Confessions of a Bag Lady

I save bags. There you have it, my terrible secret is out. Worse, I save bags and then I can't part with them; you might say I hoard them. I keep them for two main reasons:

1. For sentimental reasons -- to remember some of the wonderful places I've been.
2. Pure snobbism -- to tell you about the wonderful places I've been. And that's my purpose for this blog post.

Here are a few of my beauties:
Souvenirs of some of my favorite domestic spots: the Guggenheim Museum in New York which I have visited many times; the Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City where I attended a writer's workshop in 2000; and a bag from a conference in Yosemite (I did not attend that conference, and I have no idea where I got the bag, but I love Yosemite and have been there many times, so the bag stays!). I'm sparing you memories of the other 46 states I've visited.
When in London, I don't always go to Harrods, but on three occasions I did. (Notice how cleverly I alluded to the fact that I have been to London many times -- score one for snob value.) This I consider my ultimate snob trophy. It doesn't get much better than bagging a bag at the Mount Kenya Safari Club -- from a life-altering trip with friend Nancy in 1986.
A Nile cruise and we saw it all (except Alexandria). From Cairo to Aswan. Wow. Don't think I would do it today, somehow the world seemed a bit safer in 1992.
This one doesn't seem to make much sense until you see the back:
Brings back memories of that trip to Athens and three-day tour of the Peloponnesian Peninsula in the back seat of a Yellow Cab.

Now I'm moving into my sentimental collection. I got this bag on a trip to England, Ireland, and Scotland that Robin and I took together. I don't recall the year, but a drive (on the wrong side of the road) over the Grampians, a stay in Braemar, and a visit to Inverness were some of the high points of our Scottish sojourn.

I bought this for Aunt Helen at the Smithsonian. She loved and studied butterflies, so I thought it appropriate, but for some reason I never got around to giving it to her and now, of course, it's too late.
A token of my life today. No regrets -- it's been my privilege to go to many wonderful places and see amazing things. Today I have a life full of meaning and memories (of Hawaii, Alaska, Bermuda, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Spain, Andorra, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Russia, etc.)