"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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An Army Base as a Community Unifier-Fort Drum, New York
For many of us civilian citizens who live around Fort Drum, an army base in northern New York State, this military reservation looks pretty mysterious and remote. We are familiar with the Army helicopters and jets, are used to the booms of practice maneuvers, and are no longer surprised by the red glow of flares …
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My Favorite Adventure-Barcelona, Spain and Antoni Gaudi
I choose my yearly adventures in strange ways. I chose Barcelona (almost embarrassed to admit it) because I saw this city on an episode of "The Bachelorette". It looked interesting and I wanted a change from the sometimes dark and ancient history of some of my previous trips. I really had no idea that this …
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Hints for Women Travelers #6-The Devil is in the Details
Try not to be picky. Please don't evaluative every little detail of your trip. Think globally, life is a movie not a snapshot. Over the course of my life, I have come to realize that joy is enormous and being joyless makes us small. Joy is about getting out of ourselves, being with people, trying …
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Traveling to the Past and Learning about The Present
My trips sometimes don't have objectives. I hear or read about a place and curiosity pushes me there. That's how I got to Lily Dale, the Spiritualist Camp, in western New York State which was founded in 1848. I treated the experience with a lot skepticism and wandered through the little colony of houses with …
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Fitness Training for Old Age
Me, March 2018 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Eleven years ago I had back pain. I think it was psychosomatic. I was mad at myself for staying too long in a relationship that wasn't working. Once I got the man out of my head, the back pain was gone. Two years ago, I developed pains in …
A North Country Love Affair
Author's note: Since I wrote this piece a few years ago, I have to confess, The North Country and I now have an open relationship. I go to Florida during the winter months. But this is home, my base camp and I always return. I'm here now. Unfortunately, the weatherman is predicting ice and sleet for …
Every Story Must Be Told
On the way home from Florida, of course, I stopped to see my three grandkids. After three months of being away I received a lot of hugs. We played and played and played. My seven year old granddaughter said that she had a librarian in her room. I asked some questions about the meaning of …
Staunton, Virginia….WOW!
For eight years, on my snowbird travels to and from Florida I passed Staunton, Virginia on Interstate 81 and thought that someday I should visit the Woodrow Wilson Library. I love history. Ever since my trip to Barcelona, Spain I have been interested in the events of the early 1900's. The Spanish artists, Gaudi …
The Autonomous Traveler 