Travel Books

Joshua Tree National Park

February 27, 2016

Crisp winter air and clear skies shape the day as we make our way to the Oasis Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms, CA. Our first trip to this area and Joshua Tree National Park, we are eager to begin our exploration. A helpful and informed ranger at the Visitor Center guides us on what to […]

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International travel benefits the brain

March 31, 2015

A recent article in The Atlantic quotes Mark Twain, who wrote in his travelogue The Innocents Abroad that travel is “fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” The article goes on to talk about how travel may help us be more open-minded and increase our creativity… Foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and integrativeness of thought, the […]

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The Longest Road – Florida to Alaska

July 14, 2013

Feeling nostalgic this morning as I read rave reviews about a new road book in the NY Times… Two years ago we converted our Honda CRV into a camper van and drove round-trip from Washington State to Maryland. Taking a northern route out and southern path home. Read about our adventures here:  US Cross Country […]

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India, on my mind…

March 30, 2012

Different articles and books concerning India are crossing my path recently and bringing back many memories. January of 1997 I visited India with a group of 12 women. Our host was one of my social work professors – he taught us “group therapy” at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, but confessed to being terrified […]

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San Miguel de Allende: Le Segundo Semana

January 16, 2012

The day is just dawning this Sunday morning when we hear the sound of drummers very close by… Jay quickly dresses, grabs his camera and heads out the door. Men and boys dressed as Indian dancers and drummers are parading down a nearby street, creating a rich drum beat in rolling 4/4 time, as they […]

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Brussels, Belgium

December 27, 2011

Each year Winter Wonders, Brussel’s Christmas Market, fills the city – from the world-famous Grand-Place of Brussels, around the Bourse, on the Place Sainte-Catherine and on the Marché aux Poissons. Hundreds of wooden huts offering hand-crafted toys, warming mugs of mulled wine, and moules mariniere by the bucket full fill the city centre. There is […]

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Best Travel Book Gifts 2011

December 5, 2011

It’s that time of year again… Do you have a dedicated traveler on your gift list? Or someone who stays close to home, but enjoys reading about faraway places and other cultures? Many of us enjoy spending a cold, winter’s day inside, cuddled up and cozy, gazing at pictures of places we love or hope […]

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Best Travel Books for Kids

December 2, 2011

Giving a book as a gift can educate and inspire kids. Giving a travel book can broaden their awareness about the world and other cultures, nurture their imagination, and inspire a sense of wonder. Lonely Planet has a new book out that may do all this: Not-for-Parents Travel Book: Cool Stuff to Know About Every […]

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US Cross Country Road Trip

August 12, 2011

A funny thing happened on the way to the wedding… we decided to convert our Honda CRV into a camper van and drive from Washington State to Maryland. We are fortunate to have some liberty with how much time we take. Initially, we were thinking a month, but as we begin to plan, five weeks […]

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Japan – Lessons in Simple Living

June 20, 2011

Travels to Tokyo and Kyoto have given me and Jay a flavor for urban living in Japan, and in the Kyoto area the surrounding mountains and countryside suggested a rural way of life. And as we know from living on an island where some of us call the mainland “America” – remote, rural areas attract […]

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Singapore for business and pleasure

May 3, 2011

Singapore is one of my favorite cities to visit. Though I generally visit on business, there is always time for pleasure… and Singapore is a fine place to enjoy dining, night life, lush tropical parks, beaches, and shopping. Singapore’s legendary efficiency is obvious from the first moments after arrival. You will breeze through customs in […]

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Book gifts for travelers & food lovers

December 6, 2010

Today I read about two interesting books – one for the travel lover and the other for the food lover on your gift list (or to add to your own wish list, as I have). Seattle folks know Nancy Pearl as their librarian until 2004… now many of us know her as a book reviewer […]

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Springtime in Kyoto, Japan

November 17, 2010

April 2007 found us in Tokyo and Kyoto for 10 days… I tagged along on a business trip of Jay’s. Here are some notes and impressions I jotted down at the time… this blog covers Kyoto. Springtime in Kyoto… showers of cherry blossoms. There is a happiness, a festive feeling associated with the blossoms as […]

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Fishing with John

May 11, 2010

When Jay & I settled in the Pacific NW almost eight years ago, locals spoke of a memoir about fishing in the Northwest – Fishing with John by Edith Iglauer. In her middle age, Edith, who had lived a sophisticated, urban life in New York, met a commercial salmon fisherman in British Columbia, married him, and […]

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