Sharing Cookies & Legacy

My son bought me a gingerbread man. While that may not seem like a big deal to you, for me it represents a generous role-reversal. For close to 20 years, my family joined my mom and nephew for one summer week along the Monterey Bay in what we called our “Cation House.” Because Mom and … Continue reading Sharing Cookies & Legacy

We’ve Been Everywhere, Man

I’m no Johnny Cash so I won’t try to rhyme all the places we’ve been, but wow did we ever go sauntering (read “the before” post here). We can truly sing along with Cash that we’ve crossed the desert's bare, man and breathed the mountain air, man. Santa Barbara, CAGrand Canyon NP, AZ Zion & … Continue reading We’ve Been Everywhere, Man

Let’s Go Sauntering

Before he departed for Sabbatical Adventure 1, Dave read to me a quote from John Muir: “I don't like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not 'hike!' Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages … Continue reading Let’s Go Sauntering

2020 Travel: Tahoe

A week ago I began a blog and Instagram series on 2020 Armchair Traveling: My Life in Coffee Mugs. I wrote about New York City, Norway, and the San Francisco Bay Area and on IG posted about each of these destinations as well as San Diego. This is the final post in this series...for now. … Continue reading 2020 Travel: Tahoe

2020 Armchair Traveling: My Life in Coffee Mugs

Along with so much else in 2020, travel has been cancelled. Good thing my coffee mugs remind me where I’ve been--exactly what Starbucks intended, right? This week, I’ll let my warm cuppa whisk me away to share a few highlights from my life. Today is my birthday. It’s also an ordinary Monday in an exceptionally … Continue reading 2020 Armchair Traveling: My Life in Coffee Mugs

Hurry, Boys…

Hurry, Boy, she's waiting there for you... --Toto, Africa Click here for a hilarious quick read about how Toto's ode to Africa became such an unlikely and enduring hit.   My Guy, my eldest son, and my brother-in-law are winging their way across the world on an incredible adventure: they are on their way to … Continue reading Hurry, Boys…

NYC, There’s Something About Ya’

The Best Weekend! I told my family that, for my BIG birthday, I wanted to wake up with my loves in a place we’d never adventured together before. We discussed the pros and cons of various locations and landed on: New York City. How does a nature-loving, bookish homebody—easily overwhelmed and edgy in crowded cities … Continue reading NYC, There’s Something About Ya’

Last Day//Best Day

[Since I don’t post when I’m away from home, this week I’m going to post some of the content I wrote while on vacation…] When you’ve vacationed in the same place for so many years, you count time in days and traditions and experiences. It’s not just “Monday,” but what did we do on Monday, … Continue reading Last Day//Best Day

His Mother’s Voice

[Since I don't post when I'm away from home, this week I'm going to post some of the content I wrote while on vacation...] Trying to wrestle three teenage boys out of the vacation house and into the vacation isn’t as easy as it should be. Because teenagers: sticky molasses-stubborn. When they finally realized we … Continue reading His Mother’s Voice

Thankful Thursday – Road Trippin’ the American West

The longest road trip I remember from childhood took me to Disneyland, which seemed So Far Away, though now I have to admit that the hour-and-a-half drive from San Diego to Anaheim doesn't truly count. Guy's family did real road trips: six weeks coast-to-coast in a Volkswagen Vanagon, a different route each way, every summer. … Continue reading Thankful Thursday – Road Trippin’ the American West