When I was a kid we had three television channels, children were the remote control and Saturday mornings were dedicated to cartoons. One of my favorites, and where I caught my first dose of wanderlust, was the adventures of Rocky the flying squirrel and Bullwinkle the moose, his dim-witted sidekick. It was during an episode of Rocky & Bullwinkle that I was first introduced to Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Peabody’s Improbable History took me around the world with them and introduced me to the likes of Alexander Graham Bell, Shakespeare and Napoleon. I was mesmerized by Mr. Peabody’s WABAC machine that could transport him to any time or place. It was then that I began dreaming big about traveling to far off places and meeting fascinating characters.

That was five decades ago. This week, Mr. Peabody & Sherman return, making their big screen debut in theaters on March 7th.  Only this time, I’ll be bringing my grandkids along for the adventure.

With all this reminiscing, I got to thinking. What if I had a WABAC (pronounced way back) machine today, where would I go?  My first thought was a visit with Ponce de Leon at the Fountain of Youth, but figured it would be a tad faster to get a local dose of Botox.

Then it hit me. I love a good mystery, intrigue, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, James Bond, trains, opulence and great food. I would have Mr. Peabody’s WABAC transport me to 1883, where I would be a passenger, perhaps even a journalist on the first journey of the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul.

I would eat on fine china and drink from lead crystal. The menu would include oysters, soup with Italian pasta, turbot with green sauce, chicken ‘à la chasseur’, fillet of beef with ‘château’ potatoes, ‘chaud-froid’ of game animals, chocolate pudding and a buffet of desserts.  For a little over 80 hours, I would sleep on top of plush silk sheets, beneath an exquisite wool blanket in my sleeper car. As we rolled along the tracks I would be lured to sleep by the CHUFFA-CHUFFA-CHUFFA of the engine chugging along the tracks.

By day, I would journal my trip, sitting by the window in a richly covered leather armchair surrounded by wood-paneled walls. I would chat with royals and I’d sip tea with secret agents, never letting on what I knew or who I was.

It was a magical, romantic time.

And as I watch Mr. Peabody & Sherman on the big screen in the theater with my grandkids, I wonder where they would have the WABAC transport them?  Where would you travel back to? Who, would you want to meet?

Wondering where Rick took the WABAC to? Check out his story on the Expedia Viewfinder page.

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