Travels With Maggie

Book excerpt: Travels with Maggie by Pat Bean is a book about one woman's fulfillment of a dream that began when she was 10 years old. It chronicles a 7,000-mile RV journey, mostly on backroads, through 23 states and Canada. The odyssey begins in May of 2006 from a daughter's home in Arkansas, and ends in time for Thanksgiving at another daughter's home in Texas. Bean's writing brings a much-needed feminine voice to the world of such travel writer greats as John Steinbeck, William Least Heat Moon, Paul Theroux, Bill Bryson and Charles Kuralt. Travels with Maggie is also the story of a woman's relationship with her canine companion, and it's a story about chasing birds across America by a fledgling birdwatcher. The book is written in such a way that readers can follow the author's adventures on a map - or in their own vehicle. While a realist who sees the changes that have taken place across America, the author prefers to look for their silver lining. "Change is change, sometimes good and sometimes bad, but mostly a combination." Calling herself a wondering-wanderer, Bean asks many questions as she travels. Sometimes there are no answers, but always there is enlightenment.