Hello! So yes, it’s been a little while since one of my stories has greeted you in your inbox/Facebook feed – whichever way you follow me. But I do have good reasons for that. Okay, I have reasons, good or not. Without going all “I’ve been so busy” on you (and getting into how many…

I first started plotting a visit to the Florida Keys way back when I lived in Oregon. I envisioned long stretches of bridge snaking over blue-green waterways and landing here and there on a little plop of scrubby land, boats everywhere, old two-story cottages standing shoulder-to-shoulder amidst a jungly Key West downtown, many-toed cats languishing…

The adventurousness in this post is partly in the act of posting it, and partly in me doing something different for myself. It’s a personal kind of thing to share, and I don’t usually do personal unless I know you really well. So, after considering a little, I decided what the hell, it comes with…

Wraparound porches with rows of rocking chairs… A tidy croquet court… Wide green lawns… Colorful Victorian cottages… Bicycles ambling along shady winding paths… Polished wooden floors… Spanish moss draped across grand old oaks… Does this bring a picture to your mind? I’m guessing this picture still wouldn’t quite capture the natural beauty and timeless elegance…

With so many adventures, so many destinations, and even so many islands out there waiting to be explored, does it make sense to use your precious time off and limited vacation funds to revisit any destination a mere four months after the original visit? Well, I think it depends on the destination. In the case…

Neighbors can make or break the place you call home. When I moved to Oregon in 2002, I experienced culture shock. I’d easily lived and traveled in Germany, Italy, Japan, England, Switzerland, a handful of other European countries, and most of the US, but Oregon just took some getting used to. People didn’t smile at…

I’ve never been to a high school reunion, because it’s always sounded about as appealing as wading into alligator-infested waters. Here’s why… When I was growing up, my family moved a few times and the last move was a difficult one for me. It was midway through my sixth-grade year, and over Christmas break to…

For a period of time in my twenties, the nights of the week I stayed in could be counted on two fingers: Mondays and Tuesdays. Wednesday meant drink specials; Thursday was ladies’ night (essentially, more drink specials); Friday was of course Friday; Saturday was the biggest whoop-it-up night; and then Sunday was a chilled-down locals’…

I’ll admit, in my younger years, my idea of a vacation was to get from point A to point B as quickly and painlessly as possible, and the fun part was the time between airport arrival and departure. The planning, prep-work, and inevitable hassle of half a day or more spent dealing with flights and…

Walks by the bay… beach cleanup parties… dinner, drinks, and dancing at the harbor… a day swimming in a friend’s backyard pool, complete with rain showers… concerts on the sound… waverunner adventures… paddleboard races… plans for upcoming island trips (St. Thomas – Florida Keys – Jekyll Island, Georgia – Aruba again)… a quick check of…