I hadn’t expected to feel anything. I thought I would write about how the water felt as it splashed over my head or the rounding of stones under my heels but I hadn’t expected to actually feel – in my soul. Made (pronounced Ma-Day) drove us to Tirta Empul, the water temple outside of…
Gold Rush Dreams
Usually Sacramento is something I breeze through on my way to Tahoe. This day was different. This day we had a destination in mind. Sacramento, 1839. We were headed to Sutter’s Fort – New Helvetia – to learn about some gold rush history and what shaped California to be the state it is today. As…
Cor-J Seafood
A splash of blood hit the floor. It looked like I had just been shoved through the back door of a slaughterhouse and I was interrupting their daily tasks. Was I in the right place? Had we missed the entrance? The smell of fish filled my nostrils with only two feet between me and the…
Some Favorites from the Year
If you are coming to this blog for the first time, I thought I would share some of my favorite posts from the year, either that I think are my best or that have been clicked on the most. I hope you enjoy and keep checking back for new posts once my hiatus has come…
My Apologies
Hello Readers, if you’re out there. I wanted to apologize for my long breaks between new articles. I recently submitted a reworked version of Recreation Hypothermia to the World Nomads Travel Scholarship competition and I did not win. I have been reading through the winning entries and am thoroughly impressed and see where I have…
Snow.Snow.Snow!
The tires of the car whirred, spinning in place, and spewing snow out the back. The Honda was stuck halfway in and out of the driveway blocking the 4-Wheel Drive vehicle in front. “Take the sled, shove it under the wheel to give it some traction,” I suggest. The neon green sled, the thinnest ten…
Sanctuary City: Part Two
As promised, this second post is about being home and taking refuge in the place that we rest and come back to. I live in San Francisco, CA. I have lived in this city for over 12 years and I am also a Bay Area native. I am happy to have grown up in a…
Sanctuary City: Part One
I called this post Sanctuary City for two reasons. One, San Francisco has been a sanctuary city since 1989. We have felt the need for that status more than ever in the political turmoil and unrest that is settling itself around the country right now. The title is a nod to that, for sure, but I also wanted…
Dante’s Eyes
Another blast from the past. Italy 2004 continued…[Warning: some R content] June 5, 2004 Frescoes are a poor man’s Bible in a time when a Bible cost as much as a house. Dante’s eyes in his statue look alive but trapped in stone, possessed or dying. Dante was excommunicated and tried writing very well to…
The Papal City
In honor of The Young Pope on HBO, I thought I’d share some more journal reflections from 2004 and a poem – what? Poetry? Read to the end for that lyrical treat. June 4, 2004 – Vatican City The walls of the Vatican support the hills of Rome. A cathedral built over a dead body…
Goode Travels 