RSVP: info@ashbyvillage.org or call 510-204-9200
When: Second Friday of the month, 3:00 - 4:00 pm (due to July 4th holiday)
Where: Ashby Village, in the Fellowship Hall, 1953 Hopkins Street, Berkeley
Open to: Ashby Village members, volunteers and guests
Accessibility: use entrance on Hopkins Street
"Traveling the World Then and Now"
with Tricia and Mick Sullivan
The world has changed dramatically since the 1960's when Tricia and Mick Sullivan set off for Europe. They had quit their jobs, sold everything they had, and packed their bags. They had no clear idea of where they were going, what they were going to do, or how long they would be gone. It was 1965, and for the next two years they found themselves continually traveling eastward, overland from Europe and across the Middle East and Asia until they reached Japan. Like many young people in those early Hippie Trail times, they lived in their VW bus. After selling it in Kabul, they continued traveling on trains, buses, and hitchhiking.
Join us as we reflect on the world of 1965 and compare it to traveling today. What countries exist now that didn't exist 60 years ago? Which borders that we crossed then are now closed...and which are open? Which wars and other conflicts have diminished and which have emerged? In what ways is the life of an itinerant world traveler easier? And how is it harder? We’ll look at countries, borders, languages, conflicts, and social changes as we examine maps, tell stories, and show photos.
Tricia and Mick have been Ashby Village volunteers since 2015. During Mick’s career, he was an instructor and provost at De Anza College. Since his retirement he has been a volunteer teacher of world geography at Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco. Tricia taught in the Education Department at UC Santa Cruz, as well as being a teacher trainer in China, Vietnam, and Turkey. After her retirement from UCSC she joined the US Foreign Service and was based in Kyiv, Ukraine. She is a 2024 Gold Award recipient from Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) for her memoir Overland Before the Hippie Trail: Kathmandu and Beyond with a Van a Man and No Plan.