Category: Journal

As I grow older, I find moments are often more complicated than just one emotion. Something can be amazing and yet troubling, sad and yet with an element of celebration. All three of these 2018 moments come with such mixed emotions. April: The First Flight Standing where the Wright brothers took of for each of their four flights, then walking down the narrow runway to where each landed made me realize how far aviation has come since that day in December, 1903. A hundred years later, I thought nothing of spending 14 hours in a metal tube every month or…

Today’s countdown to 2019 looks back at four times I thoroughly enjoyed myself in 2018. There were so many, it was definitely hard to choose so I ended up choosing the photos that made me smile the most remembering those moments. March: Sina Comes to the US My niece Sina did a world-tour type of trip this year and her first stop was a week in Florida with me. As always, that girl makes me laugh a lot she and makes everything more fun, from eating breakfast at a Waffle House in Orlando or seeing her first alligator in the…

I saw a lot in 2018 and looking through old posts and photos to find my favorites was a real trip down memory lane. Oddly enough, all five are geographically pretty close to each other, considering I traveled the length and breadth of the US and eastern Canada this year. A: Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania 2018 marked my second trip to Gettysburg, this time allowing myself enough time to explore the battlefield area by area. I had spent time reading up on Gettysburg since my first trip in 2017 and it paid off with a clearer understanding of places…

When I lived in a “sticks and bricks” house, I kept a wooden bowl on the counter where I’d drop ticket stubs, boarding passes, and other trivia of life as the year progressed. During the last week of the year, then, I’d empty it out onto the dining room table and see what to make of that year. Now my memories are more digital: photos of places, people, flowers, trees, and everything I see as I travel around the continent. I’m ending 2018 with a countdown series of posts that looks back at different aspects of my year. This is…

I’m totally going to indulge myself in today’s post. It’s rainy and grey here in Gainesville and I am missing beaches something fierce. So here, for me — and for all of you who might need it too — is a day of water views… Let’s start with this beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic, at Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts Now that the day has begun, let’s take a walk on the warm sand of Marina State Beach, in central California (and in our perfect day, there is no smoky air from horrible fires). Maybe lunchtime is a good time to…