vacation – Page 2 – FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER!

Machu Picchu Before It Was a Thing

January 4, 2025January 4, 2025 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

The Power of Vacation

October 10, 2024October 9, 2024 Posted in Alexa, biking, California, Carmel, dogs, memoir, Monterey Bay, Point Lobos, relationships, thrift store, Tor House, travel, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run, pre-pandemic) The week after Christmas is dead time for scheduled activities. Chorus rehearsals are cancelled. The city building where I exercise three times a week is closed. There’s a lot of extra time during the day. So . . . . . . for the first time in two and a half years, I… Continue reading The Power of Vacation

Airport Surprise

September 24, 2024September 23, 2024 Posted in airport, California, dating, flying, holidays, relationships, seduction, travel, TSA, underwear, vacation, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) She wanted to surprise him. They had both left Hawaii at different times to go home for Christmas and would meet up that night when he picked her up from the airport. He liked lingerie. She had bought a new thong for the holidays, red on one side, green on the other, with two… Continue reading Airport Surprise

Say What in Santa Cruz

August 2, 2024August 1, 2024 Posted in California, college, dating, friends, helpful strangers, high school, marriage proposal, relationships, Santa Cruz, siblings, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run) Jennifer met Brad at San Leandro High school in the Bay Area. She wasn’t allowed to date, but she was allowed to go to junior prom. The next year Brad asked Jennifer to Senior Ball. It was in San Francisco, and afterward, they went to Pier 39 with everyone else in their limo. Brad… Continue reading Say What in Santa Cruz

Don’t Stand Up!

May 25, 2024May 24, 2024 Posted in college, humor, memoir, Peru, relationships, Study abroad, travel, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run) It was a long train ride from Lima to Cuzco, or maybe it was from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. At any rate, I was on a train with a bunch of Peruvians and my roommate, Kristy. Trains give me motion sickness, as do boats, cars, planes, swings, and carnival rides. It’s a miracle that… Continue reading Don’t Stand Up!

Old Mom on Vacation

May 20, 2024May 19, 2024 Posted in back ache, children, cobblestone, graduation, hotel, memoir, mothers, museum, travel, vacation1 Comment

(re-run) When I had my kids at the late ages of 31, 34 and six weeks before turning 39, I didn’t think about the consequences 29 years later, when my baby would be graduating from grad school, with siblings 33 and 36. Here we are, and it is damn near impossible to keep up with… Continue reading Old Mom on Vacation

Flat Feet

November 11, 2023November 10, 2023 Posted in Brazil, Canaima, chiropractor, flat feet, Korean War, memoir, skiing, South America, Spanish, travel, vacation, waterfallsLeave a comment

(re-run) I turned on my laptop the other day, and the ever-changing screen showed a photo of waterfalls, big wide ones somewhere in Brazil. I’ve never been to Brazil, but I have been to Venezuela, where there are seven wide falls and a resort below them called Canaima. I was student-teaching with another Iowa Stater.… Continue reading Flat Feet

Five Errands and a Passport Photo

November 10, 2023November 9, 2023 Posted in drugstore, errands, India, memoir, passport, raisins, shopping, thrift store, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run) My daughter is going to her college friend’s wedding in India. She discovered that her passport was about to expire, which got me to wondering if mine had expired. I hadn’t used it since I got divorced. I found it and saw the expiration date was 2019. That’s what the pandemic will do to… Continue reading Five Errands and a Passport Photo

Taking a Trip

May 23, 2023May 23, 2023 Posted in birthday, dogs, flying, graduation, luggage, memoir, travel, trips, TSA, vacation1 Comment

Wash the sheets! Pick up those pieces of construction debris! Hide a key! Do laundry! Eat! Pack some checks. Hide the jewels! Show the neighbor girl where the tomato plants are to water. Pack gifts for grandson and graduate. Pills, food, hats, don’t forget the hats. Ceremony is outside. Mouthguard. Pillow – oops, doesn’t fit.… Continue reading Taking a Trip

Five Errands and a Passport Photo

April 10, 2023April 10, 2023 Posted in drugstore, errands, India, memoir, passport, raisins, shopping, thrift store, vacationLeave a comment

My daughter is going to her college friend’s wedding in India. She discovered that her passport was about to expire, which got me to wondering if mine had expired. I hadn’t used it since I got divorced. I found it and saw the expiration date was 2019. That’s what the pandemic will do to a… Continue reading Five Errands and a Passport Photo