My parents were road warriors. Growing up, it was not uncommon for us to drive across the country to visit our grandparents or vacation in Florida, or visit other parts of the country. Consequently, I had visited well over 30 states before I graduated from high school. Dad used to refer to us as Typical American Tourists. Sometimes it felt more like being the Griswolds.

My mother’s sister, Shirley, however is a world traveler. Much like Rick Steves, she likes to go to foreign countries and be immersed in the culture. Many of her visits have included house exchanges for extended stays. She has a wealth of stories from her varied experiences, and she can entertain the family for hours.

Most of her life was spent on the west coast growing up in Washington state and then moving to San Francisco with her husband. While living in Oregon, we visited her and she proved to be the perfect tour guide/host showing us the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Chinatown and other iconic sites of Frisco. I feel that I’ve learned a lot from her in that regard. After her husband, Larry, passed, she decided to sell the house and move to the east coast. At first she settled in a condo right on the river in Philadelphia. We visited her there and again she showed us all the sites. She has since moved to a condo in the northern suburbs of Philly which makes it easy to visit occasionally when we go see Autumn and Jim, or on our way back from Lancaster County.

Shirley’s condo is like a museum of her travels. She has mementos from all over the world. I decided to photograph these displays so that the images are preserved. While most of her collection comes from abroad, some things are just local. I asked where a particular item came from and we laughed when she said, “Brooklyn.”

She took us to a pub for lunch. She didn’t know that’s one of our favorite food venues. Pubs are all about the neighborhood and usually cater to local residents. You get to know the people of the area when you’re in a pub.

Shirley is an inspiration to us and we always love seeing her. If there was a person who embodied the Helen Keller quote it would be Shirley. Where I live in New England like a tourist, she lives on the planet as a tourist.