Morocco stole my heart. I was on a five-week journey with my husband, Steve, touring Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. The European part was all enjoyable, but when I arrived in Tangier (Tanger in French), something changed. I felt more alive, my senses blazing with the sights, smells, flavors, and ambiance of the place. My introduction …
Here are ten apps and devices that I have come to rely on in travels to over ten countries in the past year. These aren’t necessarily brand-new apps, but some are either new to me or have enhanced features since the last time I used them. These 10 apps make travel easier for me. 1. …
Dreaming of tapas, flamenco, fado and castles, my husband and I broke our pandemic travel fast with a road trip to Spain and Portugal. Everyone I know seems to have been to Portugal, is there now or is planning a trip soon, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Spain is …
Backpacking the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne route in Yosemite National Park turned out to be harder to accomplish than I expected because of repeated fires interrupting my plans. In the four years that it took to hike the 30-mile trail, I might have held ten permits, repeatedly changing them in the hopes that smoke …
This year, I upgraded to a Zoleo satellite messenger device to be able to get two-way messaging. For many years, I’ve had an early generation device that only provided one-way messaging. That simple device met my needs until last year, when I had an elderly parent who was ailing and I didn’t feel comfortable being …
I leaf through a green passport, issued in 1962 in San Francisco, my first passport. I’m four, pictured with my mother in our shared US passport. Mom’s name and characteristics are noted, but mine are not, so my identity is murky. Below her brunette hair styled in a high bouffant, Mom is smiling slightly, while …
Beach holidays have been a source of deep relaxation for me since I was a child and I love a tropical beach best of all—warm water, surf, sun and sand—what could be better? Shade, that’s what. I’ve found that shade is critical to my enjoyment of the beach. I finally feel like I have the …
I discovered that I was an adult third-culture kid, the term for people like me who grew up overseas in an expat family.
Having the right travel gear can prevent wasting valuable vacation time hunting for what you need in an unfamiliar environment when dealing with health issues.
If you’re looking for a place to stay outside Yosemite National Park or a way to extend your stay, one of the best places to look is Tuolumne County. Not only does Tuolumne County include most of the park, but it also contains a sizeable chunk of the adjacent Stanislaus National Forest and Emigrant Wilderness. …