Posted in Three-fer Friday on Feb 12th, 2010
There is but one activity that takes less planning than a walk…and that is a nap. We’ll celebrate the joy of a good travel nap in the coming weeks but, first, we look back on some memorable moments of putting one foot in front of the other. It’s a low effort, high reward kind of [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 23rd, 2009
I met Ojenga last January on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. On winter days, the seagulls outnumber the people wandering the boardwalk by about 1000 to one. But Ojenga’s out there drumming, day in day out, unless it’s really really freezing. When I met him, he’d just logged his 17th year on the boardwalk. Business had [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 8th, 2009
You still haven’t finished your shopping?* What am I going to do with you? Well, get to it. Here, handmade goods from or about or somehow just having to do with states from Montana on through to Wyoming. (Hankering for the AL to MO set? I got your back.)
Montana: Hmmm, I may need to read [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 24th, 2009
Some days, it feels like we’re all overthinking travel. So, with my nieces in town for Thanksgiving, I decided to get nine-year-old S.’s fresher-than-most (in several different yet usually charming ways) and back-to-basics take on travel in the U.S. Her sister, six-year-old J., was kind enough to contribute the artwork. She was paid in pretzels.
So, [...]
What is everyone thinking about these days? Food. Of course. Holiday traditions, laden tables, houses redolent with sautéed and simmered love.
There’s something cooking in every kitchen in America this time of year, but it’s likely to vary a little from place to place. After all, in those early Thanksgiving days, people pretty much ate what [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 18th, 2009
It really doesn’t matter where this photo was shot*. Looking down on the tracks from an overpass, it struck me that this view is so quintessentially American. It’s a stretch of wild running alongside industry and can-do. It also just makes me want to go, to see what’s out there. While I’ve looked down from [...]
Posted in Three-fer Friday on Nov 6th, 2009
We all have our own ideas of the perfect winter getaway. For some people, it’s a tropical beach, far from the snow-covered driveway. (Whenever I say I miss snow, living here in Texas, my husband says, “That’s because you never had to shovel a driveway.” Which is true.) For some, it’s atop a ski mountain, [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 4th, 2009
Nearly 4 million miles of roads. That’s what we’ve got here in the U.S. Those of you who have been reading Flyover America for a while (or, even, for just a post) probably realize that a number like 4 million presents a problem if you’re a Flyover America type in the midst of conjuring up [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 6th, 2009
Since writing about author Gretchen Rubin and her upcoming book The Happiness Project, I’ve been a now-and-again reader of her blog. A read of it today turned up a post about keeping a non-journal of one liners about happy times. Rubin writes: “Studies show that recalling happy times helps boost happiness in the present.” OK, [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 9th, 2009
Growing up in New Jersey, you, quickly, understand what it’s like to live as the underdog. My poor home state. Its wonders are frequently overlooked. Isn’t that just a place where people who commute to NYC live? It’s an easy punchline for most outsiders. New Jersey. Heh heh. Snicker snicker.
Yes, I’ll admit that, once I [...]
