Fall foliage at Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
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After years of working 70 hours a week at jobs I detested, I felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. Searching for meaning in my life, I abandoned my successful but unsatisfying career and set out on a six-month solo backpacking trip around the world to pursue my true passions of travel, writing, and photography. My blog features stories about the destinations I visit, people I meet, the crazy things...Read more here....
Fall foliage at Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
Dear President-elect Obama:
This afternoon I was sitting at a table outside of my favorite coffee shop, talking to a friend on my cell phone, when I noticed that the local merchants had written on the sidewalk with pastel chalk. The giant letters proclaimed “Vote Obama,” and “Obama is in the house.” Chills went down my spine. Something thrilling was in the air. I laughed delightedly and started to repeat the messages to my friend. Just then, an African-American family walked up to the entrance of the shop and overheard my conversation. I looked at them and they looked at me. Not a word was exchanged, yet I felt a kinship such as I have never before experienced.
Throughout my life I have fought passionately against discrimination and injustice. I have never, ever – not once – judged a person by the color of their skin. But despite of my unshakable belief in the goodness of all people regardless of race, creed, or religion, I have always felt a slight Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Barack Obama, elections, equality, healing, love, politics, President, pride, victory | 
10 CommentsI must have been able to stand cold weather at some point in my life, because I have memories of shoveling snow as a child in Chicago and of digging out cars stuck in snowdrifts during the winters of 1978 and ’79. Perhaps it was all the years of living in Phoenix and the Caribbean that made me less tolerant to cold. All I know is that when the temperatures drop below 50 I am miserable. I had an amazing month-long leaf-peeping trip to parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Georgia, but toward the end I really started to suffer as autumn kicked in, and I was anxious to get back to Florida where I could warm my bones.
The drive home from Atlanta yesterday was not without drama. Near Valdosta, Georgia, I pulled off the Interstate for fuel. I pulled into a Race Trac gas station that was advertising the lowest price, slid my debit card through the reader and waited for the pump to turn on. When the nozzle didn’t activate I checked the display. To my horror it read, “Declined – see attendant – error Z.” Now, I know my debit card is good. There’s plenty of money in my account. But my first reaction was embarrassment, that somehow I would be seen as a thief or a deadbeat. So of course, I tried again. No way. Declined. I seriously thought about trying a third time, until I realized that would be the definition of insanity – repeating the same behavior over and over and Continue reading
Posted in Florida travel | cold weather, credit cards, debit cards, Florida, Gratitude, leaf-peeping, New England, Sarasota, Travel, warm, winter, woman | 8 Comments
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