Chris & his GPS go exploring... [or maybe shopping]

[Martin Milner]

Heading out...


the brick road leads into the distance


through the deepest jungle


and along the iron road


could these be dinosaur eggs?


My altimeter says I'm high up


I love the circus! (apart from the scary clowns)


Chris gets into a tight spot





Explorers have to have true grit(s)


mostly


suddenly feeling tired & dizzy, Chris takes a nap.


Ah! My GPS never leads me wrong (it does sometimes, Chris)


here there be dragons


and ninja hamsters


and even more dreadful monsters


but happily no clowns (which are scary)


Hmm, have I taken a wrong turn?


I feel I'm in an alien land


GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!


Aside: Here Chris spends 1/2 an hour wandering in circles drooling, but also a little shocked at the prices, and decides to limit himself to 3 small purchases.

Chris spots a means to escape; a huge red dragon.  Was that really only 1/2 an hour? It got darker. I think someone's been fibbing.


In the belly of the beast, looking at another beast's backside rear end


That looks familiar


Time for a snack


I can't eat all that...


Full and tired, Chris makes his way back to base camp


Exciting camera dazzle


At day's end, a moment to reflect (hmm, wonder if a submarine could dive in that?)



THE END for now...

[playmofire]

Great story and photos, Martin.  I hope we'll see many more adventures of Chris and his satnav.

(You must get some funny looks when you in the shops - do family and friends still go out with you? )

[Richard]

Amazing adventure, Martin ...

Thank you very much for sharing Chris and his exciting exploration to and from the marvelous Mecca of toydom ... Hamleys ...

It was also quite gratifying to see that Londoners have finally discovered GRITS! ...
(Unfortunately, we have NOT been able to educate the Canadians here on Vancouver Island. They still don't know what GRITS are, or how important they are to a southern boy's healthy breakfast.) ...

Martin, I would like to personally welcome you, once again, to PF! And, thank you for ALL of your great posts! You have certainly contributed a tremendous amount to our forum in a very short period of time. Thank you!

All the best,
Richard

[Jimbo]

Hi Martin,

Very cool adventure. I enjoyed the pictures.
That is also very inspiring.
Thanks for posting.

best regards,

Jimbo

[cachalote]

 
a beautiful story.
maybe you could tell chris all about the "degree confluence project" - http://www.confluence.org/ - a funny way to find an excuse to travel using a gps (i missed all my attempts in the azores sea).
next time you can take her out of london to the south, to 3.0 km (1.9 miles) NW of Fletching, East Sussex, England, UK - 51ºN, 0ºW.
 

[Sylvia]

Very entertaining story, Martin!

Thanks for sharing it with us!

I was wondering the same thing as Gordon. Do people give you funny looks when they see you photographing Chris, or do you wait until no-one is about before whipping him out and taking a quick pic.

Nice to see photos of the area you live in.

[Martin Milner]

I was wondering the same thing as Gordon. Do people give you funny looks when they see you photographing Chris, or do you wait until no-one is about before whipping him out and taking a quick pic.

In London people are so used to seeing odd things going on that I get barely a second glance .

Once when I was in Trafalgar Square, a backpacker stopped next to a fountain, took out one stuffed toy after another from their backpack, and dipped their toes in the water! I think he had one for each friend back home!

Luckily my wife is a keen and talented photographer (I'm strictly a point-and-press merchant), so we occasionally take a day or evening in London just to take pictures, and she's pleased to have me take an interest.

When inside a shop I tried to be quick in case I was violating any shop rules and got chucked out by security, but I think you're allowed to take pictures of the merchandise for your own reference these days (people do it on cameraphones to check with their spouses).

I'm just wishing I'd had Chris the Explorer with me on recent holidays - This year alone I've been to Paris (France), Washington, Philadephia, and Rochester NY, and he would have had some great backgrounds for his exploration.

He'll be travelling with me now on every trip I take from now on, so he'll appear in future stories - though county Mayo, Ireland in late June '08 is my next planned trip abroad.

Meantime he'll have to be content with exploring London, though that alone presents a thousand possible adventures every day. A Playmobil character in your pocket is no burden, and adds interest to any day out!

[Tiermann]

Great story. Taking figures around can be a lot of fun. I took a guy to Disneyland last year and only remembered to take him to the park one day.

[Sylvia]

In London people are so used to seeing odd things going on that I get barely a second glance .

Once when I was in Trafalgar Square, a backpacker stopped next to a fountain, took out one stuffed toy after another from their backpack, and dipped their toes in the water! I think he had one for each friend back home!

Cute idea!

When I hosted playmoboard's first travelling klicky (Hans) in 2003, I took him on a family holiday with us to Orkney.

I still have the photos on a disc somewhere but I haven't posted them anywhere yet.

[Dan]

That was great (& like you I was shocked by the prices!)