“We love the things we love for what they are.” ~Robert Frost, Hyla Brook I first fell in love with Carmel-by-the-Sea after being swept off my feet by the movie Play Misty for Me, Clint Eastwood’s suspenseful thriller set in the idyllic town on the California coast. It was 1971, and my teenage self was … Read More
“An ecological treasure at the heart of Monterey Bay.” ~Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve It’s Saturday morning in Monterey, California, and the sun won’t be rising for almost an hour. The air is brisk and biting, causing me to question my decision not to have packed a wool hat along with my warm gloves, … Read More
One rainy afternoon in early May 2012, Herb and I were sitting at an upstairs table at La Tarte Tropézienne in Saint-Tropez, France. This was our second visit of the day to the café with the peacock blue shutters on the Boulevard Vasserot. The wonderfully hot cappuccino and freshly baked croissants were a welcome respite … Read More
I was almost finished folding the last of the weekly laundry when Herb called out from his office, “Grab your laptop and meet me in the living room!” At another time and place, my mind would have been confused by his urgent words, but in this predictable loop of daily life in pandemic land, I … Read More
“Walking, ideally, is a state in which the mind, the body, and the world are aligned, as though they were three characters finally in conversation together, three notes suddenly making a chord.” ~Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking Most mornings I walk. Herb and I leave the house as early as the sunrise allows, … Read More
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” ~Zora Neal Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God We had just returned home from our Middle East travels last November when our daughter texted that she needed to talk. Right away. We knew it must be important because 1) she didn’t mind that we were … Read More
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” ~F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Fall comes late in California. The warm gentle air of summer still lingers, wrapping itself around your shoulders like a favorite woolen sweater. The earth is a dusty powder; the sky, the color of sapphire. But for … Read More
“Every dreamer knows that it’s entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.” ~Judith Thurman A few days ago, I ran across a word I’d never seen before that literally stopped me in my reading tracks. Fernweh: (noun) An ache for distant places; a … Read More
About six weeks ago an inquiry popped up in my Facebook message box from journalist Nourhan El Kelawy, wondering if I‘d be interested in having a blog post I’d written about Oman’s ancient lost city of Sumhuram featured on the CNN Arabic website. I think it took all of about five seconds – and a … Read More
“Afoot and lighthearted, I take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me, The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.” ~Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road The original plan was to fly. In the perfect world scenario that had played in my mind, our bags would be packed, and … Read More