Appreciating the awesomeness that surrounds me … One day at a time.
The number one question I get from guests at my A Whole Lot Of Awesome Air BnB is about eating options. As I tried to explain in this post, Juneau does not rank high on any sort of walkability scale. My little nest is located in the Mendenhall Valley which is akin to the suburbs…
The City and Borough of Juneau, commonly known as Juneau, is the capital city of Alaska. Located on the Gastineau Channel and situated on the Alaskan Panhandle, it is the second largest city in the U.S. by area. Juneau is unique among U.S. capitals in that there are no roads connecting the city to the rest of the…
I am always struck by just how much happens over the course of a year. It’s a lot. And 2018 was a big, full year for my family. I am also struck by just how quickly a year can pass … as the saying goes, “the days are long but the years are short.” A…
We departed England and made it to Iceland and the final, 4-day leg of our 16 week travel odyssey across much of Europe. It’s been an adventure! And also exhausting and exhilarating, in equal parts. Reykjavik, Iceland We departed London, England out of Gatwick Airport on April 26th and arrived at Keflavik International Airport in…
Dover Keith has a desktop screensaver on the computer at home with a photo of the White Cliffs of Dover that takes my breath away every time it comes up. It was one of THE places I wanted to visit on this trip and so we found ourselves driving to Dover which is located in…
Cambridgeshire As Reece gets closer to leaving home and going off to college, higher education is in the forefront of my mind. Cambridge and its university were a must see while we were in England. We had two short nights in a lovely pensione … which is defined as family run lodging establishment. Specifically, we stayed at…
Chorleywood Our journey has brought us to Hertfordshire which is where Keith’s mother grew up and where she eventually met Keith’s dad, Walt, who was stationed in Bovington during World War II. The story goes that Walt was at a local pub that Keith’s maternal grandfather often frequented. They got to talking and Keith’s grandfather…
Stratford-Upon-Avon Our first stop upon departing Pembrokeshire was in Warwickshire and specifically, Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. We had two quick nights there which meant only one full day and we had to make the most of it. We were in need of food and Reece was in charge of researching and selecting the place…
We had huge plans to cover as much of the U.K. has humanly possible in our five weeks of driving. But I also didn’t want to spend ALL of my time driving … though that I can’t deny that with so much practice my skill level on the roundabouts and my comfort with driving not…
Westbury When we left Cornwall we headed north to the county of Wiltshire. We were looking for a centrally located place where we could visit the local sites and we found one with Pam and Michael Thompson. Throughout most of our time traveling in Europe, our home stays have been self-contained. In other words, we…
Cornwall Cornwall is the southern most county in England. It is bordered by the Celtic Sea and the English Channel and by Devonshire in the East. Penhallow is a small hamlet (VERY small … not much there except a cross roads) about 7 miles from Truro. Doc Martin fans (a great show and if you…
Devonshire Devon is located in southeastern England, bordered on the west by Cornwall, and in the east by Somerset and Dorset. Exeter is the county town … if Devon was a “state” (for those of you used to that classification) than Exeter would be the capital. Musbury We were headed to spend the week, including…
Hampshire Our first trek, upon debarking the plane at the London Gatwick airport was to pick up the rental car and head southwest to the county of Hampshire and more specifically, the town of Winchester. Boasting a population, as of 2011, of just over 45,000 residents, Winchester is the perfect blend of country hamlet with…
It is hard to believe that our time in Paris is coming to an end. We’ll be home six weeks from today. And we only have three more days in the City of Light. It’s been very relaxing hanging in one spot for the last month. We haven’t felt rushed to do something every day….
Paris: Week Two, Day One After a week of lounging in our flat trying to rid ourselves of colds, Reece and I decided we needed a plan to get out of the flat. I had originally considered researching one thing (at least!) in each of the arrondisements that we could go in search for ……
One week in … We arrived in Paris last Thursday to sunny but cold weather. Frankly, it has been an uneventful week considering we are in the City of Light … and a population of just over 2.2 million. All the moving around we have been doing the past 8 weeks, finally caught up to…
Italy: Travel Day Another day, another trip to the airport. This time we were departing from Athens, Greece for Naples, Italy via Rome. We figured out how to get to the airport … or we thought we did. We were going to retrace our steps from when we arrived. No problem. I did a bit…
The Stats We have been on the road for 42 days now (6 weeks!) and have approximately 77 more days (11 weeks) left of our travel odyssey. After my first few posts on packing, there has been some interest on whether or not I was satisfied with my packing efforts. Admittedly, I agonized over what…
Travel Day We had an early flight out of Barcelona to Athens, Greece and I was a little nervous about the best way to get to the airport. But there’s nothing new about that. After much research and a bit of time looking at the Barcelona metro map, I found the line (Line 9) that…
The Recap Our time in Spain allowed us to test the waters of foreign travel with relative ease. We found our rhythm as nomadic travelers, moving frequently with very little drama. We never expected or wanted to see everything that we could in the little time we had. We wanted to get a taste for…
Travel Day Traveling to Barcelona, we had our earliest departure yet, a 9:40 a.m. train from a different station than the one at which we had arrived. Thanks to Google Maps, I was able to find a metro route that took us to the stop right next to the station. I did need to purchase…
Travel Day We were, er … I mean, I, was up early. I never sleep well on days where travel is involved. I have too many things running through my head. What if the alarm doesn’t go off? What if the metro breaks down? How long will it take us to get there? Plus the…
Travel Day Train Trip! We left our little apartment in Seville and headed to the bus station to catch the city bus to the train station on the other side of town. Whew! We have, in my opinion, been very fortunate to either ask the right people or happen upon where we need to be,…
Seville: Day 3 I am tired. Traveling is hard work. Planning, organizing and most of all, deciding. That seems to take the most energy … the three of us trying to come to some sort of consensus about where to go and what to see. Because we got rained out on Saturday, we decided to…
Saturday I live in Juneau, Alaska which is situated within the Tongass National Forest. The Tongass is a temperate rain forest (sorry to those of you in my audience to whom this is not news). In a rain forest, it rains. A lot. You’d think being from Juneau, rain wouldn’t deter me so easily. You…
Day One: Friday We all got a very good night’s rest and took our time getting up and out the door today. Our Seville flat is GORGEOUS! It’s roomy, and modern and everything we could have hoped for … except when we plug in and run the heater in the bedroom, we trip a breaker….
Where to begin? It’s been a whirlwind of a week … our first week in the land of Big Ben, the Tower of London, The Royal Family, Winston Churchill and the best theatre district this side of New York City, just to name a few. We won’t see or do it all but we will…
Whenever one embarks on a new experience, in this case, a long-term odyssey to never-before visited, international locales, there is always some learning to be done. Here is a list of 11 things we’ve learned so far … you know because a Top 10 list is so David Letterman. Keep in mind we haven’t even…
We leave tomorrow and it has been a frantic time of finishing up everything that needs to be done. And this includes the packing. But I think I’m there! A lot of love came my way from my last post! Thank you so much for the great response, and all the questions and feedback! So,…
I like to pack. Really. It soothes the inner organizational nut in me. When I prepare to travel, I start packing well in advance of any departure date. And when I say “well in advance”, I mean WELL. IN. ADVANCE. The process of packing is a way for me to stay in the moment and…
I am approaching an event of epic proportions. An event two years in the making. An event that most dream of and yet, few realize. And I started thinking. It all started 23 months ago when I was walking my dog, Lila. Christmas was approaching and the day, as I remember it, was clear and…
It is my birthday today. I have lots for which to be grateful. How come I don’t express more gratitude in my day-to-day living? Why is it that gratitude often comes from a place of profound life experiences … like birthdays? I guess it is because it is during birthday celebrations that I come closest…
So, we’re going on a little trip. Actually, its big. A trip of a lifetime, you could say. And I am starting now because it is going to take some MAJOR thinking and organizing efforts. Good thing I like to both think and organize. My family, which consists of husband, Keith, and 15 year old…
Saying goodbye to a beloved grandmother is never easy, even when she was tough.
I have always loved the New Year. It is a time for starting over, resolutions, setting goals and new beginnings. There is something cleansing about that. This is a lifestyle blog that will reflect how I try to live my life … with joy, kindness, gratitude, generosity, adventure, learning, integrity, courage and love. I believe…