, livestream concerts, online classes and other virtual realities are just some of the many new intrusions into our daily existence. But when it comes to travel, "virtual" is really nothing new at all.  In fact, the original virtual travel experience has been with us for centuries.

It's called reading.

Non-fiction travel adventures? Sure, by all means. (Have you ever read Alone by the Polar explorer Richard Byrd?) But we also get to experience new places and cultures through fictional stories set in real places. The murder mystery detective novel series is one genre that is particularly good at this.  By just opening the pages of a book I can travel the back roads of Minnesota with Virgil Flowers, drive the dusty arroyos of New Mexico Navajo land with Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, take a trip to the southern coast of Sweden with Kurt Wallander... the list is "virtually" endless. In cooped-up COVID times, literary escapes like these are a true godsend. So book your ticket... and support your local library!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
​Born in a small Wisconsin blue-collar town, Mike Starling ditched the assembly line for a long, sometimes circuitous career working with words, sound and images. His original music is heard on numerous recordings and soundtracks, and his stories and photos have been featured in books, films, mags and other media. Among his other interesting career moves, he has edited a beer magazine, played bass in a reggae band and sold potato chips door-to-door. Inspired by the life-altering events of 2020, he launched a year-long web-based project called I Remember Travel in January 2021.

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