Category: travel

Blind Date in a Castle

Posted in alcohol abuse, dancing, dating, firsts, relationships, Sweden, travel, worstsLeave a comment

(re-run) Lynne was studying abroad at a university in Sweden. One of her friends convinced her plus another young woman to be blind dates. The friend’s boyfriend’s military school was hosting a fancy dinner and ball at a castle in Stockholm. The Swedish school was inviting guys from Denmark and Norway for the event, and… Continue reading Blind Date in a Castle

Almost Toast

Posted in California, college, dating, divorce, friends, holidays, humor, marijuana, marriage, mom, relationships, roommate, San Francisco, travelLeave a comment

(re-run) Marlene and her friend Beth came out to California from New Hampshire after college to work for Bank of America. They each made a new friend, and each new friend brought another friend to the party (plus one more) until they were a group of seven recent college graduates, living in the city of… Continue reading Almost Toast

Romance Coast to Coast

Posted in best, California, car salesman, Connecticut, dating, firsts, Florida, friends, holidays, honeymoon, humor, Italian, marriage, marriage proposal, moving, relationships, religion, travel, vacation, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) Nicky went back to Connecticut to see his mother.“You’ve got to meet this cute Italian girl working in my office,” a friend said.“I’m only here for a week,” Nicky said.“My wife is in night class with a cute Italian girl,” another friend said. “You two should meet.”“I’m only here for a week,” Nicky said,… Continue reading Romance Coast to Coast

Second Time Around

Posted in best, Cal, California, chemistry, cruise, dancing, dating, divorce, flirting, football, humor, online dating, relationships, sorority, travelLeave a comment

(re-run) Suzanne needed a date for her Alpha Delta Phi sorority party that was being held off campus at one of the sister’s parents’ house. She invited a guy from her old high school, Mark. When they got there, Mark knew the physician dad, because they’d been on ski patrol together one winter in Tahoe.… Continue reading Second Time Around

Grizzly Bear!

Posted in Alaska, bears, California, church, friends, grizzly bear, guardian angel, guns, hunting, nature, relationships, travel, vacation, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) An Amazon robot punctured a can of Bear Mace, sending 80 employees to the hospital before Christmas. It reminded me of this true account told to me at a holiday party. In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teen-aged kids to Alaska. You stay near the Princess Lodge in a fishing cabin… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!

Door Number One or Door Number Two?

Posted in best, California, children, cocktail waitress, Colorado, dad, dating, firsts, holidays, humor, Iowa, marriage proposal, memoir, Minnesota, relationships, Sweden, travel, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run)\ It was all because of a blizzard. Well, sort of. I wanted to go to Minnesota to see the boyfriend I’d broken up with five months before while we were in Europe. We had bought Eurail passes and had made our way across the continent, sleeping on trains, in tents, and youth hostels, even… Continue reading Door Number One or Door Number Two?

Rocky Mountain Low

Posted in backpacking, bears, Colorado, dating, female issues, firsts, hiking, humor, memoir, relationships, Rocky Mountains, travelLeave a comment

(re-run) He was the good-looking cousin of my best friend. Tall, tan, and bearded, with a killer smile, it was love at first sight. Marcus had moved from Minnesota to Colorado to be near his sister. He asked if I wanted to come out and go backpacking with him. I said yes but that my… Continue reading Rocky Mountain Low

The Princeton Ploy

Posted in cars, college, crush, dating, laundry, marriage, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, pick-up lines, relationships, roommate, travelLeave a comment

(re-run) It was her third day as a freshman at Temple University in Philadelphia. Sue was riding the elevator with her friends between Hardwick and Johnson Hall when he got on. He had all of his stuff. He was moving in. “School started already,” one of her friends said. “I was in San Diego,” he… Continue reading The Princeton Ploy

More Machu Picchu

Posted in best, California, firsts, grandma, grandpa, hiking, humor, Incas, last, Machu Picchu, memoir, nature, outdoors, Peru, relationships, son, Study abroad, teaching, travel, vacationLeave a comment

(part two) Christy and I finished our breakfast at the hotel up at the top and looked into the fog. The buses wouldn’t start arriving until noon. “Let’s hike up the big mountain,” she said. “Okay,” I said. My lost and found tennis shoes were too small, but I had cut out the toes so… Continue reading More Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu Before It Was a Thing

Posted in best, Caracas, Cuzco, Ecuador, firsts, flirting, friends, girl friends, hiking, hotel, humor, Iowa, Machu Picchu, memoir, Peru, relationships, roommate, student teaching, teaching, travel, vacation, VenezuelaLeave a comment

(re-run) It was 1977. I was finishing up ten weeks of student teaching in an American oil school in Caracas, Venezuela. My roommate, Christy, wanted to travel for two weeks before we went home to the states. She wanted to visit Machu Picchu in Peru. I’d never heard of it. “It’s the lost city of… Continue reading Machu Picchu Before It Was a Thing