What Went Wrong in Cuba?
Disclaimer: Anything I might proclaim here about Cuba is incomplete, naive, and based on a dangerous combination of ignorance and idealism. I spent two short weeks in Cuba, only in a few neighbourhoods of Havana. My sources are a university graduate whom we paid twice to spend a few hours with us to answer our…
Cuba Culture Shock
I thought I was immune to culture shock. I have visited 41 countries (meaning I’ve slept, ate and talked to people there, not just a layover). I’ve been deported and refused entry from more countries than my mom knows. I’m 57 years wise as of last week. So my trepidation and disorientation upon arriving in…
Everyone is Special; No-one is Extraordinary
No-one can make you feel special like the Monteverde Friends Meeting. After 6 long years away, just walking into the beautiful timberframe meeting house elicits joyful smiles and “So glad you’re back!” waves from long-lost Friends. More surprised delight as more people trickle in. The enthusiastic but appropriately-muted murmurs of “Welcome” after we stand up…
Sweet Home, Monteverde
I think the first hug was from Rita. On that dry-season-dusty-green, oh-so-familiar corner at the base of the hill the boys and I climbed every day to school, outside La Colina Lodge where Greg and Amber used to host Hamburger Night, right by the favorite fencepost where the green-and-blue mot-mot would greet us every morning,…
La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Our overly-affectionate friends from Minnesota treated us to an overnight at La Fortuna at the base of Arenal volcano. The drive there through the rural, mountainous interior of Costa Rica was already worth the price of admission – an easy (3.5 hour, 70-mile, you do the math) drive from Monteverde – rent a 4×4! Our…
Narrowing Down “Anywhere in the World”
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? For most people, that’s either a dreamy party game or a one-shot, two-week opportunity to hit that beach or volcano or mardi gras. For us, it’s an ongoing question – making one selection does little to narrow down the options for the next…
When the Kids Come Home to Visit
How do we show love for our children after they leave the nest? One way is rolling out the red (or, in this case, green) carpet when they grace us with a visit. Yesterday morning, as Zekiah and three roommates were having a last swim at Tamarindo Beach then hopping a bus up the mountain…
She Walks These Hills (in a bright flowery scarf)
I keep thinking I should miss you, Margaret. Sitting here today in this meeting house, last week in your own home where Shakespeare and Bach and Jesus Christ Superstar danced together, embraced in the brazen bosom of your beloved broccoli forest. But you’re still here, aren’t you? Our silent worship on the porch on the…
Twisted – A Morning Cloudforest Walk
Vines cascade and dance down from branches, take root, then twist and claw their way back up and strangle the host, becoming a new gnarled twisted “Strangler Fig” tree you can climb inside. Orchids clutch the side of.a tree and blossom proudly. Thick twiny wood vines curl like horror movie fingers. Two and half hours…
Old Friends
Two mornings in a row, we were kicked out of some of Vancouver’s finest establishments. No, I don’t mean the Surrey pub crawl for Zekiah’s 19th. I mean quiet little coffee shops in North Vancouver and White Rock. Young managers who aren’t used to throwing out rowdy old folk like us. My roots run deep…
Cry, the Beloved Cowichan
Who says you can’t go home? – Jon Bon Jovi, Jennifer Nettles In 2008, life was crazy. We’d put our 4- and 6-year-old boys to bed then work side-by-side on our laptops until midnight – Sarah running two businesses, me leading a non-profit (ACCES) and serving on too many boards. We bought a hot-tub just…
Waterfalls Everywhere!
A friend today reminded me of a story I once told her that rings of youthful (and hopefully lifelong) positivity. I was 25, driving from Connecticut to Ohio with a beautiful girl who suggested we picnic at a waterfall she’d heard about. She pulled out the map (yes, paper!) and bravely started detouring us through…
Family: Can’t (and do) live without ’em
Having lived away from our home bases for all but 4 of our 25 years together, we’ve become experts at lightning strike visits. Packing as many loud gatherings, quiet washing-the-dishes-together chats, and helping-move-furniture-chores into a short visit as possible. Drinking full (or rather, chugging quickly) from the cup of family love to sustain the next…
Too much Stuff!
Phase One is over. “Elvira,” our trusty electric vehicle who carried us over 6,000 miles in 3 months, is now parked comfortably in a Minnesota storage unit while we have flown to British Columbia with just carry-on bags. Let’s burrow through the packed paraphernalia and evaluate what we did and didn’t need to enjoy a…
Quebec City
Three nights in Quebec City – not enough to see everything, but enough to drink it all in, absorb the magic and uniqueness that is North America’s only fortified city (it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site). Taking our own advice from an earlier post, we broke up a long drive out of Nova Scotia into…
Pugwash, Nova Scotia
When we told locals that our next stop was Pugwash, each one would ask “Why?” The answer, as always, was that surely something interesting would surface. And, as always, something did. At the height of the cold war in the 1950’s, Pugwash hosted a series of nuclear disarmament talks with top scientists from both sides…
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
I’ve lived in some magical places around the world. Communities that immediately and genuinely invited newcomers in – all the way in. Communities that feel like the Cheers bar, were they’re always glad you came. In Monteverde, the response to the endless stream of visitors and new short-term residents was an enthusiastic, “What new blessing…
How to afford a long, long trip
So many people say they would love to be travelling like we are if they only could. One of the biggest concerns is finances. While acknowledging the incredibly lucky and privileged place that Sarah and I are starting from, I thought sharing how we overcame key barriers might inspire y’all to see things in a…
What do St.Louis, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Maine have in common?
Sometimes it’s good to write daily, catch all the fascinating details, see the pebbles in the mosaic. Other times it’s good to let a bunch of Wow’s and Ugh’s blow past then look back to see which gems stand out, what patterns emerge. At least, that’s my excuse for now trying to make sense of…
Playful Mice in Wichita Kansas
“True character is what you do when no-one’s watching,” they say. They also say, “When the cat’s away, they mice will play.” So what does an unwatched Ricky play when his wife runs away to a Florida work retreat and leaves him in glorious Wichita Kansas? 1. Overload on Community Events Day of the Dead…
a Real drum
Moving from a house into a car requirs a lot of pruning. But why am I giving this precious drum away? Well, it turns out I’m not that young hippie traveller who ends up in random drum circles anymore. And as beautiful and resonant and “real” as it is, it just barely stands on…
How Barbed Wire Won the West
“It is not difficult or expensive to start a basic barbed wire collection…” – encouraging words from the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum website. We almost missed this Kansas treasure (most travellers do). The first 120 snow-laden miles out of Boulder took 3.5 hours, following snowploughs and cars skidding into the meridian and the occasional passing…
So long, Snug
It was harder than I’d somehow convinced myself, ending the life of a beloved family member. We’d spent the last year agonizing over the decision. Snug’s cancer had clearly spread. She was clearly in some pain But she still also clearly had a good life, loving our walks, loving belly rubs and neighbours and snow…
Three Saturdays
Just 2 Saturdays ago, we were frantically finalizing a house sale… Our plan to rent it out fully-furnished was usurped by a neighbour casually asking to buy it instead. Suddenly we had 10 (ten!) days to sort literally everything we own into 3 piles – bring with us, store in the basement, or sell/give away. …
Currently in...
Chiang Rai, Thailand
Heading to...
Vietnam (Hoi Ann, Feb-Mar), Cambodia (Siem Reap, Apr). Please share any sites, people or ideas by email.