Soothing for the Soul – A Day of Wide Open Horizons and Thundering Waves at the Indiana Dunes
For weeks my daughter had been nudging that she wanted to go hike trail 10 in the Indiana Dunes. She wanted to relive a childhood experience. We had taken the kids on the woods part of that trail way back when. It is fairly flat and thus easier to manage for little legs. But we had never gone in the [...]
Podcast Interview: How to Get Started Writing Family History Stories and How to Make Them Interesting for the Next Generation
That's me in front of my grandparents' former house in Liberec, Czech Republic, August 2002 I'm happy to share that I'm featured on this week's edition of the Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast. It was a lot of fun talking to Lisa Louise Cooke about my book How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History. Here's a snippet of the [...]
Sharing Impressions from an Epic Trip to Peru Last Year: A Sand Storm Threatens a Flight over the Mysterious Nazca Lines
On our trip to Peru last year, we first traveled south, past all the depressing shanty towns of Lima, mainly to see the pre-Columbian Nazca Lines. This post continues my series celebrating the trip to Peru I was fortunate enough to undertake with two of my kids last summer. The current difficulty of travel due to the Coronavirus Pandemic has [...]
Sharing Impressions from an Epic Trip to Peru Last Summer: Beginning with the Shocking Poverty of the Shanty Towns of Lima
Seeing the shanty towns south of Lima on the very first day we were traveling in Peru last summer left an indelible impression on me. Never in my life had I seen people living in such dismal conditions. Not even on my trip to Manaus in Brazil a few years ago. And yet the shanty towns were an appropriate introduction [...]
Hip Labral Tear Surgery (Hip Arthroscopy): My Experience and My Take On It Two Years Later
That's me one month after the surgery in the body brace I had to constantly wear for six weeks post op. This was on my first trip to the grocery store! This week marks the two-year anniversary of my hip labral tear surgery. Anniversaries always make me want to reflect on the experience, especially one that was life altering. [...]
During these Uncertain Times, Trips Down Memory Lane Warm the Heart and Provide an Anchor
In these days of the Coronavirus Pandemic, urban unrest and ensuing heightened uncertainty, I have found trips down memory lane especially meaningful and calming. They connect me to my former self of happier times. They also ground me in various aspects of my family's traditions, experiences and history. All of which is such a welcome anchor. There are many productive [...]