Category: Travel
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Flinging dead fish and unexpected pleasures at California’s Salton Sea
Palm Springs was on our list. When we move somewhere new we make a list of five to eight places we want to visit before we move again. Palm Springs made the cut only because I read a brief article about it in a magazine. There’s so much more to the region than retro 1950’s…
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Lego life
One of the first Christmas gifts I remember from my early childhood was not one I received. When I was four or five my older brother received a Lego castle from Santa. It was the most amazing Lego set I had ever seen. I don’t know how long it stayed a castle before turning into…
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the Christmas tree is dead
Our Christmas tree is already dead. Yep. It’s been sitting in the tree stand for three weeks and before that it was transported on a truck from Oregon, hundreds of miles away. A dead tree by Christmas is normal. There is also no snow in forecast. But I live in San Diego, so that’s to…
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We keep going back
Honestly, at first it was awkward. For several weeks, maybe months, it was awkward. They didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Burmese. I brought my daughters along and committed to visiting them once a week for several months. I’m fairly certain I am their only American friend – at least the kind of friend…
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San Diego answers with a community Christmas Market
Last Thursday when I posted about German Christmas markets I admit I was feeling a bit sorry for myself that I couldn’t be there this year. Traditional food and drink, artisan wares, community gathering. I was pleasantly surprised three days later by a fest that took place not two blocks from our house and supplied…
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Community gathering – the Christmas market
Right about now every travel site and travel show will be talking about European Christmas markets. Traditional, romantic, cultural, local food, local crafts, spicy brews, medieval settings – all good reasons to visit a European Christmas market, if you can. Christmas markets, like any other highly touristed event, offer the visitor a glimpse of the…
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Acoustics can’t be plundered – Mozambique Island, Mozambique
When I first visited Mozambique Island fifteen or so years ago, the colonial Portuguese Saint Sebastian fort contained piles of rusting cannonballs interspersed with patches of weeds. The coffins in the small chapel at the water’s edge still contained bones. The lid of one of the coffins was partially removed and we spotted a femur.…
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10 Things He Learned in the Middle East
As a rule, I only publish one post a week. Just trying to keep expectations low. Fortunately, because it’s my rule, I’m under no moral obligation to keep it. I am breaking my rule so I can bring to your attention an article written by Jon Huckins, someone who has developed lasting relationships with individuals…
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Central Market or central rip-off?
You can wear flip-flops to the new San Diego central market. My footwear rules are different for shopping at the San Diego market than the markets in some countries I’ve lived in. In those places, the first rule of shopping footwear is to wear something you can run in. You may need to chase down…
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Haiti – under a U.N.-blue tarp
U.N.-blue. You know instantly what color I’m talking about. It’s a real color. Just like you can visualize Tiffany-blue – also a certifiable color. Where I lived in Africa for several years as a child, we frequently saw U.N. Land Rovers with the U.N.-blue logo emblazoned on the sides and hood of the vehicle. Large…
will travel with kids 