Montana and Yellowstone: When the Consolation Prize is Better.

“Do you know why I wanted to come to Montana?” “Nope. Why?” “I read about it in a novel and it sounded amazing.” “That is the EXACT reason I went to Maine last year!” I was thrilled that Ali and I are equally inspired by literature in our desire to see the world. Fernweh, Chris […]

The Dark Side of the Island.

Chris and I are on our 20th anniversary trip. We are at Jekyll Island, Georgia, an island with a dark and mysterious past, many dark and mysterious rainforest-like trails, and going with the theme, everything seems to have a delightful dark side. This island was owned in its entirety in the early 1900’s by a […]

Birdlet, The Overly Friendly Woodland Animal.

Yesterday as we were leaving a hike at Ross Bridge, there was an extraordinarily tiny bird hopping after Luke, one of my kid’s friends, as he got in the car to leave. I found the bird’s actions strange, and Ross Bridge Parkway is a busy place for a strange bird, so we got out of […]

Moose Tracks, Signs, Gales, and Heaven: Maine Day Three.

The day started with my phone alerting me with a gale warning, so I decided to scrap the itenirary for the day, which had included a 1.5 hour drive inland, and limit my adventures to one peninsula over, Georgetown Island. That way I wouldn’t be more than 40 minutes away from my room if I […]

The Maine Diaries: Days One and Two.

I did a lot of research before going to Maine, because every time I thought I’d found the end to the goodness of the state, I’d come upon something else and be like “WHAT?! There’s a mile long granite walkway into the ocean that ends at a LIGHTHOUSE?! And I’m just finding this now??” and […]

Mainely Alone: Silence and Beauty.

“This is your fall. You should maximize it.” Chris said those words to me because this would be the first fall in 22 years that we haven’t spent most of our fall Saturdays going to Alabama Football games. (More falls than that for him – since he was 13 – but that’s just my fall […]

2020 Needs A Dance Break.

“I don’t remember SENDING that to you…” “You didn’t. I found it when I opened my computer, since you sent it to AJ and I get all your texts.” Just another normal conversation between a teenager and a parent, I’m sure. It’s the one that Ali and I had after I told her that I […]

Break to the Future.

It’s 1985. Doc Brown has just arrived back from the future, steps out of his DeLorean, and tells me, “Great Scott! Whatever you do, DO NOT go to 2020!” Why not, Doc? “There’s a global pandemic! The world gets shut down, you won’t go into a store for 53 days, you’ll have 3 trips cancelled, you’ll forget […]

If Not In Quarantine, Then When?

It has become my theme statement. It applies to all things. …If I can’t sit in my front yard and read for two hours without feeling a shred of guilt during quarantine, then when? …If I can’t clean out my office closet, paint my office (no more poop beige!), the front door, and the bathroom […]

Diary of a Tired Mom – The Please No More Words Edition

It’s been a weird month for me. My subconscious wants to write very badly – I have dreamed about writing blog posts multiple times in the past month. And those dreams have not been limited to when I was asleep. When I got my first dose ever of “the gas” at the dentist, I was […]