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that store down the road with the foreign name. . . try it.
I find that after living in the same place for a year or so, I settle into my favorite haunts and hideaways. There is an occasional foray into the unknown, like my recent drive through an off-my-beat neighborhood because I needed something only carried in “that part of town.” I stay in my comfort zone, as most creatures do.…
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art museum. toddler. security guard with acute apprehension.
I didn’t grow up frequenting art museums. For one, there weren’t that many in our local area (various African cities). For another, if they weren’t free, I’m sure my parents weren’t going to fork over the cash for five kids to run down the halls, screaming to see how loud it would echo. Last month…
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Baby’s first summer safari (minus Louis Vuitton luggage)
My oldest daughter’s first safari was in Malawi. In Swahili, ‘safari’ means journey, expedition or trip. So, technically, her first safari was the drive home from the hospital after her birth. That felt like an expedition to me. Most people, however, associate a safari with Africa and a drive across the savannah searching for an…
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Leonard’s, The Great Equalizer – Honolulu, Hawaii
The native and the foreign. Red with sunburn or white with sunscreen. The wrinkled and the botoxed. Some dripping with sea water. Jolly babes young and old. Cadillac rich and missing-car-window poor. They all come stand line to receive a pink box, contents whopping hot and fresh out of the fryer. Malasadas oozing with stuffed…
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Will travel with kids. . . but not this week. . . in Hawaii
I am posting this from Oahu, Hawaii, where locals really do say “Aloha!” In fact, nearly all the stereotypes about Hawaii that have leapt the waves of the Pacific and reached the mainland are validated within the first hour of my arrival – people wear leis and flowers, men wear Hawaiian shirts, floral and island…
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The first good-bye – 1986
In 1986 my family moved overseas for the first time, taking along all our worldly possessions and saying good-bye “for forever.” Today, I’m proud to have my mom as a guest writer share about that experience. Thanks mom! Traveling with children had always meant piling suitcases in the car — and blankies, a pacifier, diapers,…
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Out the door, down the steps and. . . I’m not in Tuscany
Nope. I’m not in Tuscany or Provence. I’m not twirling in an open field in the Alps, arms spread wide as I sing “The hills are alive. . .” I’m not surrounded by a sea of color in an open air market. I’m not even watching dolphins frolic in the surf of a blue sea…
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Civil unrest, financial crisis and natural disasters all mean one thing – prime time to visit!
Sebastian Smee recently published an article in the Boston Globe describing a recent 3-week excursion to Greece with three generations of family ranging from 4 to 68-years-old. All I’ve been hearing about Greece lately relates to financial crisis, public demonstrations and even tear gas in Syntagma Square. Although the future is uncertain for Greece, for…
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On a screen in the basement, he brought the world to us
In August 1975 an engineer employed by American Telephone and Telegraph Company (now known simply as AT&T) went on a business trip to Lebanon and Iran. In those days, the rank and file of your average crowd did not contain so many intrepid travelers. He felt it his duty to bring the world and his…
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Miraculous provision in Pompeii
As all parents who leave the confines of their home with their toddlers are well aware, adequate facilities are not always available for taking care of necessities. Many a parent can relate an experience where they were forced to change a diaper with the baby squirming on their quads, squat-leaning against a bathroom wall. …