June 23, 2001 Left the house at 10:30. Talked to my daughter before I left. Stopped in Ogdensburg for gas and lunch. The girl at the gas station told me she wanted to hear about my trip when I got back. I'm a little apprehensive today but I know I have to do this. The …
70 Days, 7000 Miles-A Midlife Odyssey
In 2001, I took a solo 70 day, 7000 mile camping trip across the US and Canada. I was 52 years old and an elementary teacher at the time. I left my home the Saturday right after school let out and returned the Saturday before school started up again. Having taken many camping trips that …
Mayfly-A Fly Fishing Woman’s Tale
I am reblogging this once more for two people I recently met who fly fish. When I was newly divorced and my kids were off to college I used to go to a place with a band every Friday evening with my single female friends. Heads up and stomachs sucked in, we pretended to …
Remembering My Dad-Our Ambulance Camper
Somebody once wrote “I dream things that never were and say 'why not?'" My family lived these words long before they were ever written. In the late 1950's, when our small town fire department put its outdated ambulance up for sale at a bargain price, my father bought it. It wasn't a box van like …
Travel Camera(s)-My Opinion
I have three cameras, two identical Canon Power Shot 1300s and a Cannon Power Shot 570. I purchased them all on Ebay and I took all the pictures on The Autonomous Traveler with them except one picture for my story about Poland. I had to get that picture from the internet since all my Poland …
Forest Bathing-Inexpensive/Free Travel Experience
Studies show that most people spend 93% of their time indoors or in cars, averaging 12 hours a weeks outside. The Japanese have come up with a program called "Forest Bathing" in which individuals immerse themselves in natural environments. Sound, smells, the air and temperatures, colors and textures are observed and appreciated. The idea is …
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Going to India
India has been on my list of trips for awhile but what finally made me decide to go was a Hindu celebration held in St. Augustine in April. I loved the color and joy I witnessed. I told one of the participants about my travel list and was given prayer beads and enthusiastic encouragement to …
Lies in Paris
It was a “someday’’ experience. “Someday I will go to Paris and it will be warm and sunny and it will be perfect.” And as I glided along the Seine, it was. I smiled, not a young artificially enhanced smile, perfected with caps and chemical whiteners. My grin, weathered by too many sweets and the …
Vermont, A Work Of Art
"You use a glass mirror to see your face, you use works of art to see your soul." -George Bernard Shaw. I leisurely drove through Vermont last week...Bennington, Manchester, Burlington, North Hero. I had escaped some bad weather in Connecticut and Massachusetts and my days in Vermont …
It’s All About the Math-Hiking in the Adirondacks
One day when I was 46, I decided to hike all 46 of The High Peaks of the Adirondacks. I tend to live out my life in headlines, always proclaiming a new interest with passion and bursts of wild enthusiasm. So 46 at 46! The coincidence had a certain mystical quality to it and I …
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