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ALASKA OFFERS A WHALE OF A GOOD TIME

7/15/2016

Graphic courtesy of wildhawaii.org.

They come by the thousands year after year, many of the whales traveling 2,800 miles just to feed in the cold, protected waters of Southeast Alaska, the bubble-net capital of the world. More on bubble-net feeding, a uniquely humpback whale dining technique, later in this post.

Almost two million tourists follow in their wake, hoping to catch a glimpse of these gentle giants. Okay, two-million-and-one counting yours truly.

My maritime whale-watching excursion included a guaranteed whale sighting or a refund on the cost of my excursion with Allen Marine; and that’s no fish tale, particularly given whales are mammals, not fish. But you knew that, right?

Suffice it to say, my hundred bucks bought me a whale of a good time; and some unexpected visitors to boot.

A SPOOKY CRUSADE TO NURTURE WANDERLUST

3/17/2016

“For every walk is a sort of crusade, preached by some Peter the Hermit in us, to go forth and reconquer this Holy Land from the hands of the Infidels.”
~ Henry Thoreau

This Infidel was certainly feeling the need for a crusade. Weeks, if not months of self-imposed confinement (difficult to make travel a priority in the midst of selling one home and settling into another) had left me feeling restless, at least on the days when I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. The winter months had simply added insult to injury.

It was time to set aside the purging, the packing, the painting, and all the people parading through what had once been our family home for the last 20 years.

It was time to reconquer this Holy Land, time to crusade for that which nurtures the heart and mind and soul, ergo my wanderlust. It was time for a walk in the woods, time for some fresh air to clear the mental fog.

The price was right, the weather just as suitable, albeit a bit windy. Then again, it was March. And so off we went, just me and my shadow, going forth into the wild to reclaim this Holy Land from the hands of Infidels. I’ve been called worse.

Alas, my crusade wasn’t as wild as it was spooky. Then again, I’ve always been one for a vivid imagination.

AWAKE, THOU WINTRY EARTH!

2/12/2016

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!

Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

WEARY TRAVELER LEARNS TO SLEEP ON THE FLY

2/3/2016

Been there, done that.

He was in his own world, completely oblivious of the parade of passengers navigating Florida’s Orlando International Airport, Terminal A. The guy looked eerily like the uncle from the 1990s film, My Girl 2.

A quick smile crossed my lips at the ethos of our shared experience. I’d been that weary traveler in Paris two years ago during a four-hour layover, part of an exhausting international two-leg flight originating at Chicago’s O’Hara Airport and terminating in Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport 7 time zones away.

I would have willingly paid good money for a sleep pod I could have called my own had one been available at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, although personally I would have opted for one with a bit more privacy.

Nope. Duane Hanson’s, “The Traveler”, a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty (eventually I discovered/realized he'd been there napping since 1985) seemed perfectly happy to sleep on the fly (the purview of most weary travelers) in his own little fishbowl. The display case was an addition eventually required to keep curious bystanders from touching the amazingly life-like piece of public art made of autobody filler, fiberglass, mixed media, and real life accessories like hair, clothes, shoes, and luggage.

Replace the luggage with shopping bags and we have, "The Husband." A nice addition to any mall.

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MARVELOUS MONTANA: FIFTEEN FUN FACTS

9/25/2015

Montana.

Seven letters, infinite wonder.

More cows than people, ghost towns galore, stomping grounds of the dinosaur and the American Indian; the west as wild and beautiful and lonesome as it is epic.

Home to the first International Peace Park and the first woman elected to Congress. A pacifist, Jeanette Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. No news Jeanette never married, despite several offers. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

This girls got a few more Montana facts to share with you following my uncommon journey to the 41st state. Let’s just say I enjoyed a bit of literary license in the sharing.

AUTUMN, AS BRAVE AS IT IS BEAUTIFUL

9/14/2015

Busy!

When did life get so busy? When did sultry summer slip away?

I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the change. Change is never easy, always a challenge to the comfort of the status quo; always a given.

Autumn is as brave as it is beautiful.

I’m feeling wistful, too, keenly aware . . .

TULIP MANIA: WHEN LOVE BLOSSOMED BETWEEN THE DUTCH AND A TURKISH TRANSPLANT

8/19/2015

Doesn't get much more iconic when it comes to Holland - windmills and tulips.

I find it ironic I had to travel all the way to Holland (as in the tulip-capital-of-the-world, one of twelve provinces in the Netherlands) to learn the Dutch actually have the Turks to thank (and one botanist, Professor Carolus Clusius of Leiden) for the richly hued, regal perennial that changed the course of Holland's history and put the Netherlands, a European country closest in size to the U.S. state of Maryland, on the world map.

Then again, field trips have always been the only way to go! I came, I saw, I conquered a bit more world history. I learned politics often makes for strange bedfellows, too, none stranger than a satiny, ephemeral blossom called Semper Augustus that drove the Dutch to an infamous feeding frenzy dubbed ‘Tulipomania’.

No, the Dutch weren’t into eating tulip bulbs, although that was the Professor’s original intent when he fled Vienna in 1593 seeking religious sanctuary in Holland with what purportedly was the first tulip bulb to find its way from Turkey to the Netherlands.

While the tulip is commonly thought to have originated in Turkey, the plant probably first appeared farther east in the steppes of western and central Asia, primarily in Armenia, Persia and the Caucasus. Eventually, the tulip spread into areas along the Black Sea, throughout the entire Mediterranean area, and into China. As early as 1,000 A.D., the Turks were cultivating tulips. But I digress.

Tulip Mania refers to the first ever ...

TRAVEL WITH A SURPRISING TWIST

7/14/2015

A paraprosdokian, perhaps? No, just a pair-a-gourds.

I’d be so good at having the last word if I could remember what I said in the first place.

No! I’m a master when it comes to stewing in silence. I can never remember a single appropriate paraprosdokian when I need it.

Para@#$? That’s right. Just trip right over that fancy pants word for now (this is a travel blog, after all). We’ll get back to it later.

Now, where was I?

Oh, yeah, remembering what I said in the first place.

Imagine getting the chance to exit a heated exchange with these clever figures of speech.

JUST YOU AND ME, VINCENT

6/4/2015

A rotating collection of 91 Van Gogh paintings and 180 drawings are part of the Kroller-Muller Museum.

You were so determined to give happiness by creating beauty.

I floated on a cloud of exquisite happiness as I made my way through the second-largest collection of your paintings in the world courtesy of the Netherlands' Kroller-Muller Museum in Gelderland.

Granted, I wasn’t entirely happy with the throngs of fellow admirers obstructing my view. In a perfect world, . . .

LOST & THEN FOUND IN AMSTERDAM'S RED LIGHT DISTRICT

5/29/2015

Plenty of food for thought with new friends Vivian (in red) & Harry and dear friends Joan & Jerry.

“What?” Vivian bantered from across the dinner table. “You thought people only had sex at night?”

Long, long, ago, before I was a parent, then a grandparent, in a galaxy far, far away, where time and energy represented infinite quantities, I vaguely remember being a people. Yes, as I recall, people really are capable of spontaneous, glorious, heat-of-the-moment sexual encounters, day and night; when they're not juggling kids, housework, meals, and gainful employment.

So why do they call them ‘Ladies of the Night?’

I bet wise owl Vivian would know.

And how was I to know the ladies were still working Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District at ten in the morning?   Red Light Districts are not exactly my forte.

Of course, it’s not like we hadn’t been warned.

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