This is one of my favorite times of the year. However, that is not the case for everyone. The holiday season can be fraught with expectations unfulfilled, family drama, and often a bit of mayhem. The new year can be a time of great anticipation for new experiences or it can be a time of uncomfortable uncertainty. This year, I felt the need among the hustle and bustle to just stop and take a deep breath. I can think of…
I just arrived home from a few days with a dear friend in Big Sur. Frankly, I wasn’t sure we were even going to be able to go as a huge fire was roaring through parts of the region. The fire started on July 22 by an illegal campfire in one of the state parks. As of this writing, it has consumed over 79,000 acres and is 60% contained. It will be weeks before it is completely under control. It…
Big Sur has been the subject of many books and movies, as well as countless poems expounding on its beauty. To me it’s a place like no other. It’s a deeply personal and spiritual experience. It is nature at its most glorious and no matter how many times I go back, it takes my breath away as if seeing it for the first time. Big Sur is impossible to describe. The most incredible photograph can’t capture how small I feel…
30 years ago, when I was fresh out of college and my sister had just graduated high school, we embarked on a month long, 11 country tour of Europe, with a group of about 40 other young explorers. It seems cliche to say that it was the trip of a lifetime- but it truly was! From London, Paris, Italy, Greece and points in between, there was so much to see, learn, and absorb. As magical as the trip was, it…
I grew up in a family of six. We took yearly vacations from our home in New Jersey, usually to Florida. We always drove and would often leave in the middle of the night and drive straight through. I still remember the excitement of laying out our new vacation outfits and waiting to be woken up to start our adventure. We would pile into the station wagon and sleep for the first part of the trip. Then there would be short…