We recently took a little hiatus from the Left Coast and hopped over (and by hopped I mean traveled all day) to visit my parents in Southwest Florida. They winter in Naples these days, and sometimes we get to benefit...and it's always warm there. Yay! We've been a few times over the years now, so this time, Pinky and...
One thing I've learned, while living on the East Coast, is that most of these people have no idea where I'm from. I get glazed eyes, hesitant head nods, and — from the geography buffs — "isn't that Canada?" Um. No. I'm from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a piece of land that is sandwiched between Lake Superior and the...
I am NOT a fun snow day mom. This post is MY PLAN for how to be a super-fun Snow Day Mom, not what I ACTUALLY do on snow days. When the text comes through that school is canceled, what actually happens is my stomach drops. Fortunately, I have multiple flexible part-time jobs right now, so I don’t have to scrounge to...
My youngest son hates hiking. He says there’s far too much walking involved in hiking. Now, this is a city kid, mind you, who has to navigate miles of city blocks while running errands with Mom, but most of the time he has his scooter to ride on…and let’s be honest…most of the time I have one hand on the handle...
While I spend most of my time in Bogotá between my husband's relatives and my family, we also spend at least a week in a little "pueblo" called La Mesa. It's about 90 minutes or less away from Bogotá. The change from the city to be in the middle of mountains with warmer weather is amazing. This year we...
I don't recall exactly when I realized that we were, in fact, screwed. A little niggling doubt started creeping in as I attached an avalanche beacon to my seven year old. (The guide assured me that it was just 'for the lawyers' but still.) Or perhaps when we boarded the shuttle, in full gear, and I realized that the...
We spent the holidays with my family in Marquette, Michigan, a tiny (and beautiful) little town on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Not Lake Michigan, mind you, Lake Superior. You might need to look it up. Most of you, I suspect, think that this part of Michigan is actually Canada. Nope. In the summer it looks like heaven...
One of the biggest highlights of our trip was the Skogafoss waterfall (and hike). Skogafoss, located in the south of Iceland (near Vik), is a high-tourist area, but it's worth it. It's worth it due to the sheer size of the waterfall, an absolute curtain of thunder that seemed to shake the ground. Or maybe because of the double...
Our trip to Iceland was totally incredible. It was just...wild. The hiking was mind-blowing, the vistas awe-inspiring, and there's no doubt in our minds that Icelanders know how to live it up (especially in the summer). I have so much more to share about our trip, but I wanted to start with one of our top experiences: hiking Reykjadalur.
Reykjadalur,...
I am not a camper, in any sense of the word. Unlike my husband, I didn't grow up doing it, and as an adult don't really see the appeal in sleeping anywhere but my comfortable bed in close proximity to, you know, indoor plumbing? But he really wants to introduce our kids to the joys of communing with the...