If you've read this column now and then, you've probably wondered about the vagabond part. Well, she is back!

I love to travel and road trips in particular are one of my favourite things. I don't need to hop on an airplane and go to Russia to be happy. Not that I would pass up the opportunity! But, just to wander around my own Canada is plenty happifying for me.

So, now that I have bought myself a car, my first car, I will be off wandering as soon as the ink is on the paperwork. Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will pay the rest of the car money and start packing. Likely I will fill up the tank with gas here in town when I leave on Thursday morning. I still don't like self serve gas stations. It's nice to see the lady here in town and chat for those 30 seconds or so. Plus, I don't have to look like a twit trying to figure out how each set of pumps works. Why are they all different?

Anyway, tonight I am going to look up local events in Ontario. I am thinking of Kincardine and Sarnia, both would be great but they are in different directions. That much driving could be too much for the little grey car, or me as a fairly new driver.

Both Sarnia and Kincardine are on the Great Lakes. But Kincardine has an actual lighthouse and a beach with great big rocks that I remember from when I was a kid. (We lived on a farm in the area, just for a few years). But, Sarnia is cheaper and I am thinking to move there. Not till after the winter though. Even I can not cope with another move this soon after moving in July.

So, tonight , after I look for a grape jelly recipe for my Mom, I will be cruising the sites and finding the most interesting things to see. Planning routes, pit stops and what is the least junk I need to pack for a couple of nights away in the little grey car, as yet unnamed. No doubt by the time I get back I will have named the car.

PS- She bought 3 baskets of grapes. They smell wonderful! I don't even like grapes.

I'm moving back to Ontario this week. One thing I especially want to do is visit the grave where my Grandparents are buried. It's been a long time since I was able to say hello, buy them a Tim Hortons coffee and tell them what's going on in my life.

How would it have been for the pioneers who put their family in a small cemetery right on their farm land. Back in those days it may have been comforting to know you had some family not far away, not across an ocean or a country.

You can still see those old limestone cemeteries, some still have the traditional fence and pine trees. I assume the current family living and farming there are related to those buried there. But, I guess it's not necessarily so. People move in all sorts of ways and directions.

Not so different from flowers that start by their own roots or seeds each season. They only have a short time to be around, enjoy the sun and rain and leave the Earth with fresh air to breathe. They grow, flower, go to seed and then fade away to decompose under the snow. A lot of changes in just a short time.

I guess that's what I'm doing too, going back to check with my roots. I want them to know that I'm doing ok, not wasting the life they had a part in giving me and I haven't forgotten to miss them.

A time machine would be like keeping time in a bottle. There is an old song about that. Would you keep time in a bottle? Then uncork it when you have some free time to explore. The past would be interesting. You could see castles when they were new or just being built. Famous people long just dust in the wind would be alive and busy doing what ever made them famous.

You might go back in time to the days of dinosaurs. Just be careful not to get stepped on. How fun it would be to see a real dinosaur. Some would be dinosaur families, Moms and babies, or just new born hatchlings. Would you keep a baby tyrannosaurus rex in your pocket? I'd go to Loch Ness and see what's there before all the rumours about Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.

What else would you do in the past? Cavemen would be scouting for food, painting on cave walls or maybe learning how to make fire. Knights would be jousting, designing castles and rescuing fair maidens from dragons. The druids would be busy with deep thinking, honouring nature and avoiding the Romans. Alchemists and herbalists would be discovering things we are only just beginning to rediscover now. Kings would be counting their treasure, making laws and fighting wars. Pirates would be sailing the seven seas, taking over other ships and burying their treasure.

Women would be busy too. We've always been there. Some of us were famous but most of us were looking after families, sewing, cooking and keeping things going. There weren't many women pirates or knights but some were.

Once you've explored the past look ahead to the future. If you just go a week ahead you can see your family and friends, see what they are all up to. But, the real adventure would be going far ahead to see what the world is up to. What clothes are people wearing? What cars are they driving? Do kids still go to school? There are so many things coming in the future, so many different ways things can grow and develop. Do kids still play the same games? Are families still going to the zoo, parks and circus together? Are there still roller coasters? Are there still family pets? Do kids still have to go to bed early?

So much to see and find out about in the future, it would take several trips just to see one time period. Keeping time in a bottle would be a real adventure. Where would you go first?