On Mountaintop Tea Parties & Remembering What’s Most Important
Friends, I have one last travel story for this month. Hope you enjoyed this series, as much as I did. And, if you have any travel stories of your own you’d like to share—please do so in the comments section! One of my favorite travel memories, didn’t happen to me. In other words, what I am about to tell you is not an experience of my own. Rather, it is one I witnessed on the top of Cadillac Mountain, in Maine, just before sunrise. Now, I realize most people on their vacations rarely ever see the sunrise. But, as it [...]
Why It’s Important to Make Time for “Us” —Even In the Time of Covid
This past weekend, Tony and I took a trip with our closest friends to the Finger Lakes in New York. There we had “socially distanced” wine tastings. We hiked the gorge in Watkins Glen with our masks on. And we ate almost all of our meals at the little cottage we rented. Proving that traveling in the time of COVID is challenging, but not impossible. If someone was to ask me and Tony what makes our marriage not only work, but also thrive, we’d probably tell them two things. In seasons like these, travel can often feel like a luxury. [...]
Say Yes To Hard Things
Our canoe made a soft scraping sound against the sand as we arrived on the shore of our next portage. Quickly, we jumped out and lifted the canoe slightly, to drag it onto the small beach. We attached our paddles to the inside, and then began to unload. Tony helped me lift my first pack onto my back. His brother, Mike, and our sister-in-law, Wendy, had arrived a few minutes before. Wendy was already loaded up, and heading down the trail. I grabbed a bucket and a folding table, then followed her. I walked as fast as I could, swatting [...]
Three Things To Do If You Didn’t Get the Vacation You Needed
Earlier this week, I woke up feeling cold. It’s finally been cool enough to open our windows in Pennsylvania. Only one morning our windows were still open, and it was forty-eight degrees outside. It felt like I went to bed and it was summer time, then I woke up and Now it is fall. Where did this year go? In some ways, many of us can take solace in the fact that 2020 isn’t dragging its heels. As, let’s be honest—none of us will be sad to see it go. But probably like me, you too are feeling that in [...]
Hope, For When Life Feels Like It’s Falling Apart
In Northern Ireland there sits a cylindrical building on the side of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. It’s known as Mussenden Temple and once was the library of a great lord. With windows all around it, inside there are magnificent views of the sea from almost every angle. And when we decided to explore the North on our second trip to Ireland, Tony and I put it on our “must-see” list. Only, when we went to visit, it wasn’t the Temple that stuck out to us. That morning, it was the usual damp, foggy weather we’d grown accustomed to in [...]
Why We Train (Repost)
Taking a break from our normal routine to reshare a few stories from trips we’ve taken—for all of us missing our usual vacations. There is something about climbing a mountain that makes you feel as if you can conquer the world. It could be the sense of accomplishment you get when you realize you’ve reached the peak, or perhaps it’s the view. Whatever it is, it’s a good feeling. The surprising part of this experience however, is that the mountain we climb doesn’t always have to be big for us to feel it. It doesn’t always require poles or [...]
