Across the Sound there is a place where, when the day is young, I can walk the forest trail and emerge, my shins wet from wading through ferns heavy with dew, and climb the concrete steps to ramparts set high atop a bluff overlooking the steel-grey waters of the Salish Sea. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘Travel’
Walking With Ghosts
Posted in Seattle, tagged fort worden, port townsend, Puget Sound, Seattle, Travel on 28 Feb 2019| 2 Comments »
Miyako and the Art of Mindfulness
Posted in Culture, tagged beauty, erez sitzer, Japan, Miyako, short subject, Travel on 09 Nov 2015| 6 Comments »
I watch people. I observe, quietly and from a distance. Like a naturalist out in the wild, I do this so that I might better understand the behaviors of others—all y’all are often a mystery to me—and, in seeing what it is that makes them tick, take that knowledge and use it to create more believable characters in my writing.
If you study what moves someone emotionally, you can learn a lot about them, but while this works well with other people, I find that it doesn’t work well when I try to do it on myself. That is, I can’t seem to learn much about myself when I study the things that affect me. Other folks? When something makes them happy, sad, angry, it’s usually pretty clear why. But for me? All my deductions, all my insights are obscured by the fog of my own feelings, and the reason why I feel the things I feel remains a mystery.
Example: Miyako. (more…)
Gird thy Loins
Posted in Travel, tagged europe, Travel, travel tips on 19 Jul 2013| 2 Comments »
Next week, our very dear friends are leaving on an extended, 3+week tour of Europe. And by “our very dear friends,” I mean their whole family; Grandma, the kids, and the grandkids are all packing up and will travel, together, for nearly a month.
First, I set aside my bogglement at (and envy of) a family for whom being in each others’ company, 24×7, for a double-fortnight will be great fun, and then I noted that for some of them this is their first overseas trip. To help them on their way, I was going to email them some salient advice (aside, that is, from my First Rule of Traveling: bring earplugs).
Then I thought, what the heck, let’s share it with everyone.
And so, for them and for y’all, my Three Top Tips for Travelers…
Travelogue Pt 19 – London and Home
Posted in Travel, tagged air france, airport security, CDG, Heathrow, heathrow express, HRW, London, lost luggage, SEA, Terminal 2E, Travel, travelogue on 07 Jul 2013| Leave a Comment »
The final installment from my April 2011 travelogue.
In which we have a major “oops,” meet some pleasant security agents, and our luggage takes an extended holiday.
19: Home Again Home Again Jiggity-Jig
Travelogue Pt 18 – Salisbury
Posted in Travel, tagged Old Bishop's Mill, Old Sarum, photo, photography, Salisbury, Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, Travel, travelogue, Waterloo Station on 06 Jul 2013| Leave a Comment »
Another installment from my April 2011 travelogue.
In which take our last day trip and walk through a sheep pasture to see an old relative’s house. And I sweat a lot…
18: Baking on Salisbury Plain
Travelogue Pt 17 – Bath
Posted in Travel, tagged Bath, Bath Abbey, British style, Great Pulteney Bridge, Jane Austen, John Woods, photo, photography, river avon, Royal Crescent, Travel, travelogue on 06 Jul 2013| Leave a Comment »
Two installments today from my April 2011 travelogue, and a wrap up, tomorrow. In which visit the omphalos of Austen drama, sit by the river Avon, and learn the meaning of the word “reserved.” 
17: A Nice Hot Bath
Travelogue Pt 16 – London
Posted in Travel, tagged Big Ben, Clock Tower, Houses of Parliament, Kensal Green, London, London Eye, photo, photography, Routemaster bus, Southwark Book Market, Southwark Walk, Travel, travelogue, waterloo bridge, Westminster Abbey, wild parakeets in London on 05 Jul 2013| 1 Comment »
Another installment from my April 2011 travelogue.
In which we move from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C.
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 