Writing By Laura

Recently a Facebook friend shared her adventures visiting the hometown and store associated with a TV personality. It got my little pop culture brain 🧠 thinking on WHERE I would go to indulge a pop culture or literary obsession.

Really I have always consumed a lot of TV, movies and books so it’s kind of a process of elimination to decide where I would go.

In no particular order, here are some geographical pop culture destinations I could visit.

1. Location: Oahu, Hawaii Pop Culture: “Lost” (Television Show, ABC, 2004-2010)

I’ve been to Oahu, Hawaii when “Lost” was still on the air. However they weren’t actively filming because of the Writer’s Strike at that time. And I was really there for another reason but I did get to take a “Lost”-themed tour of the island. There is actually going to be a non-profit fan celebration of the 10th anniversary of the series finale held May 21-24, 2020 on Oahu. It’s called “The Lost Con.” I could go to that, but if I get to visit Hawaii again I really want to see different islands (not just Oahu where “Lost” was filmed). Verdict: I don’t think I’ll make another trip for “Lost.” However, if I get to go there again, then maybe. So likelihood = unlikely.

2. Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada Pop Culture: Anne of Green Gables (Books, movies, Netflix series)

I loved Anne of Green Gables growing up. I met someone at a scholarly conference from PEI and I practically had to restrain myself from asking Anne of Green Gables related questions. He didn’t seem like someone who would have suffered pop culture fools, so that stopped me. Verdict: Probably unlikely as I don’t know anyone who is super into this too. However Prince Edward Island itself is beautiful so getting a travel buddy to go there might be easier to swallow. Sites to See: This CNN article has a listing of places every “Anne” fan should see on Prince Edward Island.

3. Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Pop Culture: “The Flash” (Television Show, CW, 2014- now)

I don’t watch too many TV shows live since DVRs and streaming make that unnecessary. However, I HAVE to watch “The Flash” live each week. I like it so much that when I was in my accident and came out of my 3-week coma my parents wrote on a “Getting to Know You” board about me (it was almost more for me to get to know me, again) that my favorite TV show was (and still is) “The Flash.” Verdict: Hopefully likely: I actually mentioned this to my parents and they seemed to get it. And I have my passport (newly renewed) again.

4. Location: Hollywood, California Pop Culture: A lot of movies & television

I feel like I can’t properly make a pop culture travel list without mentioning Hollywood. Even though a lot of TV and movies are actually filmed elsewhere (see the rest of this list) Hollywood is still synonymous with Hollywood. Verdict: Hopefully likely eventually. I haven’t really been to the West Coast (flew over it to get to Hawaii). So Hollywood is really part of an overall West Coast trip plan.

5. Location: Greece Pop Culture: Mama Mia! (the 2008 movie)

This selection is really more for my Mom because she gets a wistful look in her eyes when this film or Greece is mentioned. I’ve wanted to go to Greece for years. Verdict: Unknown. It all depends on if we could find a vacation format that would be easier on our bodies. My parents and I are not European backpackers anymore (not that we ever really were).

6. Location: London (area), U.K. Pop Culture: Harry Potter (books and movies)

I have been to London and various parts of England but never just to be a Harry Potter geek. It seems a little luxurious and frivolous to visit such an historic country for just something pop culture (I suppose you could say that for this whole list though). Verdict: Likely that I will make it back to England again if I travel abroad again. However, not sure how focused a trip would be on Harry Potter.

There certainly are more pop culture related trips I could take. I’m sure I’m missing some. I don’t have some popular ones like New Zealand for “Lord of the Rings” and various areas of Europe for “Game of Thrones” because I wasn’t really fans of those. However, both of those are common pop culture trips.

Writing Update

I truthfully haven’t written much. However I did funnel my procrastinating energy into creating a spreadsheet to keep track of and manage submitting essays and short stories to publications. I even found 20 plus such places. That’s a longer term project (submissions) but I was happy to get organized.