It is quite possible I was first drawn to “We Came, We Saw, We Life—A Family Gap Year” by Charles Wheelan, because of its striking yellow cover and very simple design. It gave “Little Miss Sunshine” vibes with a bright blue van driving off the edge of the book. Then I saw the tag: “Nine…
Category: Travel
Away
If I never left I could not understand contentment. For being away is the only way to come home. Then when I stay and wait, the journey feels a gift. Without one, I can’t truly love the other, Travel: ‘tis a most ingenious paradox Cue the music. Book the trip. Go away. 8.12.22 | SDG
Ireland | 2023
For the second year in a row, my family was able to schedule an international vacation over the Christmas holiday. Fortunately, by December 2022, many of the travel restrictions and adjustments that we dealt with the previous year in traveling to Paris were lifted. Although traveling is always a gift to be treasured, it sure…
Book Review: Parisians
In case you’re new here, I’m an American who once upon a decade ago, lived in Paris for a year whilst I completed a master’s degree. That year was one of the best and simultaneously most challenging years of my life. I loved the endless charm of the architecture, the smell of the flowers, the…
Nashville + Franklin |2019
After what seems like years of not leaving my home state of Illinois (except for family gatherings in Michigan, Arkansas, Missouri and Wisconsin), I finally took a road trip to a completely new location: Nashville/Franklin, Tennessee! The university that my best friend and I work for gave us the entire week of the fourth of…
San Francisco | 2014
Less than three weeks after I returned from my year in Paris, I was on the road again. Over the course a month I traveled west for work, paused in the Midwest for vacation, headed east to visit family, and then flew down to the Caribbean for a volunteer trip. For the first stop on…
China | 2011
In order to get to China, I had to endure Air India once again. Not wanting to ruin my now positive impression of Indian cuisine, I wisely stuck with rice and cucumbers on the plane. We first flew in to Shanghai. Our time there was primarily spent doing touristic activities. As was the case in…
India | 2011
India was wonderful. Before arriving, I was slightly worried that I wouldn’t handle the heat, smells, culture shock, crowds, or food very well (mostly based on a terrible Indian airline experience in 5th grade). Although we still had to contend with airline food, I wisely chose the vegetarian option (always the safest bet in my…
Fort Wilderness
For nearly 20 years my family has made a yearly pilgrimage to Fort Wilderness in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Each summer we have piled 70 hours worth of mosquito spray protection, 7 days worth of adventurous clothing, and 7 hours worth of car-riding activities into the family vehicle to spend a week in the northern woods getting…
England | 2011
I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that my first priority when we got off the ferry from the Netherlands and drove into London was finding coffee. I am slightly more embarrassed to admit that I was over the moon when we were directed to a Starbucks. We hit the ground running in England enjoying an…
L.M.Beatty 