Green Lessons in a Shell
Green. And slimy, too. All nestled in their shells. Anything that is green and slimy belongs...
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Peace at Last
When my parents first proposed a twenty two day road trip from our native Arizona to Florida I was skeptical. We...
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Murder On The Prospect
Visiting the setting of a book you have recently read may be completely different from what you imagined. My imagined setting of Crime and Punishment, I discovered, was completely different...
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Barfing in the Light of the Stars
I come from a family of six very large boys, and the most frequent response I get after divulging that information is “Oh your poor mother!” I smile and nod, thinking back on the good times I’ve...
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Goat Milk and Gratitude
The plane landed in Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport on June 24th at 2:37 P.M. I looked around and saw cacti and emptiness. I was slightly disappointed, to say the least. Vast stretches...
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My Trip to Stirling Castle, Scotland
I could hardly contain my excitement as I drove up the tiny, winding road. Up I went, up, up, up. When would I ever get to the top?
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Camping By the Seat of Our Pants
A lot of families, when choosing to travel, often already have booked which hotels they will stay at on specific nights of the trip, days or weeks in advance.
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Alive and Coarse and Strong and Cunning (Or, How I Learned to Be Independent by Getting Lost in Downtown Chicago)
(Title taken from Chicago by Carl Sandberg) The thing about going to Chicago is that you have to realize the city will inevitably steal your heart. With skyscrapers stretching to the crowds,...
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Ode to the Ocean
It was my first day in Little Bay (Philipsburg, St. Martin, Dutch Antilles); my first day in paradise. Clear water,...
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Popped Tire
I do not believe the sky that hangs over Wyoming is the same one I can currently see out my window. There is something magical about it, something completely unreal--it’s as if the sky was not above...
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Smiles Across The Miles
Falmouth, Jamaica, marked the third port of call on the cruise my family had...
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Elephants in the Shadows
We were more or less protected from the heat of the sun by the tall trees surrounding the narrow dirt road. The van jolted along over potholes and speedbumps...
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To Fathom the Unfathomable
“2015 will be a big year for launchin’ rockets”The...
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The Girl in Stripes
About two weeks ago, I had the privilege of going on my first, actual vacation. We were going on a road trip all the way to the Gulf of Mexico so my grandmother could see the ocean before she died....
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Tai-Shan: The Waterslide of Sacred Mountains
Have you ever wanted to: start...
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There’s Nothing Chicken Soup Can’t Fix: An Adventure in Urubamba, Peru
Beads of sweat coated my forehead as I took a deep breath and stared at what was in front of me, eyes narrowed and concentrated. A million thoughts ran through my mind, and I glanced back and forth...
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Mission Beach, San Diego, California
Home: the place where a person lives. Sorry Webster's Dictionary but I have to...
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To Honduras With Love
The bus rocked furiously. The wheels on our bus weren’t only going ‘round and ‘round. They sprung up and down and swayed side to side. The roads weren’t even roads at all, just tracks paved...
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New York: a SENSE-ational Place to Be!
Behind the bustling streets of the “Big Apple”, New York holds within its borders a place like no other: A tranquil escape from rush hour and the daily lives of hard-workers. The Adirondacks will...
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Finding Tranquility
We drove through the night and I gazed at the towering skyscrapers through the rain-spattered windows, amazed by the myriads of cars around us, feeling the Mexican metropolis envelop...
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A Danish State of Mind
On one random drive to the library in November, my friend Maya asked me if I would be interested in going to Denmark this summer with her. My first thought was “OF COURSE!”...
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Driving Into a Hole Can be Monumental
The early August sun beat down on the prolonging stretch of road. A “Welcome to Utah” sign had long since passed, and our rented black Ford Explorer was filled with...
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Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Good Food
I wake up to the rich, reedy sound of an accordion-not something you would normally hear in the streets of America, but then, I’m not in America.I’m in the home of my Aunt Lidia and Uncle...
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La Ville Lumière
Paris; It’s the city of lights, known for its magnificent beauty, delicious foods, and romantic qualities. Some people dream of visiting this esteemed European city their entire lives, and here I was...
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An Unusual Layover in NY City
My grandfather recently died and we travelled back from our home in North Carolina to Belgium, where the rest of our family still lives. Although we weren’t exactly in a cheery holiday mood, my parents...
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Relaxing to Roller Coasters: The Perfect Day in Sylvan Beach
After a stressful school year filled with crammed study sessions and all-nighters, only one place can take my mind off it all – Sylvan Beach, New York. Decades ago, my great-great grandparents discovered...
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The Taxi Driver Temper Tantrum
Paris is a city with a bite. It’s absolutely beautiful with its elegant architecture and silver Seine, but every once in a while it will bare its teeth and show its ugly side. One minute you’ll...
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Haunted Tunnel
The brilliant twinkling of innumerable lights creates a stark contrast against the dark, night sky. The radiance engulfs us, silhouetting towering buildings. Chicago beckons through the car windows...
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Joy in the Journey
The old cliche “the joy is in the journey” is taken literally in the Smoky Mountains. The real attractions there do not rest in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge; they do not reside in Ripley’s...
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The Third Time’s a Charm in NYC
The white picket fences have become stained with dullness and predictability. The porches and decks have collapsed in coziness, and the SUVs and minivans have lost their new car smell and shine. Even...
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A New Kind of Jesus Music
This past summer I went on a family vacation to the west side of the United States. Along the way we made various stops to visit different colleges and see different sights. One of these special places...
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Sisterhood
One trip that has left a humongous impact upon me is the trip I took to Colorado with my softball team. This trip not only was one of excitement and adventure, but also one that taught me the strength...
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A New Experience in America’s Oldest Town
I always found myself falling asleep in history class. Some lessons couldn’t hold my interest. Even when I visited places filled with history, I found myself extremely bored. Summer of 2012 changed...
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The Wonders of Costa Rica
The night that I arrived in Costa Rica it was like stepping into a whole new world. I had never been out of the United States before but I was more than enthusiastic to venture out into new surroundings...
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The Unexpected
The biggest mistake that families make when planning their vacations is operating under the assumption that everything will go perfectly. Despite past experiences,...
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A Day of Discovery
I wriggled my way into a grey and slightly damp wetsuit. The air was hot and muggy, and the sky was a brilliant blue. I stood in the slight shade of the building on the docks in Cancun. I was here with...
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Red, Black, and Gold
The streets were devoid of vehicles. Views of the people of Mainz were few and far between as we walked the cobblestone streets. My friend and I were anxious to get to dinner. This was not because we...
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(Re)new York
I’m writing this blog post on a plane, returning home from what’s probably my 25th trip to New York. After so long, they begin to blur together into a mess of lights and cabs and street meat, albeit...
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New York’s Most Memorable Sight: The Empire State Building
If it weren’t for the automated elevators I would have pressed every single enticing button, just to see every magical floor. It took three...
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Home is Not a Place
The only thing different about her was that her hair was a bit longer than last time and that she had changed her glasses to have tortoiseshell frames. She still wore the same, serene expression, casual...
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My NYC Adventure With My Concert Choir
It’s the lights, the shops, the street performers, the attractions and the peoplethat make New York City a perfect place to explore. I traveled to NYC with the Moose Lake Concert...
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I Think We’re in Kansas
The road north curves and winds through the valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains just as the summer breeze cuts through the New Mexico maple and pine trees that line the luscious terrain. ...
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An Untraditional Vacation
Most people go on vacation to relax, have fun, and make memories that’ll last a lifetime. Although my family had these expectations when we visited Nigeria in 2008,...
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When in Rome, Relax As the Romans Do: What My Italian Adventure Taught Me About Life
‘Twas the night before I was set to leave on my first European vacation, a two week trip to Italy. My bags were packed, my camera charged, and my passport updated. I was sixteen and expecting...
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Cambodia to Thailand: A Tale of Monuments and Mango Milkshakes
When it comes to traveling I’m always up for anything and everything. I love sight-seeing at places like the Great Wall; but I also enjoy the atypical experiences--eating rooster head and thirteen...
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Mid-Winter in Manhattan
I thought I’d seen New York. I thought...
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New York – A State of Mind
The Big Apple, The City that Never Sleeps, Gotham City. Whatever you call it, New York City is dazzling and unforgettable. The Statue of Liberty stretches her arm upwards, her torch pointing to the...
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The Week I Danced in New York
The Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2013, I boarded the plane and was off to New York. I was ecstatic, and even though it was early in the morning I was full of energy. I was practically jumping off...
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Cars, Stars, and Road Trips
The plan for “Roadtrip 2k14” was brilliant, in my opinion. My little green Honda Accord got excellent gas mileage and had proved itself to be a reliable car over the past year it had been in my...
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The Silent Lake
The afternoon was ripe with excitement and the car was stuffed...
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A Hawaiian Hike to Remember
Through my finals, meetings, and extracurricular activities the idea of basking in the Hawaiian sun was one of the only things keeping me going.I enjoy keeping myself busy. I am on the youth...
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I’ll send you a postcard, dear.
July 4, 2014, and New York seemed to go hand in hand.My family and I arrived in New York to be kissed by light rain and embraced by dim sunshine. Our disgruntled taxi cab driver could have cared...
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From Wildlife to City Sites – The Town to Beat All Others
Portland, Oregon seemed like a paradise, coming from the drought-stricken and fire-prone city of San Diego. Teeming with lush forestry and exotic Northwestern animal life, nature was around every corner....
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