Tag Archives: Travel

The Threading the Needle in a Haystack Bit

Summer greetings! It’s that fantastic time of year when many get to take off by plane, train and automobile to create lasting vacation memories! I’ve got a trove of family photos that bring some very fond trip-type memories to mind – But they generate some mysteries too! A few years back, I wrote about trying […]

The Always Having Paris Bit

Yayyy! Almost time for my favorite biennial event – the Olympics! This year is the Summer installment, and I’m all the more excited because its stage is a magical city I’ve been fortunate to visit – Paris! Almost 40 years ago (back when I was an innocent broad…), Paris was the first big Continental stop […]

The Following the Paper Trail Bit

Whew! Finally getting over the affliction I seem to suffer every year about this time: spring cleaning! April ended up being largely devoted to scrounging through boxes and bags in my storage unit with the dual aims of clearing some things away and of chasing down receipts and documents for the other charming springtime task […]

The Talent, Luck – Oh, and the Water – Bit

Seems it never rains in Southern California… Ah, yes – a classic ’70’s song, and another legend about La La Land! So far in 2024, any such myth is getting pretty thoroughly debunked. You might tell that by our snarly freeways full of people whose rainy-day driving choices are – um – well, they’re not […]

The Adventures in Waitressing Bit

So this summer, I was browsing in a railroad museum shop (as you do) and I couldn’t resist picking up what, for me, is a bit of fan merch:  Ever since reading about the Harvey Girls and seeing the Judy Garland musical, I’ve felt kind of a kinship with these gals! They were women who […]

‘Twas the Night Before Posting

Holiday greetings! For the eighth time, I’m wrapping up my blogging year with a poem in the form of that classic work, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas! As ever, I hope you’ll enjoy! ’Twas a year of adjusting, of change and transition,Requiring profession and life expedition: Surveying the landscape as changes arose,Feeling both joy and […]

The Bit of a “Kaliméra” Effect

Man, I’ve been struggling with my memory lately. I just transferred a bunch of old VHS home movies to digital, and sometimes even when I see myself right there on the screen (albeit younger and blurrier), I still can’t call the particular circumstance to mind… I fared better though when I stopped by a Greek […]

The Bear in the Room Bit

Greetings, all! Can’t believe the summer’s nearly over… As a finale to what kinda became my “2023 Season of Trees Tour”, I was just off camping amid the beautiful forests around Northern California’s Pinecrest Lake! The trip came right on the heels of a bit of a health scare for me…but a wonderful week at […]

A Life Among the Trees Bit

Man! Across the country and the world, it has been one sweltering summer! Here in LA, I try to get my neighborhood walk in early. Even in the morning though, I still need the hat and the water and the pauses under sidewalk trees for a little cooling shade. I sure appreciate a nice tree […]

Santa Ynez Valley: The What’s With the Names Bit

So just a couple-ish hours’ drive northwest from LA is a favorite destination I’ve been so pleased to get back to. It’s the Santa Ynez Valley! The area’s got diverse and dramatic beauty, lots to do – and some pretty eclectic overlays of history! As local place names suggest, the valley includes multiple cultures at […]